Clint Eastwood's HiFi
Does anyone recognize the album covers??The album behind his head in the photo that Shadorne linked to is The Greatest Garner, by Erroll Garner, originally released in 1956. Ironically, Erroll Garner's most famous composition was Misty, composed in 1954, which played a central role in the 1971 film "Play Misty for Me," starring and directed by Clint Eastwood. Regards, -- Al |
It looks absolutely identical to a Stephens speaker shown on page 73 of a 1960 Allied Radio catalog I have, except that it appears to be somewhat bigger. The driver is listed as an 8 inch Stephens model 80FR, and the cabinet as a Stephens model 816, measuring 24-1/2 x 15-3/4 x 11-3/4 inches. It was offered in a choice of mahogany, blonde, or walnut veneer. Perhaps the one shown is a similar model but for a 12 inch driver. It is described as being a "ducted vent enclosure." In the photo Shadorne linked to you can see the shadow of what I assume is a vent, a few inches above the bottom. Although in the picture in my Allied catalog the lighting is such that you can't tell what is behind the grillcloth. The amp on the floor, with the four knobs, looks like it is probably a Knight (Allied Radio's house brand), or possibly a Bell (which was a brand that Allied carried). He probably bought the whole system at an Allied Radio store. Best regards, -- Al |
Truman -- In my moderately extensive experience with vintage equipment of that period, I've never perceived any particular similarities between Knight amplifiers and those made by H. H. Scott. Information on, and pictures of, the Scott stereo integrated amplifiers of that time, including the 222C, can be found here: http://hhscott.com/integrated_amps_stereo.htm Allied Radio, btw, in addition to selling Knight products (their house brand), also sold equipment made by most of the leading manufacturers of that period, including (among makers of electronic components) Scott, Fisher, Marantz, Pilot, Bogen, Eico, Harman Kardon, McIntosh, Bell, Sherwood, Dynaco, etc. Best regards, -- Al |
Xie -- No, I don't think so. There are several differences: 1)The EV has a horn near the top; the mystery speaker has a rectangular opening near the bottom. 2)The grillcloth is different, of course. Although grillcloths sometimes get changed over the years, the cloth on the EV appears to be original, as you can see by comparing to this catalog page. 3)Looking at the photo Shadorne linked to, it appears likely that the mystery speaker is rectangular as viewed from the top, while the EV is shaped for corner placement. 4)As Theo pointed out, the mystery speaker has something behind the grill near the upper right corner, while the EV does not. Regards, -- Al |
Those are close, Shadorne, but no cigar (I believe). They both have the wood surfaces meeting without the 45 degree bevel that CE's speaker had. Also the wood of his speaker appears to be thicker than on the Tannoy's. The Lancaster has the driver mounted closer to the top than on CE's speaker, and the bottom cutout on the Devon is different. My guess is still that it was a Stephens, similar to the model shown in my 1960 Allied Radio catalog but bigger. Stephens was a California company which made some well regarded speakers, some of which (although I'd assume not this one) were physically designed by the famous furniture designer Charles Eames. So as a celebrity living in California, he figures to have been aware of the Stephens brand and its reputation. Considering that, and the fact that the rest of the system looks like it could very well have been purchased at an Allied store (which sold Stephens), that theory seems to me to hang together pretty well. Best regards, -- Al |
