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Vintage Speakerlab speaker operating manual from 1974
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MarkS
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DonR
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I remember that you could choose from a collection of different coloured grille cloth. Helped some friends assemble several Speakerlab kits. Always fun. They sounded great to teenage ears (see accurate graph 
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)Vladimir Filevski
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No snake oil at all! Speakerlab was scientific-driven, no-nonsense company, with spot on objective/measurements stuff. My first theoretical knowledge about loudspeakers was from their scientific booklets.
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1974 ! - my first pair of loudspeakers were the 'Speakerlab 1' - from their 'parts kit' option (about $70) and my own enclosures from high school wood shop. IIRC the parts kit included a pre-cut front baffle board, some stuffing to line the interior and a back panel with attached crossover and spring clip speaker terminals. They recommended using a rubber glue to attach the drivers to the baffle. Speakerlab would hold seminars on Saturdays to educate prospective customers about how much speaker they were actually getting from their local retailer. They would say a pair of loudspeakers that cost $200 at retail would typically cost the manufacturer $50. I later bought a kit (with enclosures) of a pair of Speakerlab 2.5 loudspeakers for $343 in 1979 dollars - the speaker pictured on front looks like the Speakerlab 7 - for when you didn't have room for Klipschorns or the Speakerlab K
Same here ...
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This was fun to see. My father owned Speakerlab for a little over 15 years. He wasn't the founder and I believe that the gentleman who wrote this manual and Speakerlab's DIY design reference their "Speaker Design Guide" was Pat Snyder, Speakerlab founder and former Boeing Engineer.
They definitely we a no-nonsense company (maybe to their eventual detriment) but were kind of a bunch of hippy engineers. I grew up messing around with kits and subwoofer designs and was around when Speakerlab was making their own woofers (and importing mids and tweeters from KEF, Vifa, and MB Quart etc.).
What caught my imagination the most was their work on planar magnetic drivers, after Speakerlab founder, David Graebener, did some side work for Carver on their Amazing Loudspeaker (ALS) and later came back to develop it further at Speakerlab. That became the basis of Bohlender Graebener (a company he founded with that tech) and I later went on to work there for 5 years and a lot of the design stuff I'm doing at PS is heavily based on that experience.
They definitely we a no-nonsense company (maybe to their eventual detriment) but were kind of a bunch of hippy engineers. I grew up messing around with kits and subwoofer designs and was around when Speakerlab was making their own woofers (and importing mids and tweeters from KEF, Vifa, and MB Quart etc.).
What caught my imagination the most was their work on planar magnetic drivers, after Speakerlab founder, David Graebener, did some side work for Carver on their Amazing Loudspeaker (ALS) and later came back to develop it further at Speakerlab. That became the basis of Bohlender Graebener (a company he founded with that tech) and I later went on to work there for 5 years and a lot of the design stuff I'm doing at PS is heavily based on that experience.
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That's probably the most 'detailed' loudspeaker owners manual I've seen. LOL about 'how much power you need vs. your age'. I don't think I've ever known a speaker manufacturer to caution buyers against spilling sour milk or setting baby diapers on the cabinet. Very helpful advice, for sure!
I'm glad there are no pictures of me from that era. I don't think I ever did my hair that way, but it's like they say, "If you remember the '60s you probably weren't there." Maybe that's true for the '70s, also.
I recall the brand, but don't ever remember auditioning them. Interesting that in '74 they a sold a huge and heavy corner horn, but the smaller boxes were acoustic suspension. And kits. too.
I'm glad there are no pictures of me from that era. I don't think I ever did my hair that way, but it's like they say, "If you remember the '60s you probably weren't there." Maybe that's true for the '70s, also.
I recall the brand, but don't ever remember auditioning them. Interesting that in '74 they a sold a huge and heavy corner horn, but the smaller boxes were acoustic suspension. And kits. too.
DonR
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Wide-lapelled orange shirts, purple plaid trousers and platform shoes... awesome!
I did my share of drooling there also back then. About the snake oil? I never had a sales person try to BS me about anything. They had (by far) the best speakers you could buy for anything close to what you had to pay for them. Everything (All) in their line of speakers. I have 4 SpeakerLab Super K's (one above the other in two corners), a pair of SL 7's, a pair of 1's, two pair of DAS 2's and two pair of Point one's, and their 12" subwoofer. Awesome speakers. I'm putting new veneer on my 7's right now. Not done yet but they look like new again. Jim
I did my share of drooling there also back then. I never had a sales person try to BS me about anything. They had (by far) the best speakers you could buy for anything close to what you had to pay for them. Everything (All) in their line of speakers. I have 4 SpeakerLab Super K's (one above the other in two corners), a pair of SL 7's, a pair of 1's, two pair of DAS 2's and two pair of Point one's, and their 12" subwoofer. Awesome speakers. I'm putting new veneer on my 7's right now. Not done yet but they look like new again
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When my dad died this year, his best friend sent me a pair of DAS 7's in a walnut veneer that is still in perfect shape.
The 12" rear-firing woofer has the foam rotted but I'm going to re-foam them myself. I'm also considering re-capping the crossover and doing a few measurements of them. I'm not sure what I want to drive them with. I have a set of speakers I designed in my main system but it would be fun to do a vintage system too as an homage to my dad's work at speakerlab. Back in the day, he had some carver amps driving them (the M1.5T that Amir measured here on ASR). I think I might do something like that but who knows?
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Nice ! Consider asking Amir to measure your (smaller) SpeakerLab loudspeakers.
Brings back memories, I think that was the book that came with my model K kit back in 1974. I jumped right into the deep end of the pool with my first stereo system. Model K corner horns, spent almost the entirety of a 30 day leave while in the Navy building them. Used only a circular saw and hand tools, some 500 screws and about 5 tubes of glue/sealing compound. Just about finished them then off to the east coast, leaving them in corners at my parents farm house (in California at the time). Note, only the speakers, had nothing else at the time, so couldn't listen to them. Over the next two years I assembled the rest of the system, Crown D150 amp, Soundcraftsmen preamp (the one with the graphic equalizer), RtoR, turntable, etc. Finally was able to put it all together around 1977 or so.
Of course, you needed a place with corners in the living room, or wherever, in order to use the K horns. And space, lots of it. Not too easy to come by when just getting started. Speakers only ever sounded good when my brother got married in a grange hall. Had good corners and space finally. One hundred people dancing and people asking to tone down the bass. That D150 had more than enough power. So then life happened and the horns were finally disassembled in the mid 90's after lots of time in a garage. Still have the mid range drivers. Not the smartest way to start your audio adventure, but live and learn. Boy, were they heavy...
Of course, you needed a place with corners in the living room, or wherever, in order to use the K horns. And space, lots of it. Not too easy to come by when just getting started. Speakers only ever sounded good when my brother got married in a grange hall. Had good corners and space finally. One hundred people dancing and people asking to tone down the bass. That D150 had more than enough power. So then life happened and the horns were finally disassembled in the mid 90's after lots of time in a garage. Still have the mid range drivers. Not the smartest way to start your audio adventure, but live and learn. Boy, were they heavy...
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