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10-june-2012
Planet_10 hifi really got
its start recycling vintage alnico drivers. Our venue of choice for these one offs
was eBay. We don't do much of this now but are working with an associate to revive
this side of the business.
Vintage drivers can provide a very inexpensive entry into DIY.
A number of events lead to the
majority of hifi to take a major turn in direction -- the advent of solid state amplifiers
with big power for the dollar, the trend towards multi-way speakers, and the cold
war -- leaving the alnico full-range driver to almost completely disappear from the
market. Many who enjoy the reproduction of music consider this a wrong turn. Drivers
from the hey-day of full-range speakers still provide value & sometimes outright
performance not attainable with new drivers.
As the interest in small tube
& solid state amplifiers grows, so does interest in speakers that work best with
them. A growing number of manufactures are bringing the FR driver back to prominance,
but often old vintage drivers provide the most affordable entry into DIYing your
own speaker that is musically satisfying
At planet_10 we have quite a bit
of experience gathering the gems from old vintage speakers. It is saddly the case
that many a really good driver can be found in boxes barely fit for burning. We recue
these drivers, test them, and provide as much information as we can. This now includes
T/S measurements & impedance curves.
Inevitably we end up with many
drivers that lack the sex appeal to sell get an advert up or we just haven't gotten
around to them yet, or it is a single waiting for a mate -- currently in excess of
a 1,000 vintage drivers.
Out on the prowl for goodies we
end up with lots of other kit, including tubes, transformers, ampliers, tuners, receivers....
if you are looking for something, there is at least a small chance we might have
it.
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