I hope you'll forgive a little backstory here, but it's a necessary in getting to how I found a speaker I thought to be near extinction...
A month back I was at work on a Sunday afternoon (as sometimes happens) and decided to kill a few minutes running a set of searches I run from time-to-time. This one kicked back a few results that made me spit out my drink - RCA LC-1A drivers on craigslist at prices that seemed to be missing a zero behind them. A LC-1A (with the humps) listed in the collectible section of CL, and its predecessor, the MI-11411, listed under musical instruments. They'd been up for 10 days. Had I missed something, or had this somehow flown under the radar?
The downside: the speakers were a few states over, in a suburb of Kansas City. Despite the distance between them and myself I contacted the seller and found out they were still available, somehow. I called a buddy from college who lived nearby and asked if he'd be willing to help me out - he was. I Venmo'd him the cash and prayed this thing worked out. (I really owe him for this one.)
I bit my nails until I got the text that he'd gotten them.
As i wasn't sure of their exact condition, I didn't think it wise to ship them. And I certainly didn't want to ask anything more of my friend. I would just have to wait until I'd have time to go and get them.
I got them last week.
The good: they work. The cones are intact, but they'll need some work. The LC-1A is the worse off, sadly. It's missing one of its famous bumps, the others are pushed in slightly. It looks like part of the cone had water damage at some point and the paper surround wlll need to be reinforced. The single capacitor, acting in lieu of a crossover, is bad - a new cap of the same value is arriving today. The MI-11411 is in much better condition. It has a slight tear in the cone at the surround, but is in fantastic condition otherwise.
I'll be working with a local shop that handles speaker repairs on finding solutions for preserving the original cones. If not, I'll reach out to some gurus I've had contact with to see if they have any advise.
Throughout the past week, I've taken time to listen to the MI-11411, treating it gingerly as I don't want to put any further wear on the existing tear. Feeding it off the 16-ohm tap of one of my Altec 128B's, I can hear already why this speaker is as sought out as it is. Two records in particular have encouraged me to put in the work to get these speakers right - Frank Proffit's Frank Proffit of Reese, North Carolina (Folkways FSA-1) and Dock Boggs Legendary Singer & Banjo Player (Folkways FA-2351). I've listened to these albums on a few different speakers and have never felt that I've heard them correctly.
Even through one of these speakers sitting on the ground there's life and presence in Frank Proffit's voice that belies the age and quality of the recording. Dock Boggs, too, has reality given back to him.
Subjective language, sure, but they're my ears.
I'll update this thread as I'm able to devote time and funds towards the preservation of these speakers and cabinets I'll build for them.
A month back I was at work on a Sunday afternoon (as sometimes happens) and decided to kill a few minutes running a set of searches I run from time-to-time. This one kicked back a few results that made me spit out my drink - RCA LC-1A drivers on craigslist at prices that seemed to be missing a zero behind them. A LC-1A (with the humps) listed in the collectible section of CL, and its predecessor, the MI-11411, listed under musical instruments. They'd been up for 10 days. Had I missed something, or had this somehow flown under the radar?
The downside: the speakers were a few states over, in a suburb of Kansas City. Despite the distance between them and myself I contacted the seller and found out they were still available, somehow. I called a buddy from college who lived nearby and asked if he'd be willing to help me out - he was. I Venmo'd him the cash and prayed this thing worked out. (I really owe him for this one.)
I bit my nails until I got the text that he'd gotten them.
As i wasn't sure of their exact condition, I didn't think it wise to ship them. And I certainly didn't want to ask anything more of my friend. I would just have to wait until I'd have time to go and get them.
I got them last week.
The good: they work. The cones are intact, but they'll need some work. The LC-1A is the worse off, sadly. It's missing one of its famous bumps, the others are pushed in slightly. It looks like part of the cone had water damage at some point and the paper surround wlll need to be reinforced. The single capacitor, acting in lieu of a crossover, is bad - a new cap of the same value is arriving today. The MI-11411 is in much better condition. It has a slight tear in the cone at the surround, but is in fantastic condition otherwise.
I'll be working with a local shop that handles speaker repairs on finding solutions for preserving the original cones. If not, I'll reach out to some gurus I've had contact with to see if they have any advise.
Throughout the past week, I've taken time to listen to the MI-11411, treating it gingerly as I don't want to put any further wear on the existing tear. Feeding it off the 16-ohm tap of one of my Altec 128B's, I can hear already why this speaker is as sought out as it is. Two records in particular have encouraged me to put in the work to get these speakers right - Frank Proffit's Frank Proffit of Reese, North Carolina (Folkways FSA-1) and Dock Boggs Legendary Singer & Banjo Player (Folkways FA-2351). I've listened to these albums on a few different speakers and have never felt that I've heard them correctly.
Even through one of these speakers sitting on the ground there's life and presence in Frank Proffit's voice that belies the age and quality of the recording. Dock Boggs, too, has reality given back to him.
Subjective language, sure, but they're my ears.
I'll update this thread as I'm able to devote time and funds towards the preservation of these speakers and cabinets I'll build for them.
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