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Topic: new (kinda) speakers, worth anything? (Read 16521 times) previous topic - next topic
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new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

I have very little knowledge of speakers, whats good/bad etc.
I picked up a pair of "Linear Design" speakers @ 100w max, 8ohms, sensitivity is 95dB.
Has a red/black sticker on the front listing the details, along with "K-8280".

They seem pretty good (by my sub-par standards anyway) and have replaced the awful speakers I had before, I'm just keen to know what these are worth.

I searched around briefly for 100w and 95dB and got figures like $300 - $500 (which I doubt these are worth since I got them for $7)

anyway, any knowledge at all would be a help 

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #1 –
Quote from: DEVluke on
I have very little knowledge of speakers, whats good/bad etc.
I picked up a pair of "Linear Design" speakers @ 100w max, 8ohms, sensitivity is 95dB.
Has a red/black sticker on the front listing the details, along with "K-8280".

They seem pretty good (by my sub-par standards anyway) and have replaced the awful speakers I had before, I'm just keen to know what these are worth.

I searched around briefly for 100w and 95dB and got figures like $300 - $500 (which I doubt these are worth since I got them for $7)
I have nver heard of Linea Design, and quick google turned up nothing. The sensitivity isn't really a figure of merit - some great speakers have low sensitivity, and some great speakers have high sensitivity. As for 100W - that's about what you would see on most medium sized bookshelf or floorstander speakers.

If you post a photo, I could tell you more. Otherwise, the loudspeaker forum at diyaudio.com is a good start - just watch out for the audiophile nonsense.

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #2 –
thanks, i'll try get a few photos soon

also, the seller said something about the speakers being around 20 years old

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #3 –
why not try some new

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: DEVluke on
I have very little knowledge of speakers, whats good/bad etc.
I picked up a pair of "Linear Design" speakers @ 100w max, 8ohms, sensitivity is 95dB.
Has a red/black sticker on the front listing the details, along with "K-8280".

They seem pretty good (by my sub-par standards anyway) and have replaced the awful speakers I had before, I'm just keen to know what these are worth.

I searched around briefly for 100w and 95dB and got figures like $300 - $500 (which I doubt these are worth since I got them for $7)

anyway, any knowledge at all would be a help 


A company named Linear Design Labs was around in the early 70's (maybe later), famous for making cheap knockoffs of Bose speakers. I'm guessing this is one of those, although I don't recognize the model number. A photo may help identify the model, although I'm guessing that 20 year old estimate is probably closer to 30.

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #5 –
ah, well I kinda got a "white van" vibe off them... still better than what I had haha. If they are 30 years old... wow, these are in really good condition... aside from the covers they look more like 5 years old.

+ @ Idooeee; I baught them with a pile of other stuff already... I'm not looking to buy any, I ran into these + some other stuff cheap is all.

+ I did goto wikipedia looking for the epic white van list, when I found it I couldnt find Linear Design, I guess thats more recent ones though.

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #6 –
Googling "Linear Design Labs" (with the quote marks) gets a number of hits, the first of which is a record of the 1971 case in which Bose sued these people for knocking off the Bose 901.

I know zilch about speakers, but it seems the Bose 901 was an attempt to make a good speaker with a bunch of full-range drivers and an active equalizer. The Linear Design Speakers are the same, but without the equalizer. It seems the genuine articles are pretty controversial, but it's agreed the knock-offs are much lower in performance.

Here's a link: http://www0.epinions.com/content_4691894404

Still, for $7 they've got to be value.

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: MichaelW on
Googling "Linear Design Labs" (with the quote marks) gets a number of hits, the first of which is a record of the 1971 case in which Bose sued these people for knocking off the Bose 901.

I know zilch about speakers, but it seems the Bose 901 was an attempt to make a good speaker with a bunch of full-range drivers and an active equalizer. The Linear Design Speakers are the same, but without the equalizer. It seems the genuine articles are pretty controversial, but it's agreed the knock-offs are much lower in performance.

Here's a link: http://www0.epinions.com/content_4691894404

Still, for $7 they've got to be value.



yeah, thats what i figured... was with a low end micro-component-hifi type thing and some other early 70's German half-working thing I figured I might attempt to fix. $20 all together, even for the cd player alone I'll probably have half my money back

Most of what comes up on google is about legal cases 

I'll try (a bit harder) to get some photos of them, They must have been in good storage for a good 20 of those 30ish years. Even the foamy rubber around the edges of the speakers seem like new.

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #8 –



sorry for the quality, awful lighting

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #9 –
Well, that's not a Bose 901 knock-off.

From the photo, it looks like a nice speaker, and you probably got a very good deal.

It's really hard to put a "value" on a used speaker, unless the speaker is very-well known or has a good reputation in the audiophile community.    I could be wrong...  I haven't actually shopped for used speakers...  But, I'd be surprised if you can get much more than $20 for any "non-famous" used-speaker.  The fact that it's difficult to put a value on it means that the buyer has a good chance of getting a bargain, especially if he/she can listen before buying. 

If I were going to compare speakers, I'd start with the size of the woofer and the number of drivers.  Your's looks like a 2-way speaker with about an 8" woofer?  I would compare it to speakers with similar construction.    But, that doesn't tell you anything about the sound, the quality of the components, or the quality of the design and construction. 

In general, you can't trust the published specifications.  Most speaker manufacturers tend to fudge them a lot!  This is especially true for frequency response and power ratings.  You see a lot of cheap-little speakers rated at 100 Watts that would probably smoke with 100W...  Your speakers would probably smoke with 100W of pink noise too!  ...When it says 100W "max", it probably means that you can hit it with 100W for one-microsecond.     


P.S.
I got an even better deal!      Somebody gave me a pair of 5-way pioneer speakers with a 15" woofers!  (They are now my rear-surround speakers, hanging by chains above/behind my sofa.)

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #10 –
thanks for that DVDdoug

again, not looking to sell... and they are probably worth more to ME than I would be able to sell them for

always good to know a bit about what you have though

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #11 –
Hi all, just saw this post as I was doing some research myself, and I may be able to answer the question re: Linear design.
In 1991 I picked up a big heavy pair of 3 way LD speakers that a friend had brought back from the US while stationed there in the late 70s with the Air Force.
He sold them to me after the speakers themselves had deteriorated. I was only going to use the boxes, but after I removed the speakers, I discovered that they were a passive radiator system with 12 inch passive radiator and an active mid and tweeter. They were in such good condition that I had them re-coned in 1993 and then packed them away at mums with my Tannoy Eclipses and left Brisbane for good.  15 years later, I am in Brazil to live forever and am just now clearing them through customs after having been stored for 15 years and I can't wait.
I used them for only a short time, but they had an excellent range with good strong lows and crisp highs. They were originally very expensive units and well worth having redone, but they need a big amp to drive them
They were a very well respected brand in their day and so long as the boxes are still airtight, all is well with the world.
regards and I hope this helps someone
Ward

new (kinda) speakers, worth anything?

Reply #12 –
Quote from: DEVluke on
I have very little knowledge of speakers, whats good/bad etc.
I picked up a pair of "Linear Design" speakers @ 100w max, 8ohms, sensitivity is 95dB.
Has a red/black sticker on the front listing the details, along with "K-8280".

They seem pretty good (by my sub-par standards anyway) and have replaced the awful speakers I had before, I'm just keen to know what these are worth.

I searched around briefly for 100w and 95dB and got figures like $300 - $500 (which I doubt these are worth since I got them for $7)

anyway, any knowledge at all would be a help 




Hi
Linear Design was a brand name used in the 70's / 80's by Melbourne based Hi Fi retailer and manufacturer BJD / Douglas Hi Fi. They designed and manufactured ( in Melbourne Australia) a range of Audio Hi Fi amplifiers etc and a range of reasonable / good speakers. I still have a pair of Linear Design 203 speakers and they are excellent. Well designed ported cabinets with (original) CTS drivers from memory. These have an interesting porting arrangement in that the cabinet port is in the base of the cabinet and ports to an open backed plinth under the cabinet.
These speakers are from an era when CTS speaker drivers where made in USA. I believe the cabinet design was by Ben Douglas, who I understand had a good reputation for quality speaker systems.

The earlier speakers and Amplifiers may have been badged BJD.
Later Linear Design products were sourced off shore and I believe the company is no longer in operation.