jhawk92 Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Ok all you "vintage" folks, here is a question for you. I finally got a chance to check out a pair of Jensen speakers that were my grandfather's and are now residing with my parents. We hooked them up and they sound pretty good. Dad seems to remember the cabinets were custom-made, and while not sure of the year, thinks it was back in the mid/late 50's. Pic of one of the cabinets. It doesn't show up in this pic, but there is a knob on the right side that is attached to the crossover. I guess the knob is part of the "High Frequency Control" that is mentioned in one of the label pics. This is a pic of the back of one for identification. Here are a couple of pics of the label on the back. Sorry I didn't realize my digital camera would do a photo stitch on macro. So we cracked open the back and found a 15" woofer and what appears to be a horn tweeter, mounted on the bottom of the speaker! Here is a close-up of the tweeter. Remember, it is mounted below the woofer, and is horizontal. I rotated the pic so you could read the details better. I seem to remember Klipsch looked at using E-V drivers in early models. Here is a close-up of the woofer. Finally, one of the crossover. I rotated this pic as well for easier viewing. It is mounted at the top left of the cabinet as you are looking at the back. You can just make out the edge of the crossover in the open back pic above. Looks like these speakers are two-way, so that's a twist on things. I couldn't figure out a way to shoot the drivers from the front, so no pics there. I really can't imagine why the tweeters were mounted so low. Any ideas? Woofers were in good shape, so we hooked up an older receiver and things sound pretty good. Didn't get much time to critically listen, as we were pressed for time. So, are these worth hanging onto, for more than sentimental reasons, or is there some value in the components? Any thoughts/info would be appreciated. Thanks. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubeglow Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 JHawk 92...those are beauties...are these a pair? Ifso, very nice. Great cabinets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 JHawk---Those are keepers. Old Jensens were of very high quality and sounded very good. I suspect those old speakers sound better than most modern ones and they certainly look better. The woofs are probably co-axes with cone tweeters. The EVs may have been added to give a little extra sparkle or perhaps to outright replace the Jensen tweets. Shine a flashlight through the grille and see if you see a tweeter coaxial with the woofer. Look at the Jensen stuff at www.hifilit.com You may identify the drivers there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krustyoldsarge Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Beautiful speakers! Wolverines have an excellent reputation as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Jhawk, these are stunning speakers. Tom hit the nail on the head - the engineering quality is on par with the components in the wood horn Khorn era. I love the rococco woodwork! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRBILL Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 I had the "studio" (flat black) model of the same speaker when I was in college. I think my boss hand stole it from WLSU when he left there. I think I gave him $25, which was a piece of change back then. It was really a very good speaker. The crossover was screwy. It jumped an 8Ù input to 600Ù for the crossover which used tiny chokes and capacitors. Then back down to 8Ù for the woofer and coaxial tweeter. I gave that a toss and opted for an EV squawker and tweeter mounted outboard on the top. In the picture, the Wolverine tweet, crossover and L-pad are also mods. DR BILL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 You have a pair of these? Very cool. They look more like a 40's design than a 50's design. I am thinking Mark will agree... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Hawk, Killer cabinets! If you are not too hung-up on vintage "original", they could be super retro's. I'll bet TomB already has some Altec coaxial substitutes in his head. Maybe a little 1000 cycle horn to boot? Could be a great second or third system. Bedroom TV? Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Damn, they just don't build 'em like those anymore. Even if the horn tweeter and crossover aren't original, these are still fine examples of the loudspeaker (reproducer) design philosophy of the day, and should be preserved for prosperity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted March 27, 2004 Author Share Posted March 27, 2004 All- Thanks for the kind words. Yes they are a pair, but the other one does not have the label on the back, and the tweeter is mounted differently. It is mounted with two wood struts below the woofer, whereas the one pictured is mounted from the side. Both are in virtually the same, excellent condition. The full cabinet picture speaker does not have the Jensen cover, as you can see. The close-up woofer pic is from the second speaker. TB- Thanks for the link on Jensen gear. I'll be checking it out. I'll see if I can do your flashlight trick. I guess I should have thought about that when we were working on them. Krusty/Sheltie- Yeah, they sound pretty good, though not really in a prime location right now. My parents are cleaning out the basement so they are tucked in a small area right now. DrBill- Interesting that the tweeter and crossover are mods. It kinda makes sense on the tweeter, seeing the way they were mounted. I'll be intersted if I can see anything in the woofer area from the front. Forgive me, but what is an L-pad? fini/mark- Well, they could very well be early 50's if not in the 40s. Dad said he remembered his father bringing them home when he was little, and Dad was born in 1941. Yeah, those cabinets are pretty big, I think at least 3' tall so I wouldn't doubt I could fit a TV inside. IB/jt- Not sure what Dad's preference would be on these; leave alone for posterity or retrofit them with other components. I'll have to see what he thinks. But I figure he'll leave them "stock" for a while and see how they sound. Is there anything special we need to do with them in the meantime? Any easy tweaks? I'm sure you'll all shake your head on this next point. My grandfather was powering these with a Fisher 400 receiver that was in MINT shape. Unfortunately when he died a few years ago, another family member snarfed the 400. I guess something happened to it, maybe output tubes wore out, but they took it to a repair shop, and they guy said it wouldn't be worth fixing. They ended up leaving it there!!! I wonder if the guy didn't know anything about it and didn't want to try, or if he knew what was on the counter and was less than honest! At any rate, Dad is happy that they are up and operational since they have a great deal of sentimental value, if not any real monetary value. Thanks again for the comments and I'll be interested in any more info I, or you, can provide. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 TC----Oh yes, those would make gorgeous homes for a pair of Altec 604 B "Hollywoods". When Guy Landau sees these he'll plotz. Hawk----The L-pad is the dial that controls the level of the tweeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted March 27, 2004 Author Share Posted March 27, 2004 TC- Hmm, very interesting. I'd be interested in some more details on those Altec's. Would you pull some/all of the existing components out for new ones, or mix/match? So the L-pad is what is mounted on the side of the speaker? We could tell a difference as we rotated the dial, but not sure if all was working as it should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 ---------------- On 3/27/2004 1:11:35 PM TBrennan wrote: TC----Oh yes, those would make gorgeous homes for a pair of Altec 604 B "Hollywoods". When Guy Landau sees these he'll plotz. Hawk----The L-pad is the dial that controls the level of the tweeter. ---------------- Yeah, These are just BEAUTIFUL. The cabinet suit the Altec 605 real well. I'm certain that these Jensens sound real sweet. I thought the Fini was lucky with his new Jensen side tables and these are even nicer. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if some lucky forum member will find a pair of Imperials loaded with G-610 drivers, heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Ricker Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Hello-------- This is my first posting on the Klipsch Forum. Bob Crites asked me to check out the Jensen query, so here's what I wrote to him before joining the forum this afternoon------- And please be aware that I'm not "shouting"------I write in caps a lot because i'm lazy; I'm trying to break that habit starting today------- " > HI, BOB--------------10:38, 27 MAR, 2004 > > > I'LL REPLY IN DETAIL THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING, BUT A FEW QUICK OBSERVATIONS NOW------- > > THE TWEETER'S LOW, 'CAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY OUT-------IT'S FIRING OUT THRU THE BASS REFLEX PORT---IDEALLY, TURN THE CABINET UPSIDE DOWN FOR BEST LISTENING!!! > > THE WOOFER'S ACTUALLY A COAX---------5-INCH CLOSED-BACK "TWEETER" MOUNTED IN FRONT OF THE WOOFER-------------ONLY GOES TO ABOUT 11K---IF > YOU'RE LUCKY---THE WOLVERINE T35 IS A GOOD CHOICE, EFFICIENCY & SOUND-WISE............THE "450-600 OHM" TRANSFORMER HAS BEEN DONE AWAY WITH--THE CONTROL MOST LIKELY AFFACTS THE T-35 NOW. > > THE CABINET SHOWN IS ABSOLUTELY TOP CONDITION--IS THE OTHER EQUAL?? > NOT CUSTOM-MADE----WAS A STANDARD JENSEN PRODUCT........ > > SEE YOU SOON, > > CHEERS, > > STAN Now, I can go for more detail------- In my 1947 & '48 Allied Radio Catalogues, as well as a lot of the old Jensen lit I have, the 15-inch coax is either a JHP-52/$47.04 or a JAP-60/$55.53; the cabinets may have been a special-order item from Jensen, as they have a real stock-number--ST-600. The speakers are in both catalogues, the cabs aren't in either. An interesting note about the "Roll-off" high freq control; as you'll note, the system is spec'd at 450-600 Ohms. Many consoles and amps of the day had 500-Ohm outputs available, and the high-freq 4-step control selected one of four secondary taps on the transformer always mounted on these speakers, as well as on the HNP-51 coax sometimes used; the differing inductances of the various taps in conjunction with a few caps gave differing freq response at the crossover point---around 5K. These networks were abandoned in 1949 in favor of a more simplified and effective design. As you may know, 1948 saw the intro of the Columbia LP with its extended freq-range and quieter surfaces; the 4-position Jensen control was a rather sophisticated way to reduce 78 RPM record-scratch; a problem overtaken by history. Also, wide-range live music broadcasts on FM were becoming popular, and demanded new and more accurate speaker technology; for an interesting pictorial on older-but-newer Jensen products, check this site out I discovered last year---and I've been Jensen hunting since 1949! I have no idea who the kind soul is who posted it or when, but my sincere thanks to whomever he may be!! http://www.hifilit.com/hifilit/Jensen/Jensen.htm Cheers to all Stan Ricker, A Jayhawk-62! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Welcome Stan, Guys and Gals, Stan can be a real asset to this group and I hope we will make him feel welcome. Stan is a musician, he masters records and is in general a long time audio nut. Got questions about making vinyl records, old time and modern audio gear, or probably more subjects that I know, ask "Stan the Man". Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Stan---I've heard of you. You're a stand-up bassist ain't ya? And fond of the 2" throat JBLs? I'm glad you're here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 I can add a little info. EV made the Wolverene series for home builders. You could start with a woofer, add a tweeter, and then a midrange. I have a set. The tweeter is a weaker version of the T-35 and is called a T-35W. The crossover box contains a capacitor (first order 6 dB per octave crossover) and an L-Pad. The L-Pad is a type of dual variable resistor to adjust level. My guess is in agreement with that of others. The owner must have added it to cover above 3500 Hz when that range became available with microgroove 33.3 rmp records and FM. I first ran into the Wolverene series in 1967. They may have originated in the early '60s. One of the pictures seems to show a Jensen midrange driver. A guess is that this drives the coaxial midrange horn. Is this mounted at the back of the other bass driver. Question. The relative high impedance would act to lower the sensitivity down to that of the woofer. I recall that at one time, Jensen claimed "bass reflex" as a trademark for a ported design. In those days the ports were just holes in the box with little depth. Later, the idea of a significant volume of trapped air, as a mass, caught on. PWK did some of the work for the Cornwall. Best, Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Kewl speakers Rob! Thanks for sharing them here...what a lot of great info is being shared in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwatkins Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Great thread and welcome Stan. This thread has had me on more internet searching than in quite some time. I hope to have a find like that some day Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 Jhawk, Man, thanks for posting these pics. Awesome. Those things look like brand new retro syled cabs. Stan, Welcome to the forum. Decent place to hang out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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