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Janszen Speakers - help

A friend of mine inherited some Janszen Electrostatic speakers. I want to help him set them up. He doesn't have any stereo equipment, so I am wondering what sort of amp would be needed to drive them. I can't find any information about these speakers. Some pictures are here and here.

They are big, about 15 inches square and 50 inches tall. The top black part just lifts off of the bottom, and is connected by a plug and socket, and some dowels that align the socket. The close up is of the bottom of the speaker.
markhyams

Showing 2 responses by kr4

kr4's avatar
kr4
3,662 posts
 
There needs to be some sort of power for the electrostatic tweeters. Usually, Janszen built that into them and one only needed to connect them to an AC outlet. These seem to need an external transformer or PS. Do you have them? Can you post a picture of the bottom?

Kal
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,662 posts
 
Ah. Well, you will have to get another wall-wort, of course. The control is probably the level control for the tweeter.

In principle, all you have to do is plug in the PS, connect the terminals up to an amp, and listen. I urge caution since these are old and may be faulty. (I have had on and off problems with old Janszen tweeters.) So, first plug the wall-wort into the AC by itself and see what is on the output and if it is stable. If so, connect it to the speakers and listen for noises. Good els elements will be quiet but may make very, very soft crinkly noises as they power up. After that, use your voltmeter to insure there is no DC or AC on the main speaker terminals before you connect it to a good amp.

Good luck.

Kal
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