Planar Speaker Asylum

Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.

Return to Planar Speaker Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!

73.110.191.150
Posted on July 22, 2023 at 18:41:06
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 I bought an estate of an audio hoarder (words of his wife.)
Anyway there was a large collection of vintage speakers including the
Sound Lab A2's prior to the A2x's. Anyway I want to say that I am shocked how good these speakers sound. I am obviously stuck in this same period with my Beveridge Model 2's. Next up is
Innersound Eros which is also supposed to be great. I guess I am the next audio hoarder because I could listen to these Sound Labs indefinitely. There have obviously been improvements over the years but these are a knockout to my ears! I am using some VTL Deluxe 225's to power them currently. It constantly amazes me how much exceptional equipment there was before the year 2000 and maybe even before 1990!

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 22, 2023 at 21:31:50
jimbill
Audiophile

Posts: 2991
Location: Texas
Joined: May 31, 2004
 I know I shouldn't ask, but what did this estate sale cost you and what else was included?

 

RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 23, 2023 at 06:02:43
Joe Schmo
Audiophile

Posts: 515
Location: Palm Beach
Joined: April 21, 2008
 Wow! Beveridge Model 2's. I only remember Beveridge speakers from seeing them in audio magazines back in the '70s. I never got to hear them, but I was always fascinated with the design. It's so cool you still have them. I'm sure they are very rare to find now.
-Joe

They're not that big!

 

RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 23, 2023 at 06:59:53
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 There are a community of Beveridge audio fans here in Chicago. I believe they made about 50 pairs of Model 2's. I just looked at the Sound Lab website and the speakers I have are the A-4's the bigger brother of the A-2. They stand about 68 inches.

 

They are actually Sound A4 speakers, posted on July 23, 2023 at 07:23:26
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 They are about a foot taller than the A2's. I have only seen a picture of them on the Sound Labs website but almost no other mention of them in doing a google search for them.

 

Glad to hear of your experience, posted on July 23, 2023 at 07:32:10
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 36179
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 My U-1PX (now called U-790) electrostats are the very best I've heard since my first exposure in '76 to Dayton-Wrights. Quad midrange quality. Realistic image size. Flat response to 30 hz. Lack of usual beaming. Benign impedance curve using twin toroidal transformers.

JWC also had Beveridges on hand for a while to review. I found them interesting with their peculiar slot loading, but still preferred his D-Ws.

 

RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 23, 2023 at 07:55:25
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 I incorrectly called it an estate sale. I bought the all the Audio Gear from an audiophile's estate after being asked to bid on it. There was at least one high end store and a couple others that had seen the assortment before me. Some interesting pieces to someone like me (like the old soundlabs and innersounds) but not anything with large values. Definitely more for the hobbyist than a merchant. I paid into the 5 figures for it all. After it is all said and done it will be the poorest paying part time job I ever had! But...-I am having fun with gear. Most of it is pre-2000 stuff. Some other speakers are the B&W 802 series 80, apogee Mini grands, Entec subwoofers. Very cool stuff but mostly out of favor today and mostly hard to sell. A fair percentage of the digital was broken and not worth fixing. There are some very old the absolute sounds (back to the second one ever) and stereophiles (1971)which a nerd like me finds Very cool! Being 63, this was gear I drooled over in my younger days.

 

RE: Glad to hear of your experience, posted on July 23, 2023 at 08:02:41
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 Estat, I was looking in my very old absolute sounds which I got in this estate and saw a write up on the Beveridge2 SW in their third absolute sound ever! (Volume 1 number 3.) Anyway, we all have our own preferences and have read your posts over the years and have learned much!

 

RE: Glad to hear of your experience, posted on July 23, 2023 at 08:27:16
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 36179
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 and saw a write up on the Beveridge2 SW in their third absolute sound ever! (Volume 1 number 3.)

Small correction. I just checked and found it is not in issue 3 from 1973. Here's the TOC:



It wasn't until 1978 when TAS (and Stereophile) both reviewed the 2SW. HP led in issue 11 and JWC followed in 12 (pair I heard). I have most of the issues and special editions until HP left. Here's an index of early reviews:





 

RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 23, 2023 at 08:43:25
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 You are absolutely correct. I see it is volume three number 11 winter of 1978.
With Moses holding the speakers on the cover!

 

RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 23, 2023 at 19:32:20
hahax@verizon.net
Audiophile

Posts: 4183
Location: New Jersey
Joined: March 22, 2006
 I recall the original Beveridges at Gordon Holt's place in the 70s. They were gorgous sounding but with no dynamic ability. I never heard later ones with built in dynamic woofers. I assume they were more dynamic and could play louder.

 

RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 25, 2023 at 12:27:23
Ozzie
Audiophile

Posts: 3718
Joined: August 1, 2002
 We all drooled on that stuff back in the 70s - 90s. While I have never heard them, I bet the Mini Grands sound excellent.

 

RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 27, 2023 at 06:12:49
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 When an Absolute sound came in the mail it was officially Three hours of nonstop reading!
Audiomart would arrive about every 2 weeks and that was good for an hour!

 

RE: Old Sound Labs A2 speakers are great!, posted on July 27, 2023 at 07:03:10
mpcrnc@aol.com
Audiophile

Posts: 87
Joined: July 3, 2002
 Sound labs A2 speakers are great as long as they are working. About 2 years ago a pair was listed for free on craigslist in Bethesda. They were sold locally by Don Robertson out of his house. He paired them with Berning electronics. They sounded great but were expensive. I acquired a lot of my equipment at that time through Audiomart and it was a lot of fun. Also, it was economical access to high end equipment.

 

Pictures please!, posted on August 4, 2023 at 08:14:23
Mendel
Audiophile

Posts: 1190
Location: GTA
Joined: January 17, 2009
 Or it never happened! :)

 

RE: Pictures please!, posted on August 8, 2023 at 20:00:51
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012



Soundlab A4

 

RE: Pictures please!, posted on August 9, 2023 at 16:01:43
Mendel
Audiophile

Posts: 1190
Location: GTA
Joined: January 17, 2009
 Thank you!
Awesome looking speakers. Enjoy!

 

RE: Pictures please!, posted on August 10, 2023 at 17:24:14
6bq5
Audiophile

Posts: 4209
Location: SF Bay
Joined: August 16, 2001
 There was a time when RAM Labs sold new foam kits for the Beveridges
Roger passed in 2019, and I am sure that there were none left...
Great speakers - though I preferred the 2 SW2

we rebuilt a lot of these in the late '80/early '90s - tedious, but worth it!
Happy Listening

 

RE: Pictures please!, posted on August 10, 2023 at 17:48:15
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 How were you rebuilding them? The amps or panels or both?

 

RE: Pictures please!, posted on August 10, 2023 at 17:59:31
6bq5
Audiophile

Posts: 4209
Location: SF Bay
Joined: August 16, 2001
 Both

RAM Labs - Roger Modjeski
He designed the amp and worked for Harold for a number of years
Roger also designed the RM 1/2 PreAmp and RM 3 active crossover-

We serviced them all back in the day-
I am not an EE, so I mostly potted transformers and replaced parts, cleaned up equipment and rebuilt the speakers...
It is not hard - but there are some parts that are necessary to stretch the Mylar etc.

Amps - well they are a bit touchy, what with the high voltage and the heat that the tubes generated - we tended to fire them up on a variac with a dummy load, make a few test measurements, then turn them off and wait three days before we touched them again....
Happy Listening

 

RE: Pictures please!, posted on August 12, 2023 at 16:26:58
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 357
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 Do you know anyone who can stretch the mylar now? Rick Beveridge is not around as far as I can tell. Did Music Reference go to the grave with Rodger?

 

Page processed in 0.034 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2023, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]