Great restoration/repair job. I love quirky off the wall designs like this. Especially when they actually bring decent sound to the table. Used to have some Grundog Globe speakers and they sounded amazing. Keep up the good work, as this sort of stuff is getting more and more rare every day.
I have a set, as well as two other bigger Sonabs. The proper set up in the literature says close to the back wall and the tweeters aiming front and out. There is a left and right with Sonabs, but these are versatile in that one way gives a wider soundstage, and the other a more centred soundstage. Thanks for the great video and for saving those amazing little speakers.
I bought a pair of Teenage Engineering OD-11 speakers about 10 years ago and love them, so much that I bought a third with the intention of buying a fourth for two stereo pairs. I certainly have a soft spot for this design and have recently upgraded my cinema receiver which has spare channels for other zones. I may well have to buy a pair a Sonab OD-11s to make use of those channels and a bit of a project wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
That horseshoe arrangement indicates an Alnico magnet rather than a cheaper ceramic magnet. Love Scandinavian design speakers, just picked up a pair of 80s Bang & Olufsen Redline 45s from a recycling shop that sound ridiculously good for their age and look VERY cool.
@@TheBasementChannel without a doubt! 😁 On the Swedish note, the ‘ab’ in ‘Sonab’ is from the Swedish for Limited company ‘Aktiebolag’. It used to feature in company names like in ‘Saab’ , acronym for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget.
What a great set of loudspeakers from when I was about 15 years old, I would not mind making something like this myself! 🙂 I just love the concept. Did you restore the Crossover as well?
I have a pair of OD 11 as well. Picked them up in a thrift store too. Sadly the Peerless drivers (you have the MK1 version by the way) were replaced with Monarch / Monacor drivers. Altough they were a lot newer they needed refoaming too. But I doubt they are true to the Sonab sound. So I was on the lookout and found a pair of Sonab OA 14 speakers with the Peerless SC-165 (MK2), that should have been in the OD11s as well. I thought eh OA 14 were shot but the drivers potentially usable, but after a good clean and refoaming they look and sound great. Then I decided on getting the matching Receiver by Sonab the r4000. When buying the receiver the seller had a pair of Sonab OA 5 speakers sitting there. I got those too. They have Philips drivers and Peerless Tweeters (5 of them pointing in all different directions). Everything is in mint condition apart from the dust. Even that is not a problem. You remove the grill, dust if off a bit and repeat every couple of months. The sound of all 3 speaker pairs and the r4000 is stunning. Warm and very wide (they are omnidrectinal after all). If you come across Sonab, I suggest you pick them up. Both the speakers and the receivers are incredibly reliable and durable. They build a shitload of the speakers. At one point every swede had a pair. But after 40 years they are becoming rare and prices are on the rise. The design is very distinct 70s but in a unique way. All Sonabs are firing upward and have a detachable grill (for cleaing purposes I guess). Great video this, I very much enjoyed it and subscribed to you channel.
Thanks for this video, very interesting type of speakers. The only manufacturer, what I know, uses this up fire speaker system is Temporal Coherence. I once listen to them and they sound phenomenal.
Interesting! I wonder if you could get away with sitting them on the floor with the port up against a wall. Might have to flip them as well so the tweeter isn't pointing into the carpet.
Many thanks Sir, this your hommage to our own SWE Stig's speakers, and you all the way from the Antipodes! And a contest to you, dear followers, you just try your best to find a sexier speaker - new or vintage - than a pair of these, carefully restored all the way with new surface treatment of the veneer and everything! And then comes its sound - where does this wiiide sound really come from? - Jezzzs. What have the loudspeaker engineers been doing during these 50 yrs?
@@TheBasementChannel I'm very honest now, mate, me getting a tear in me eye, with you coming from down under talking so sweetly about our Stig and his most modest speaker model, he that left us in the late 90s ☺
@@TheBasementChannel He was; "My speakers are designed to do their thing in ppls homes - not in anechoic chambers" was his motto. He labelled his speakers OA for ortho acoustical of that reason (ortho being Greek for 'right/correct'). Still, he considered the more modest OD-11s being somewhat on the low side, so OD here for ortho directional, a kid brother, like. Svara
Thanks! I don't know much about speakers at all so hopefully you can answer some more questions haha. I just got mine and like I said, I have the same problems with the foam. Even though I tried to connect them to my stereo and they worked but sounded awful... It was a buzzing sound and it just sounded really raspy, it's hard to explain but do you think it's just because of the foam rot or do you think they might have another problem?
Pointless video.. what is the point of reviewing an ortho acoustic speaker when you don't place them as they were intended. And why not research the speakers first.. Carlssonplanet has all there is to know on them
@@TheBasementChannel it does not say that.. and Stig Carlsson never said that.. sure you can, but no Swedish audiophile places them like you because they sound terrible then. That is the problem w youtube demos.. no one knows anything usually. Almost as stupid as placing a floorstander upside down tweeters next to the floor and record a video demo lon
@pierresternegard6951 From page 12 of the manual, “but the illustrated positions are only suggestions, by all means try out different ideas” From page 13 “the exact height is difficult to specify. Experiment for yourself!” From page 15 “Every acoustic environment, meanwhile, has its own problems and thus the best thing the individual can do is experiment, try new positions and angles, shift things around in the room.” But hey, thanks for commenting on my video and sounding like a jerk 👍
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Carlsson was a brilliant engineer, I have owned a pair of Sonab OA14's that I bought new in 1974, I wish I still had them today.
Yes I loved his out of the box thinking
Great restoration/repair job. I love quirky off the wall designs like this. Especially when they actually bring decent sound to the table. Used to have some Grundog Globe speakers and they sounded amazing. Keep up the good work, as this sort of stuff is getting more and more rare every day.
Thanks! I agree, it’s fun to see products that push the boundaries of what was ‘normal’!
Amazing video, thank you very much!
You’re very welcome!
I have a set, as well as two other bigger Sonabs. The proper set up in the literature says close to the back wall and the tweeters aiming front and out. There is a left and right with Sonabs, but these are versatile in that one way gives a wider soundstage, and the other a more centred soundstage. Thanks for the great video and for saving those amazing little speakers.
Thank you for the helpful and informative comment. Given what I’ve heard of the small Sonabs, I’ll bet the larger models sound amazing!
I bought a pair of Teenage Engineering OD-11 speakers about 10 years ago and love them, so much that I bought a third with the intention of buying a fourth for two stereo pairs. I certainly have a soft spot for this design and have recently upgraded my cinema receiver which has spare channels for other zones. I may well have to buy a pair a Sonab OD-11s to make use of those channels and a bit of a project wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
They’re a great compact speaker, and look good doing it!
That horseshoe arrangement indicates an Alnico magnet rather than a cheaper ceramic magnet. Love Scandinavian design speakers, just picked up a pair of 80s Bang & Olufsen Redline 45s from a recycling shop that sound ridiculously good for their age and look VERY cool.
Great info, thanks for sharing!
Excellent! 👍 I happen to be a Swedish speaker myself…😁
But are you strange? 🤪😄
@@TheBasementChannel without a doubt! 😁
On the Swedish note, the ‘ab’ in ‘Sonab’ is from the Swedish for Limited company ‘Aktiebolag’. It used to feature in company names like in ‘Saab’ , acronym for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget.
@@retrotechguy wow, cool info, thanks for sharing that. I used to own a Saab, but had no idea about that 'ab' moniker.
What a great set of loudspeakers from when I was about 15 years old, I would not mind making something like this myself! 🙂 I just love the concept.
Did you restore the Crossover as well?
You have quite a find. You put them in a corner with tweeter firing in to the corner using as horn . Kind of a mini Klipsch.
Ps I have the SA 6500 II amp, love that thing .
I have a pair of OD 11 as well. Picked them up in a thrift store too. Sadly the Peerless drivers (you have the MK1 version by the way) were replaced with Monarch / Monacor drivers. Altough they were a lot newer they needed refoaming too. But I doubt they are true to the Sonab sound. So I was on the lookout and found a pair of Sonab OA 14 speakers with the Peerless SC-165 (MK2), that should have been in the OD11s as well. I thought eh OA 14 were shot but the drivers potentially usable, but after a good clean and refoaming they look and sound great. Then I decided on getting the matching Receiver by Sonab the r4000. When buying the receiver the seller had a pair of Sonab OA 5 speakers sitting there. I got those too. They have Philips drivers and Peerless Tweeters (5 of them pointing in all different directions). Everything is in mint condition apart from the dust. Even that is not a problem. You remove the grill, dust if off a bit and repeat every couple of months. The sound of all 3 speaker pairs and the r4000 is stunning. Warm and very wide (they are omnidrectinal after all). If you come across Sonab, I suggest you pick them up. Both the speakers and the receivers are incredibly reliable and durable. They build a shitload of the speakers. At one point every swede had a pair. But after 40 years they are becoming rare and prices are on the rise. The design is very distinct 70s but in a unique way. All Sonabs are firing upward and have a detachable grill (for cleaing purposes I guess). Great video this, I very much enjoyed it and subscribed to you channel.
Thank you Heiko it was interesting to read about your journey with the Sonab products. Thanks for stopping by the channel, and for the sub!
Thanks for this video, very interesting type of speakers. The only manufacturer, what I know, uses this up fire speaker system is Temporal Coherence. I once listen to them and they sound phenomenal.
You’re welcome. Yes they sound a lot better than I expected. And heaps of different positioning options too.
I'm wondering if placement would be bad if I had a TV console in between two of these. Its a hefty old 60's Curtis mattes console
I just rotated mine until they sounded best. Worth trying.
How did you remove the grills without damaging the edges of the speaker?
You can place something on the edge before you lever off it.
Interesting! I wonder if you could get away with sitting them on the floor with the port up against a wall. Might have to flip them as well so the tweeter isn't pointing into the carpet.
Yes worth a try. The manual actually recommends you experiment with placement and orientation until it sounds good to you.
Many thanks Sir, this your hommage to our own SWE Stig's speakers, and you all the way from the Antipodes!
And a contest to you, dear followers, you just try your best to find a sexier speaker - new or vintage - than a pair of these, carefully restored all the way with new surface treatment of the veneer and everything! And then comes its sound - where does this wiiide sound really come from? - Jezzzs. What have the loudspeaker engineers been doing during these 50 yrs?
Yes I agree! And I still listen to them daily ☺️
@@TheBasementChannel I'm very honest now, mate, me getting a tear in me eye, with you coming from down under talking so sweetly about our Stig and his most modest speaker model, he that left us in the late 90s ☺
@@hni7458he seemed like a very creative thinker. Not scared to try new and different ideas.
@@TheBasementChannel He was; "My speakers are designed to do their thing in ppls homes - not in anechoic chambers" was his motto.
He labelled his speakers OA for ortho acoustical of that reason (ortho being Greek for 'right/correct'). Still, he considered the more modest OD-11s being somewhat on the low side, so OD here for ortho directional, a kid brother, like.
Svara
I have exactly the same problem with foam rot , where did you buy the foam and what size?
Hey there, I just bought mine from eBay, to suit 6.25” speakers. The eBay listing mentioned they were for Sonab, but any that size will probably work.
Thanks! I don't know much about speakers at all so hopefully you can answer some more questions haha. I just got mine and like I said, I have the same problems with the foam. Even though I tried to connect them to my stereo and they worked but sounded awful... It was a buzzing sound and it just sounded really raspy, it's hard to explain but do you think it's just because of the foam rot or do you think they might have another problem?
@@eliaskentson581 hard to say, but they won’t sound right without the foam rings.
Okey! Thanks!
While you're not using them why don't you just put some fabric cloth over the top of the speaker to keep all the dust and crap out 😁
Bring back the doily!
Pointless video.. what is the point of reviewing an ortho acoustic speaker when you don't place them as they were
intended.
And why not research the speakers first.. Carlssonplanet has all there is to know on them
I did. I read through the website thoroughly. And you know what it said? Place them where you like.
They are not orto acoustic, but orto directional !
I very much enjoyed this "pointless video".
@@TheBasementChannel it does not say that.. and Stig Carlsson never said that.. sure you can, but no Swedish audiophile places them like you because they sound terrible then. That is the problem w youtube demos.. no one knows anything usually.
Almost as stupid as placing a floorstander upside down tweeters next to the floor and record a video demo lon
@pierresternegard6951
From page 12 of the manual, “but the illustrated positions are only suggestions, by all means try out different ideas”
From page 13 “the exact height is difficult to specify. Experiment for yourself!”
From page 15 “Every acoustic environment, meanwhile, has its own problems and thus the best thing the individual can do is experiment, try new positions and angles, shift things around in the room.”
But hey, thanks for commenting on my video and sounding like a jerk 👍
sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stig_Carlsson_(ingenj%C3%B6r)