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Lowthers - Please educate a village idiot...

Hello.

Despite me spending way too much time and effort on audio, and having two systems where one would do most normal people, I will, at some point in the future have a third.

My favorite uncle has a Williamson circuit tube amplifier which he built from a kit. He is a Marine who served our country valiantly during the roughest stretches of WWII(Guadalcanal, Solomons, etc.) and is a proud man. This system would become my remembrance of him.

Everyone thinks his stereo is an antiquated piece of junk, but when he saw my eyes and enthusiasm light up when he told me about it, he was just as happy as I was. He found a taker to pass along his treasured amplifier, as he is now to the point where he sees the end of the road in front of him. To have someone view him passing along this piece of him as an heirloom rather than something which should have instead be left at the curb swells his heart with pride and honor.

In order to do him justice, I want to give this amplifier a system which provide it with its proper level of importance. I have been toying with the idea of building a retro style system around this piece, albeit with a CD player.

The idea I have is to pair the amplifier with a pair of Lowther Medallions. The speakers would be done up in black, with maybe a tan grill at the mouth of the horn. A 1950s look to be sure.

The only issue is that I have no experience whatsoever with the Lowthers. And, more specifically, the Medallion.

Would someone please be so kind to educate me as to the Lowthers. I realize they are not for everyone, and I don't even know if they are for me. But, many have told me that if you fancy them, they are just pure magic. Some have even told me that it is the closest speakers to live even after all these years. Also, as I try to live by the mantra about not buying speakers I haven't auditioned(unless a KILLER deal comes along) are there any outlets for me to go give them a listen? I live in the Philadelphia, PA area.

Thank you all for your help,
Joe
trelja
twl
3,251 posts
 
Joe, I think the Lowthers are great speakers. I have the EX3 models in Voigt Pipes(modified) and I am very happy. The Medallions are more of a true rear-horn style, which is traditional for Lowthers. The Lowthers in Medallions are good down to about 50-55Hz, and very nice from there on up to 20kHz. The older series Lowther problems of "shout" and some "tizz" are cured with the new series, for the most part. There may be a little left, but not much. These speakers are very forward, and efficient. They are not a "laid back" sound. But they are fast, very detailed and very coherent. They will also ruthlessly reveal any shortcomings in the audio chain. There is no place to hide any problems when you have a 100db efficient speaker. It will all show. I personally think that is a good feature, because I want to hear everything. Anything over 8 watts is unnecessary, since you will reach the max SPL of the Lowthers with that or less power. I use a 2 watt 45 SET amp, and that gives me plenty of volume levels.

They may not be for everybody, but I think they are a hell of a good speaker.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,356 posts
 
Hey Joe:

Here's a site to check/hang out @:

http://f18.parsimony.net/forum31999/

Also:

http://6402.teacup.com/le8t/bbs (use Alta Vista's Babel Fish translation software, it's free, if you are not fluent in Japanese).

I currently use Stephens Tru-sonic and Coral vintage drivers which are all 16 ohms/97 dB @ 1 watt/1 meter and they were developed around the type of amp that your Grandfather built. I often use them with a 1959 Pilot 232 (6bq5 push/pull) amp, which is a perfect match.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Taking off from your launching point, my vote would go to a nice old Klipsch corner horn (well, I would say one, but I guess the amp is apparently 2-channel, so two if need be...) with a Rek-O-Kut playing those 78's and LP's I just know your uncle still has stashed in the basement/attic...
sean
6,231 posts
 
That's really cool Joe. I'm sure that it did your Uncle's heart good when you not only shared a common interest, but that you would probably be as glad to own the product as he was of building it : )

I did just what you are thinking of doing, but not with Lowthers. I built a system using all "vintage" gear that was all tube based. The one exception to the "vintage" rule is the the CD player, which is still tube based. This system consists of an all copper chassis Harman tube tuner, a modified HK Rabco ST-7 TT, Cal Alpha / Delta combo ( this replaced an Anodyne tubed one box player that was acting up ), a modified Dyna PAS 3 and an original Marantz 8 ( EXCELLENT condition ) driving modified Klipsch La Scala's and / or Heresy's. I recently traded the Marantz for a fully calibrated HP Spectrum Analyzer with extra modules ( i made out like a bandit !!! ), so this system is currently down and out.

I'm probably going to build the preamp & amp as listed on Norman Koren's website sometime in the near future, but i'm not sure as of yet. As such, it would be great to see another "Agon regular" jump into the "oldies but goodies" camp : )

As a side note, you might want to check out the Single Driver Website as you can find all kinds of info there about Lowthers, Fostex, etc... type speaker systems. Since most of these folks are running "pee wee" sized tube amps, there is no mention of the "ultimate" single driver speaker that just so happens to be low impedance and low efficiency : ) Having said that, some of the other drivers and designs mentioned in their forum might be good enough for background music while sipping tea : ) Sean
>

Twl: NO letter bombs / email virus' please : )
trelja OP
3,223 posts
 
Thanks so much for all of the insightful responses! There are no words I can really relay to you all in terms of my appreciation. And, I want to say that to everyone here.

This is definitely information I can go forward with. To be honest, I have been searching out ideas for the past few weeks, and have come across some of what has been suggested.

I did consider the Klipsch speakers. However, in the room I will be setting this up, the Corner Horns are not an option. I did come across the Heresy a few weeks back, and was more than pleasantly surprised. In fact, our purpose of visit was to take this gentleman out on a marathon session of auditioning for him to "upgrade" from the Heresy. After hearing them, my question was "WHYYYY????" That is a speaker to think about, but it doesn't look like a speaker of long ago - I guess some will argue with me saying that.

The Medallions interest me on several levels. Number one, I am intrigued by the idea of a classic, back loaded horn. Number two, I saw a pair done up along the lines of the finish I described and they just look so darn cool. I would be proud to have a setup like this in my house, and it could even serve as a conversation piece centered around my uncle, John Zielinski.

Again, I guess I am unwise for thinking about a speaker I know little about, but I want to explore the possibility.

I appreciated the Fostex suggestion. While I am unaware of any Cain & Cain dealers around here, I can look into it. There is a dealer who sells Omega(?) speakers using the Fostex driver which I could audition.

Twl, I have seen the Lowthers in the Voight Pipes and they definitely look interesting. Based on your comments regarding "opening the window more only to have more muck fly in", I should probably bring the amp along for any Lowther audition, and maybe an old CD player. Just to see if I can deal with the sound. 50 - 55 Hz bass extension is certainly more than acceptable.

My hope is that a local audiophile will come along and allow me to give this type of speaker a listen.
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