Heathkit AS-173 Coaxial 12" Speaker Pair! Tested, works, sounds great!

The Heathkit AS-173 is a 3-in-1 coaxial which provides a cohesive and effective point source. In the middle of the 12" woofer is both a midrange cone and a horn tweeter. Heathkit calls this a 12" Deluxe Three-Way High Compliance Edge-Damped Speaker. Crossovers are built-in, so all that is needed are full-range speaker wire connections from your amplifier to the threaded terminals (which are actually very high quality compared to other legendary speakers). This listing is for a complete PAIR of AS-173 and includes the attached high frequency level control pots (L-pads) with plates. Also included are 8 vintage screws for the control plates!

This is one of the nicest pairs of Heathkit AS-173 coaxial 12" drivers you'll find. These were sold between 1963 and 1974 through Heathkit's catalogs as separate Hi-Fi drivers and with other systems/consoles. Their catalog description of this speaker's strong points is spot-on.

For testing, they were installed in various sealed, ported, and open back enclosures (all sound good) and connected to various  amplifiers. Upon first playing music, the first thing that stood out is how sensitive they are, especially next to other vintage loudspeakers known for high sensitivity!  These speakers also sounded uniquely good as guitar speakers, and as an added bonus, the high frequency control really helped dial in the tone.

I want to point out how nice these tweeters sound. Cymbals really sounded as they should: copper being struck by a wooden drum stick. It sounds more realistic than so many other highly coveted tweeters. Even though the specs show the range extending only to 15kHz, they seem to extend higher than tweeters having specs to 20kHz.

The midrange cone has a nice presence that cuts through but is not obnoxious, very effective for a heavily treated room or a dark/scooped amp source. This speaker sounds like it would make an amazing center channel for a movie theater setup! Vocals are really nice and live sounding. Instruments have an intimate, live presentation.

The woofer delivers a faithful, woody, punchy presentation. It is not boomy or smeared, and it works well with the mid in aligning the attacks of kicks and snares.  For guitar, it barks, quacks, and bites!

Overall, these speakers are very performance oriented and bring the music into your room. These would make really nice mains for a stereo system or even a multichannel setup. They would probably work well as an in-wall or in-ceiling design. I believe they would make phenomenal center channel or surround speakers for a large setup.  They also would excel as guitar speakers!

Specs:

Size: 12"

Impedance: 8 ohms

Power rating: 25 watts

Sensitivity: 100dB

Frequency response: 35Hz-15kHz

Cone resonance: 40Hz

Magnet weight: 1.75lbs, 2.5oz (865g)

Manufacture/release date: 1963-1974

The tinsel wire which connects to the woofer voice coil is VERY unique because it has a black cotton push-back insulation covering the braided copper!!! This black push-back insulation is just like what you see on very coveted wire of the 60s era! We have not seen this being used on other vintage speakers! It was a great idea by the designer. This fine detail shows its value, as pushing back the insulation reveals a shiny braided copper, not commonly observed on most other speakers of this age (which instead have tinsel wire directly exposed to the elements resulting in darkening and oxidation). In older 1940's and 1950's speakers, regular non-insulated tinsel wire can often show drastic aging, and eventually the tinsel can become brittle and break. We think modern speaker manufacturers could learn from this application.

The condition of these speakers is great for their age. This pair lived most of their life in Barzilay cabinets rather than aging cardboard boxes.   The L-pads were recently cleaned with DeOxit and checked for fine control over the tweeter level. There were no odd noises with this pair and have zero voice coil rub.   The woofer cones and surrounds are in excellent condition. Any imperfections and blemishes are as seen in the pictures.   Let me know if you have any questions! These will be carefully packed and shipped within 1 business day of payment being made.