[Alwayswantmore]

My 27 year-old Cizek KA-1s got a fresh coat of wax today. Now they look as good as they sound! While most people I know could care less, I thought that fellow headfiers might appreciate seeing these rare and somewhat unusual speakers...

I purchased these new in 1979, making them about 27 years old. I use them for my home office system, driven by a vintage NAD receiver and mid-fi Denon CD changer / iPod G5. I have never seen any other speaker with this type of construction...

- Cabinet is SOLID Koa wood (from Hawaii)
- Corners are DOVE TAILED construction
- Front panel is 1” Plexiglas

Here they are...









I have always loved the sound of monitor speakers (good imaging). And these classics still sound great

[Added more pictures.]

 

[smeggy]

Very nice, almost Sonus Faber in look. I bet they sound great too

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy Very nice, almost Sonus Faber in look. I bet they sound great too

Interesting comment. I had not thought about the resemblance to Sonus Faber, but you are right.

They are positioned for esthetics and not sound quality. But yes, they do a fine job for my application.

[Typo.]

 

[LFF]

Very nice speakers. I am sure they sound better than most new speakers you can pick up at Best Buy or Circuit City.

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF Very nice speakers. I am sure they sound better than most new speakers you can pick up at Best Buy or Circuit City.

Re. Best Buys and Circuit City -- IMO many of the vendors favored at Head-fi are proof that often the best sounding (and best value) components are not found at mass merchandisers. It's unfortunate in that I believe the average person has never had the opportunity to hear just how good stereo can sound when done right.

 

[AdamWill]

I'm not sure ascetics would approve of high-end audio. You may find you do better by turfing all those killjoys out of your office and positioning your speakers for aesthetics, instead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascetic

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamWill I'm not sure ascetics would approve of high-end audio. You may find you do better by turfing all those killjoys out of your office and positioning your speakers for aesthetics, instead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascetic

I'll correct the typo

 

[marvin]

Good catch AdamWill.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alwayswantmore Re. Best Buys and Circuit City -- IMO many of the vendors favored at Head-fi are proof that often the best sounding (and best value) components are not found at mass merchandisers. It's unfortunate in that I believe the average person has never had the opportunity to hear just how good stereo can sound when done right.

I don't know that you can really say that. Some of the best value components can be found at mass merchandisers. Best Buy sells the Athena AS-F2 floorstanders, and Circuit City sells the Primus 360, both of which have good reviews, measure well, sound very good, and can be bought for under $600 a pair. Throw in a decent receiver, (HK at CC and Yamaha at BB) and a DVD player and you have a pretty damn good, though not strictly hi-fi, full range stereo setup for the price.

The average person has the opportunity, and the budget, to have good stereo. But, really, people don't want that. They want the all-in-one box with skinny stick speakers on the low end and the Bose cubes on the high end.

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvin Good catch AdamWill. I don't know that you can really say that. Some of the best value components can be found at mass merchandisers.

My original comment was "...OFTEN the best..." There will be exceptions.

To my original point... People may buy what they "want," but unfortunately -- thanks in part to good marketing -- they can be influenced to select inferior sounding products. For example, while traveling this week, I saw several people wearing Bose QCs. The way I see it, the fact they wanted and choose Bose is not the issue. The sad part is that many (if not most) Bose owners are probably not even aware that IEMs like Etymotic ER-4 deliver better SQ and are more portable.

 

[kramer5150]

Is that the original foam surround? Ive never had a foam surround speaker last me more than ~15-16 years. They just crumble in thin air.

Garrett

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Is that the original foam surround? Ive never had a foam surround speaker last me more than ~15-16 years. They just crumble in thin air. Garrett

Yes it is. KA-1s used foam in three areas: Surround. Grill. And a layer of foam on top of the tweeter housing (just over the housing/plate, not the dome).

Today when I removed the grills, the tweeter foam had disintegrated (it was mostly dust!). I have also read on the Web of KA-1 owners who have had their surrounds replaced. But so far my surrounds and grills are in great shape.

 

[romesaz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alwayswantmore Re. Best Buys and Circuit City -- IMO many of the vendors favored at Head-fi are proof that often the best sounding (and best value) components are not found at mass merchandisers. It's unfortunate in that I believe the average person has never had the opportunity to hear just how good stereo can sound when done right.

Dude, what are you talking about!? Have you not heard of BOSE!? Everyone knows bose!
They make the best speakers in the world! (Quoted from someone I talked to once.)

*puts on flame suit and hopes people realize the sarcasm*

Though it's ironic I mention Bose, cause it isnt accessible to a lot of ppl (price wise). Even though you can have a decent(better) mid-fi system for the same/similar price, as mentioned in a few posts above.

 

[Aman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Is that the original foam surround? Ive never had a foam surround speaker last me more than ~15-16 years. They just crumble in thin air. Garrett

My Ohm Model E's original foam surrounds are still present and in full shape, and they are just about 30 years old. It really depends on the speaker type and how the drivers are designed, it appears.

 

[Alwayswantmore]

Correction: I was looking through my stereo purchases folder and found an invoice where I had one of the cones repaired. Turns out the woofers were re-foamed at the same time (January, 1993). So the foam is about 16 years old. Sorry that I misstated on earlier post.

 

[mrarroyo]

It does not matter(but thanks for your honesty), they are great looking speakers and you have enjoyed them for a long time.