I am interested in vintage tube-type "hi-fi" gear, particularly gear that
originally came in kit form. It is amazing how many manufacturers made kit
gear in the late 50's and early 60's.
Heath, Eico,
and Knight were well known manufacturers of kits of audio, ham radio, and
test equipment. Dynaco, Fisher,
Scott,
Harmon-Kardon, and even McIntosh also
had equipment available in kit form.
Here is a sampling of unbuilt vintage kits that have shown up for sale in recent years - Don't you wish you could still order these from Heath, Dynaco, Allied, Eico, etc.??
No, I don't have any of these for sale - most of the photos were taken off eBay and are just posted here for your viewing pleasure!
Of course you can't use vintage amps without vintage speakers - I've always been a sucker for JBL - I used to lust after a Paragon, etc. when I was a college student. The best I could afford then were some home-brew bass reflexes I built for the JBL D-123 12" full range. When I got back into this vintage stuff, I got a pair of S-99 JBLs (14" LE-14A woofer + LE-20 dome tweeter).
JBL C-40 Harkness - I now have a pair of JBL C-40 Harkness speakers that someone built once upon a time. LE-175DLH horn tweeter plus 15" 130A woofer in a rear loaded horn enclosure. All in an ever so tasteful cabinet - finished in pink formica and classic white grille cloth with silver thread.
JBL Heaven - Someone sent me this photo of a C-60 Sovereign (same as C-50 except for woodwork) with the S8R speaker system - LE15A woofer, PR15 passive radiator, 375/HL93 midrange horn, 075 ring radiator tweeter, LX5 and N7000 crossovers. (and a couple of Mac MC-60's to top them off!)
Heathkit Hi-Fi - I like the looks of this series of gear from Heathkit - reminds me of 1959 Chevy styling - with plastic knobs, tan leatherette case, et. Click here for a list and more info on this series. List of "1959 Chevy Styling" Heath Hi-Fi Gear
