Estate sale Fuselier speakers for $370 but I know nothing about them.


So I found these four Fuselier speakers for $370 at an estate sale. They look amazing and from everything I've seen around this forum the creator seemed to know what he was doing.  But I'm just getting into this hobby and I've come across these and I have no clue as to whether they are any good or whether they even work. Any thoughts on how I should proceed or steps I should take? Or should I just buy them and hope for the best? 

 

Here is a photo of them: 

 

Thanks so much.  

thatguyyouknow

Showing 7 responses by weebeesdad

John Fuselier was an outstanding speaker designer and his speakers sounded wonderful. I had a pair of 3.3's which I loved, used them for over fifteen years before moving on. Time aligned and I believed he used a series crossover, they sounded great and gave me many years of listening pleasure.

The two speakers on the ends where the grill cloth extends down almost to the bottom and the top plate is inset within the grill cloth look exactly like my 3.3's. There were a couple of incarnations of the 3 series so they could be a 3.0 or a 3.3 and possibly a model after that (I believe he produced a 3.8 but my recollection is that they used a different cabinet). At any rate, if they are a 3.0 or 3.3 then definitely worth considering at that price. I'm not familiar with the two speakers in the middle where the grill cloth stops further up.

One thing to consider though is that these were made in the early to mid eighties and as such are close to forty years old, therefore the condition of the drivers may be suspect as with any older speaker. If you could possibly arrange for an audition to assure that they are functioning properly that would be ideal. 

+1 on dill's "Excellent!"!!  BTW the terminals to connect the speaker cables are underneath the speaker, not exposed on the back as with most speakers. There is a hole on the back side of the base to thread the cables through and the actual terminals are on the bottom of the cabinet, at least on the 3.0/3.3 pair.

As a former 3.3 owner I can say that, IMHO, given some good electronics and a good front end and cables the Fuseliers should provide you with the foundation of a very satisfying and enjoyable first system of your hopefully long audio journey!

Fuselier made several models, I'm really only familiar with the 3.0/3.3's. The outer pair are definitely either Fuselier 3.0 or 3.3's. If you have to buy both then simply listen to both pair and keep the one that you like better. Again the sonics will in some part depend on the condition of the drivers and crossovers as well as the design of each pair. FWIW the difference between the 3.0 and 3.3 is, I, believe, that there are three tweeters in the 3.3 model and one in the 3.0. In the 3.3 one faces forward and the two flanking it are firing at a 45 or so degree outward angle. You may be able to tell without removing the grill cloth by shining a flashlight through the grill cloth high up on the front face.

As far as amplification there are a myriad of options depending on your budget and listening proclivities. I drove mine with a solid state power amp, the BEL 1001 which is a great sounding vintage SS amp, and a tube preamp (Audible Illusions). I thought they paired very well with the Fuseliers but of course there are many other amps, including integrated amps which might be more cost effective, which should work well as the speakers are pretty easy to drive. Signal Cable makes good and reasonably priced speaker cables and interconnects, but again there are several other cable manufacturers, such as Triode Wire Labs, who do so as well.

At this point I would snatch up the speakers and then take your time building the rest of your system around them. Even if only one pair are fully operational it will still be money well spent, IMHO.

 

 

I bought my 3.3’s at Sound By Singer in NYC, not sure if they sold any other of John’s designs.

While I powered my 3.3’s with a solid state amplifier ( BEL 1001) I did hear them with an EL34 based tube amp and they sounded sublime, so you can also consider tubes. The LSA VT-70 is a new tube integrated amp which seems to be getting some great reviews particularly for its price/performance value and would likely work well with your Fuseliers.

3.3's!  If the woofers are in good shape you will be rewarded with good quality amplification. A used integrated amp would likely be the most cost efficient route to take...

@thatguyyouknow Great! With some high quality electronics and front end you will have an enjoyable and rewarding system.

BTW, I believe your speakers are the 3.3s. The base of the 3.3 and 5S models are different. From the picture you posted it appears that those are the 3.3s.