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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.