Allison One speakers


Does anyone out there have any background on the Allison One speakers? I recently purchased a set and upon trying to research, the Blue Book price guide states they were made in 2001, but these seem a bit older to me. The ones I have match in appearance to the Allison:One shown on the Classic Speakers website and utilize the same configuration of 2-10" woofers, 2-midrange and 2-tweeters mounted in a walnut finished cabinet that is triangular (if viewed from above) shaped. Very heavy. Were these perhaps an earlier version of a speaker system that was reissued in 2001 or could these be of that vintage and just "feel" older to me? Let me know what you think or know. I would like to get some background on these for myself if I decide to keep or for the next owner if I decide to sell. Thank you in advance for your help.
Ag insider logo xs@2xwhyland
the original allison one has a walnut veneer finish and went out of production in the early 80's. the later edition of the allison one went into production in 2001 and has a cherry hardwood cabinet. both are incredible products and compete with most anything.
the one can be used against any flat wall...the three is for corners only.
Ah, maybe that's the ticket then....I just remember the model I heard being in the corners, and liking what I heard. Remember, this was the late 70's....
As has been said, I think you no doubt have a pair of original vintage Ones and mistakenly consulted the BB value of the 'reissues', which were -- general design principles and inpiration aside -- completely different speakers made by a different company that bought the Allison name, and which retailed for several times more. (Jaybo would be the expert in that comparison. Both companies are defunct now.)

I've owned two pairs of the originals, the second of which I inherited from my father (actually, that set was comprised of a One on a flat wall combined with a Three in a corner -- an arrangement suggested for his particular room layout by none other than Roy Allison himself, a corner-loaded Three being the functional equivalent of a One on a wall). If I had the space and the inclination to collect vintage speakers, I'd have a set still. In audiophile terms they are at a disadvantage against modern speakers when it comes to all those speaker bugaboos that have largely been tamed since the 70's, like coloration/distortion/resonance/resolution. But in terms of sheer listening involvement they remain better than most, due to Allison's advanced design concepts for successfully addressing dispersion and room-interaction effects that he first identified and described (concerning woofer-loading and midrange cancellation, which are still largely ignored in speaker design to this day despite being universally recognized as empirically valid).

I would advise against replacing the tweeters unless you have to. Of course modern tweeters can go higher cleaner than the paper originals, but none have the idiosyncratic Allison 'split nipple' design which gave them an unusually broad power response designed to complement their 45-degree lateral mounting orientation, and Ones would not sound like Ones with conventional pistonic tweeters. Same for the dome midranges -- if you want modern sound you'll need modern speakers, but enjoy these for themselves. And make sure whoever reconditions your woofers has familiarity with the intended mass/compliance tuning of the acoustic-suspension originals, which used heavily (and heavy!) doped cones unlike typical modern light-coned woofers.

(And go very easy when fitting the still-ahead of their time, acoustically transparent one-piece frameless grilles, which become less flexable as they age and prone to cracking.)