[Vintage-Audio] Karlson Speaker

[Robert Nickels]

A photo from a fellow radio nut's workshop included a homebrew speaker 
with a unique feature - an exponential-curved front piece that was 
distinctive, but the name of the design eluded me.  After a half hour 
spent thumbing through enough old hi-fi magazines I finally found it:  
Karlson.  (Actually the article I first found mis-named it "Karlton" but 
my memory-like-an-elephant buddy Fred Olsen correctly caught the 
error).    The Karlson Company sold assembled speakers, and also plans 
for do-it-yourself builders as the design is simple and easily 
replicated.  The Karlson speaker uses a single 12 or 15" driver and 
claims full-range reproduction, although some of the speakers shown on 
the Gallery page have added mids and tweeters.

Ever since finding the ads for Karlson plans in old radio magazines I've 
been intrigued by them and one day I want to make one and give it a 
listen.   Information and an active forum of Karlson fans can be found 
at   http://home.planet.nl/~ulfman/   With it's patetended "jet age" 
design, the Karlson says "1950s" like no other speaker I know of!

But what really surprised me was to learn that a certain outspoken ham 
radio editor from that era was Vice President (and chief huckster) for 
the Karlson Company:
http://home.planet.nl/~ulfman/images/wayne.gif    Regardless of how good 
the speaker was or wasn't, after reading Wayne Green's ad copy who could 
resist?   If his claim of shipping 1400 per month is right there ought 
to be a few of the factory-built jobs still around.  Has anyone seen, 
owned, or built a Karlson?  And what can you tell us about it?

73, Bob W9RAN