Hagwood
Senior Member
- Messages
- 256
A cool little project I’ve been working on that I thought would be fitting here. I was restoring vintage audio equipment way before modding and building guitars, and it was what led me to the hobby. Working on Speakers has many similarities to guitar work. I think the combination of Wood and Electronics is what is really cool to me, and they both share that.
In the 70’s when I was about 16, I saved up all my lawnmowing and chore money to buy my first ‘Real Hi Fi’ system. I still have it and use it regularly today for music and separate from my HT system, albeit with some refurbing and several new cartridges.
Marantz 2252B
Technics SL-3300
Frazier Mk IV speakers
Frazier Speakers were hand built in Dallas and were some great speakers. The best cabinets I have ever seen, with double sided Walnut Veneer and killer construction. Jack Frazier and Paul Klipsch were acquaintances, and legend has it that Klipsch had a pair of Frazier Mk IV’s in his office and they are what influenced him to make the Heresy speaker.
My older brother had the bigger Frazier ’Sevens’, but they have been neglected for at least 20 years, so when he finally passed them on the me I began a total restoration. While I had them apart getting some drivers Re-coned, I refinished the cabinets by lightly sanding down the veneer and re-staining to match the original black walnut color, and finished with Danish Oil. These have a 12” Woofer, two 4.5” mids and 2 Piezos. I hate Piezos, but they were all the rage at that time, and Jack Frazier did manage to make them sound good, but always just too harsh for me. So I also replaced them with one vintage Phillips Dome Tweeter that I was lucky enough to find on ebay. The later version of this speaker before Frazier closed down had this same dome tweeter, but also only one midrange, so I also designed a custom crossover for it. Still working on the baffle, but made a temporary covering for now. They sound incredible !! Going up to my room and putting on some vinyl before bed really takes me back, and I still have all my original vinyl as well.
In the 70’s when I was about 16, I saved up all my lawnmowing and chore money to buy my first ‘Real Hi Fi’ system. I still have it and use it regularly today for music and separate from my HT system, albeit with some refurbing and several new cartridges.
Marantz 2252B
Technics SL-3300
Frazier Mk IV speakers
Frazier Speakers were hand built in Dallas and were some great speakers. The best cabinets I have ever seen, with double sided Walnut Veneer and killer construction. Jack Frazier and Paul Klipsch were acquaintances, and legend has it that Klipsch had a pair of Frazier Mk IV’s in his office and they are what influenced him to make the Heresy speaker.
My older brother had the bigger Frazier ’Sevens’, but they have been neglected for at least 20 years, so when he finally passed them on the me I began a total restoration. While I had them apart getting some drivers Re-coned, I refinished the cabinets by lightly sanding down the veneer and re-staining to match the original black walnut color, and finished with Danish Oil. These have a 12” Woofer, two 4.5” mids and 2 Piezos. I hate Piezos, but they were all the rage at that time, and Jack Frazier did manage to make them sound good, but always just too harsh for me. So I also replaced them with one vintage Phillips Dome Tweeter that I was lucky enough to find on ebay. The later version of this speaker before Frazier closed down had this same dome tweeter, but also only one midrange, so I also designed a custom crossover for it. Still working on the baffle, but made a temporary covering for now. They sound incredible !! Going up to my room and putting on some vinyl before bed really takes me back, and I still have all my original vinyl as well.
