They had no badges on the front and the grills were impossible to remove. However I could just about see through the grill cloth and noticed the voice coil was exposed. AH! I'm sure I'd heard something about Philips bass drivers with thick rubber dust caps which disintegrate with age.
They were in very good condition with only a couple of visible scratches, I presume these probably happened in the shop as they looked rather fresh. The other drivers were well hidden but I was fairly confident they were a 3-way system. At £19 they were soon in my car and off to their new home!
The first thing was to get those grills off! On one speaker was a gap in the corner of the aluminium trim which allowed me to get a knife blade in and leaver up the covers. OH MY! A full array of Philips drivers mounted on a rather charming, plastic veneered baffle. The dust cap was in several pieces which was a shame but otherwise everything was as it left the factory. Why Philips took the time to make the fronts so appealing and then add removable grills you couldn't physically remove, is beyond me.
The tweeter is very well known and commonly used by many manufactures in the 70s but has a poor reputation. Personally, I feel its underrated, it certainly works in this setup, even if the super sparkle is lacking slightly. The presentation is sharp and clear, with good imaging and separation.
The mid-range unit is again Philips and contained in a separate chamber. I have little to say about this unit, there's little info out there it would seem. The sound is clean and open, its not a fuzzy warm sounding thing, its fast and accurate.
The 10" bass driver is really nice and I would suspect its an AlNiCo but all the drivers are glued in place which makes a fantastic sealed enclosure but halts any further investigation. It has nice thick rubber rolled surround which is still nice and soft (unlike many Wharfdale units now).
Ekco go way back and were a big British company making TV sets and Radios. They were lagging behind slightly in the Radio market until they released a round bakelite model which was so funky and fresh, it saved the company. In later years though, the company faded away and was bought by Philips. This is why these "Ekco" speakers have "Philips" drivers I assume. More Ekco Info
The first thing was to get those grills off! On one speaker was a gap in the corner of the aluminium trim which allowed me to get a knife blade in and leaver up the covers. OH MY! A full array of Philips drivers mounted on a rather charming, plastic veneered baffle. The dust cap was in several pieces which was a shame but otherwise everything was as it left the factory. Why Philips took the time to make the fronts so appealing and then add removable grills you couldn't physically remove, is beyond me.
The tweeter is very well known and commonly used by many manufactures in the 70s but has a poor reputation. Personally, I feel its underrated, it certainly works in this setup, even if the super sparkle is lacking slightly. The presentation is sharp and clear, with good imaging and separation.
The mid-range unit is again Philips and contained in a separate chamber. I have little to say about this unit, there's little info out there it would seem. The sound is clean and open, its not a fuzzy warm sounding thing, its fast and accurate.
The 10" bass driver is really nice and I would suspect its an AlNiCo but all the drivers are glued in place which makes a fantastic sealed enclosure but halts any further investigation. It has nice thick rubber rolled surround which is still nice and soft (unlike many Wharfdale units now).
Ekco go way back and were a big British company making TV sets and Radios. They were lagging behind slightly in the Radio market until they released a round bakelite model which was so funky and fresh, it saved the company. In later years though, the company faded away and was bought by Philips. This is why these "Ekco" speakers have "Philips" drivers I assume. More Ekco Info
So how do these £19 boxes with so called "naff tweeters" actually sound? Quite good in my opinion.
If you are looking for warm valve like sound to use with your valve amps, forget it. While these are quite efficient, they have a very open and fresh presentation. They are crisp and delicate and certainly don't sound like "old speakers". I have only two issues with these and that's firstly: the bass. Despite having a massive 10" bass driver, they simply don't have the bottom end. They have punch and tightness but no real sub bass unless you get far away from them and play at louder levels. In the front room they worked fairly well but sitting up close in the second room didn't do them any favors, but that's fair enough I suppose. My second issue is the placement of the tweeter. Even if they didn't want to make the cabs in mirror sets, It would still be nice to have a linear arrangement. There is just about enough space on the baffle to do it, but again, if you can get away from them, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
If you're lucky enough to find a pair you'll most likely get them for nothing, which is great. So much of this "vintage" stuff is sky rocketing now, and while that's nice on the one hand, it dose rather spoil it for those of us who simply enjoy finding a bargin and having a play with it.
Until the next time guys ;)
I should have mentioned about replacement of the dust cap.
ReplyDeleteIt must be replaced in order to prevent dust entering the voice coil, however the cap on this driver was rubber, adding mass to lower resonance. Therefore I would find a replacement of equal size and coat it in a thick glue or something to add mass. However, given that this is a sealed enclosure its not majorly important to add the mass.
Hello,
ReplyDeletethanks for your story. I have recently bought the same speakers and they sound great. Did you manage to find ANY more info on them? Because neither this particular model nor the fact that Ekco ever manufacture speakers is mentioned anywhere. Tube amp - yes, radios, TVs - yes. Hell even kitchenware is mentioned. But not a single mention about the company producing speakers. I would appreciate any info that you might have - just drop me a line to deblur123_at_gmail.com
Thanks!
Hi guys, I also got a set for R400 in South Africa where I reside, they are very common here, and in good condition, dust caps also wasted, but replaceable or diy them yourselves, as long as it must be very light. I know these since the seventies, Philips used to sell different types of these kits and then you build them. My dad used them in Roger's Transmission line cabinets which he built in the seventies. It was the best sound I have ever heard, I have the plans, and also are going to do it. The TL cabinets helps the Phillips 10 inch woofer to do the job perfectly, specially wjere you said ot lagged. Yes, the speaker is built to give a quick responce, and I love it. Regards
ReplyDelete