Vintage Asylum

Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

Return to Vintage Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

Zenith Allegro 3000 Questions

65.27.134.240
Posted on February 23, 2008 at 20:32:43
Phil D
Dealer

Posts: 1266
Location: Cincinnati
Joined: March 12, 2007
 Well, we went to the local thrift store after dinner (Chipotle) to find my daughter a pair of shoes she is only going to wear once for a HS band concert. While they are looking at boring shoes, I make my way to the electronics area. It was 1/2 off day and I did not expect to find much.

Well, there they are, a beat-up pair of Zenith Allegro 3000 speakers....cabinets with cracks in it. I can get the pair for $15 so I say, what the heck....supposed to be pretty decent drivers in these boxes.

So I peel away the grill enough to see they have the nicer tweeters and accordion surround woofers. I buy them.

Get then home, take out the drivers and find that one woofer is an Alnico made by Carboneau (Spell?) and the other is a heavy round ceramic magnet made by McGregor (Code 789)

Dang, mismatched woofers! Has anyone ever seen this before where a manufacturer uses two different suppliers on the same set of speakers?

I also have the MC-3000 & MC-2000 versions which have much nicer cabinets and removeable grills....and they are also called "Allegro"

Can anyone tell me about why the difference?

(These little tweeters out of the Allegro 3000's are really kind of nice and in darn near perfect condition! Both measure 7.0 ohms)

Last but not least....the damping materials in these cabinets look like grey carpet pads, only much stronger...are they safe to use in future speaker projects?

Thanks,

Phil

PS- I also found an RCA Victor 1940's era 45-record player in black bakelite!

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: Zenith Allegro 3000 Questions, posted on January 19, 2009 at 20:34:09
rascomp


 
Hello,

I just came in posession of a Zenith Allegro console system. The Cabnet is Oak and houses a BSA Turntable, 8-track (4 and 8 channel) and AM/FM receiver. It also has 2 large remote cabnet speakers. It's in great shape but is at least 30 years old. Everything comes on but I have been afraid to try it out.

Did you ever find out anything about your system?

Thanks,

Stu

 

RE: Zenith Allegro 3000 Questions, posted on February 24, 2008 at 08:47:34
sanman
Audiophile

Posts: 1791
Location: Redwood Coast
Joined: November 13, 2004



Here's what mine say, no brilliance control. Originally they were a bit one dimensional,I added more damping but now they are a bit brassy. I was thinking a deeper cabinet might sound better...

 

RE: Zenith Allegro 3000 Questions, posted on February 23, 2008 at 23:26:49
Brian McGowan
Audiophile

Posts: 1635
Location: Wisconsin
Joined: December 16, 2004



Allegro 3000 brilliance control.I have seen some Allegro 3000's with out the brilliance control that were clearly marked on the back Allegro 3000's!



Allegro 3's

Phil I own a pair of the 3000 that are as close to new looking as you will ever find!(The picture above if from an auctin site as mine have no scratches or marks anywhere on or near the port or wood cabinet!)They have a brilliance control on the front port!Both woofers are the Alnicos made by Carbonneau and have matching Horn Tweeters!I think they sound nice on our daughters low powered Panasonic Stereo! I also own the Allegro 2000's(2 pair)With smaller high quality Woofers ,but the same Horn Tweeters as the 3000's but no brilliance control ! I also own a pair of the Allegro 1000's,but,I feel they are of much cheaper quality then the 2000's or the 3000's and do not have a Horn Tweeter and the port is different too!My favorite of the Allegro's I own are the Allegro 3's!Nice well made cabinets.The grills do not come off
but the back does once you remove the screws!They have much nicer 10" Woofers I think and the Horn Tweeter is bigger as well! If you decide to sell just the Carbonneau Woofer I'll gladly talk to you by Email about purchasing or maybe making some type of trade.Brian

 

RE: Zenith Allegro 3000 Questions, posted on March 3, 2010 at 20:42:11
Sir bob gratton


 
What is that brilliance switch for?

 

RE: Zenith Allegro 3000 Questions, posted on February 24, 2008 at 04:38:50
DavidLD
Audiophile

Posts: 4884
Joined: May 29, 2002
 The carbonneau is the correct early driver used in those Allegros.
The horns are Fosters and are considered very good.
More later
Airtime knows a lot about the drivers used in these.

At some point Carbonneau quit making the woofers and the other woofer could have been a replacement authorized by the factory.

Finding a single Carbonneau driver for these on ebay is not impossible, as many of these have been or are being parted out. it might take a year to see one, but they are out there.

D

 

RE: Zenith Allegro 3000 Questions, posted on February 24, 2008 at 07:46:00
Brian McGowan
Audiophile

Posts: 1635
Location: Wisconsin
Joined: December 16, 2004
 The reason I was asking Phil is because,I would like to have a spare woofer in case 1 of mine went bad!Even though they never get abused you just never know when 1 might go bad!Also It would make a great speaker DIY project!Thanks for the reply David!By the way If you ever see a pair of Allegro 3's in good shape GRAB-EM cause they are 1 of the best 2 way speaker systems I have ever heard for Classical,Jazz,and Big Band,etc!

 

Page processed in 0.021 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]