Over the past few years I have pined over a pair of speakers that my father has had as long as I can remember. They have such a wonderful sound, like nothing I have ever heard in a modern set of towers. My father gave them to me the other day because he has finally given in to my mother's desire for a satillite and sub set up. Easier to decorate around don't you know. Because they are made of teak and about the same size as a small endtable they were always in horrible possitions. I think he is going to be happier in the long run because he will be able to properly possition the new speaker setup.
Anyway, these speakers are some of the most solidly constructed I have ever seen. My dad said he picked them up in Hong Kong in the Late 60's or early 70's. He said the three drivers are made by Wharfdale. The cabinets are made of 1 1/2" teak. My dad says that the back is even 1 1/2" teak, the same as the sides. The back in rabbited in and there must be two dozen wood screws holding the back in. He had to replace the cross overs about three years ago and said that when he opened the cabinets the insides were as clean as an operating room. He also inspected the drivers and they appeared to be in wonderful condition. The cabinet is not ported and uses sandbags in the bottom of each cabinet. My dad said that is where the speakers get their rich sound.
I am planning on opening them up again this weekend to inspect the wiring, get the model and serial numbers off of the drivers and inspect the speaker cable connectors. The speaker cables connect via a single jack that looks like an old version of an RCA connection. I have the cables that my dad used to connect it to his reciever with the other ends stripped to expose the sold copper wires. My dad had to do this when his old Fisher Tube reciever died about seven years ago. Boy he misses that reciever. but that is another story.
Don't worry I will take plenty of pictures!
Anyway, I am thinking about doing two things:
The first is to replace the speaker cable connections with something that will work with standard cables, probably binding posts and spades. The current connectors work fine but the cables are in bad shape and should be a thicker gauge. Also the connection doesn't feel real tight and appear to be tin on both the female and male pieces.
The second thing is I want to see if I can remove the metal screens that are on the face of the cabinets without threatening the structral ridgidity of the cabinets. They look good and are in great shape but I think removing them all together or replacing them with modern acoustically invisible fabric might improve the sound even more.
Finally I am going to begin to shop around for some stands. My dad said there used to be legs the screwed in the bottom but he doesn't have them and I think stands would be more stable.
Does anyone have any suggestions on these ideas? Should I just leave well enough alone and enjoy them as they are, or should try and tweak them to improve the sound even more? What kind of connectors should I use? Where can I get them?
I would like to do this in an economical way. What I do first I would like to be the best bang for the buck.
Also, if there are any speaker historians out there who might be interested Here is the information on the back of the speakers:
The Radio People Ltd
Factory Lot No K 2446
NGAU TAU KOK
Serial 9191
If anyone knows anything about this company or these speakers I'd love to learn more about them.
Anyway, these speakers are some of the most solidly constructed I have ever seen. My dad said he picked them up in Hong Kong in the Late 60's or early 70's. He said the three drivers are made by Wharfdale. The cabinets are made of 1 1/2" teak. My dad says that the back is even 1 1/2" teak, the same as the sides. The back in rabbited in and there must be two dozen wood screws holding the back in. He had to replace the cross overs about three years ago and said that when he opened the cabinets the insides were as clean as an operating room. He also inspected the drivers and they appeared to be in wonderful condition. The cabinet is not ported and uses sandbags in the bottom of each cabinet. My dad said that is where the speakers get their rich sound.
I am planning on opening them up again this weekend to inspect the wiring, get the model and serial numbers off of the drivers and inspect the speaker cable connectors. The speaker cables connect via a single jack that looks like an old version of an RCA connection. I have the cables that my dad used to connect it to his reciever with the other ends stripped to expose the sold copper wires. My dad had to do this when his old Fisher Tube reciever died about seven years ago. Boy he misses that reciever. but that is another story.
Don't worry I will take plenty of pictures!
Anyway, I am thinking about doing two things:
The first is to replace the speaker cable connections with something that will work with standard cables, probably binding posts and spades. The current connectors work fine but the cables are in bad shape and should be a thicker gauge. Also the connection doesn't feel real tight and appear to be tin on both the female and male pieces.
The second thing is I want to see if I can remove the metal screens that are on the face of the cabinets without threatening the structral ridgidity of the cabinets. They look good and are in great shape but I think removing them all together or replacing them with modern acoustically invisible fabric might improve the sound even more.
Finally I am going to begin to shop around for some stands. My dad said there used to be legs the screwed in the bottom but he doesn't have them and I think stands would be more stable.
Does anyone have any suggestions on these ideas? Should I just leave well enough alone and enjoy them as they are, or should try and tweak them to improve the sound even more? What kind of connectors should I use? Where can I get them?
I would like to do this in an economical way. What I do first I would like to be the best bang for the buck.
Also, if there are any speaker historians out there who might be interested Here is the information on the back of the speakers:
The Radio People Ltd
Factory Lot No K 2446
NGAU TAU KOK
Serial 9191
If anyone knows anything about this company or these speakers I'd love to learn more about them.
