a25: the real McCoy?

[nyazzip]

heres a couple pictures of an auction that i just "won". i haven't yet received the speakers. the price was just over $50 bucks. but they are being shipped from the west coast to chicago, so double that price and then some....
i have been starting to really want some Dynaco a25 speakers after the accolades i have been reading about them in here and elsewhere, to use with my st-35.
i was rather shocked to win the auction at just over 50 bucks...but, they were not advertised as "Dynaco a25s", rather, "Seas H336 woofers" or whatnot....
the ten inchers seem self explanatory, right...? what do you guys think about the tweeters? the boxes look right too....2 horizontal braces...tweeter mount skewed off center.....
i'm praying i didn't get burnt too bad. i'll post again if/when i get them. hopefully legions of california bedgugs wont crawl out of the acoustic insulation at night and ef me up. or, hobo spiders. i'll blast em with some james brown right off, just to let em know they ain't in california anymore.
heres the link. look for the speakery-kind-of-looking pics....no....keep going...nooo.....n-yeah! right there- yup.
http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii229/nyazzip/

[TomMcNally]

Yep - they are Dynaco A-25's ... I have a pair in the attic
and they look just like that. They only Dynaco logo was
on a brass plate on the grille, which had to be pryed off
to open them up, and typically got lost. I would think the
seller didn't know they were Dynaco since they are
like 30 years old.

[erichayes]

Verifying Tom's remarks. As a self-appointed A-25 expert, having 14 pairs of original and second generation systems (acquired another set on my last trip to Santa Cruz), I can say without doubt that them're A-25s.

[nyazzip]

sweet. this is good news guys. i'm not one to ever get lucky/find deals/have s*** work out, so for once.....HOO ray!
the catch is, i don't have em yet. photos are easy, i could be getting scammed. i will post back in a week or so after i get them. unfortunately i couldn't wait after getting my st-35 running, so i sprung big bucks* on some new klipsch rf-52 floorstanding speakers before i saw, then won, this a25 auction...
the klipsches do sound mighty fine, but i would rather have auditioned the fifty dollar a25s first

* "big" is relative

[Pyre]

Verifying Tom's remarks. As a self-appointed A-25 expert, having 14 pairs of original and second generation systems (acquired another set on my last trip to Santa Cruz), I can say without doubt that them're A-25s.

14 pairs! wow you could make a A-25 wall. Better yet an A-25 fort

[nyazzip]

yippee! i finally got my a25s today....they are pretty skuzzy looking but the speakers look good(well on one side anyway), and sound great so far!! any tips on how to coax off the other grill cover? the "auctioneers" cut the fabric to get off one of them. looks like the grill frames are made of spruce, dyed black. they look easy to break
creamy lows, organic bass, and buttery high mids, with a detailed soundstage......nah, i'm joking, i don't talk like that. please slap me when i do.
but, man, i have some dean martin on, and it really sounds wonderful. just dean, an upright bass, a rolled-off guitar, and a snare with brushes....wow. haven't turned em up yet. anyone know what the SPL rating is on the old Seas?
thanks for all the a25 recommendations!. think i'll prolly re-grill with some neato fabric, and maybe paint the boxes...they're just a bit too wisconsin-bong-den looking as is

[parabellum]

yippee! i finally got my a25s today....they are pretty skuzzy looking but the speakers look good(well on one side anyway), and sound great so far!! any tips on how to coax off the other grill cover? the "auctioneers" cut the fabric to get off one of them. looks like the grill frames are made of spruce, dyed black. they look easy to break
creamy lows, organic bass, and buttery high mids, with a detailed soundstage......nah, i'm joking, i don't talk like that. please slap me when i do.
but, man, i have some dean martin on, and it really sounds wonderful. just dean, an upright bass, a rolled-off guitar, and a snare with brushes....wow. haven't turned em up yet. anyone know what the SPL rating is on the old Seas?
thanks for all the a25 recommendations!. think i'll prolly re-grill with some neato fabric, and maybe paint the boxes...they're just a bit too wisconsin-bong-den looking as is

check with wirebecker on how he refinished his. He did a good job an will have good tips on how to "purdy em up"

[nyazzip]

here they are.

http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii22 ... nt=a25.jpg
how can i tell if the tweets are original? they are held in by 4 screws, and then the screen is held on by another 4 screws. lots of hardware. i do like the way Dynaco (or whoever) took the pains to bevel out the MDF so as not to interfere with tweeter projection
so far i'm stoked. right now i'm listening to some '60s loungy brasil stuff; sounds great as all heck. i did notice that when i stream off the internet i can hear some weird (soft)noises, of low fq, that seem to correspond to some mechanical hard drive noise...maybe the buffering process. one of the hazards of internet audio i guess, no biggie because i don't make a habit of it. but.....KEXP seattle is fantastic for lots of diffrn't genres, so check it out
i kind of want to try to pull the woofers out because the speaker binder posts are loose...and rear access ain't possible. but i've heard some Legends of The Sticky Dynaco Stuff. is it true? verily, shall none pass?
i'm really starting to hate binder posts. none of my cheap shite ever used 'em. they need to mold the main plastic columns square or something, so they will freaking stop turning in their mounts!!!!.

[erichayes]

The trick (more accurately: technique) for separating the grill from the body is to let the speakers soak in a warm (75~80°F) room for a minimum 24 hour period. First, remove the Dynaco logo from the grill with a tack lifter, or somesuch. Then, using a ¼" blade screwdriver with a leather or thick cloth pad between the blade and the edge of the cabinet close to one of the corners, (go to the bathroom first, as this can be time-intensive) very slowly and very gently start worrying the grill from the cabinet. Once you can get a fingerhold between the grill and the cab, work your way in both directions from the corner--again, very slowly. The Danish blackcrap is extremely tenacious and if you don't apply steady force, it'll latch back onto itself. The process usually takes between two and five minutes, but I've spent up to fifteen minutes on a couple of cabs.

Once you're in, for God's sake, use long rubber gloves to get the stuffing out of your way if you're going to be dealing with the crossover. FWIW, Bud and I think the Solen 4.7µF is the best bang for the buck.

[nyazzip]

heres an a25 auction just 20 minutes away from me: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250218822331&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015

couple odd things, no "made in denmark"; not sure where all Dynaco a25s are supposed to be made but i gathered that the "best" ones were indeed made in denmark?
also, the pink attic-style fiberglass insulation is weird.
the tweeters don't have the same mount configuration.
and, the port stuffing-retainer is made of the same metal "perf- screen" as the tweeter grills, rather than the standard bogus plastic mesh.
just curious. i'm perfectly happy with mine.
thanks again for all the refurbishing tips; will tackle come spring