LNB speaker

[clksteve]

I've been given some lovely LNB speakers. They're big units over 26" high, 16wide, 9deep. I'm guessing they're early 70's. There's not much info in the net for LNB speakers, apart from they were made in Loughborough, went bust in the 80's and all those mentioned seem to be Paralab speakers. My speakers have no model number or name apart from the front badge which reads 'LNB Loughborough' The fronts don't come off but when I removed the rear panel I found just one driver. I know nothing of speaker technology but I expected to find a woofer and a tweeter. The bottom half of the cabinet appears to house a chipboard box within the big chipboard box! I'd like to know what that's all about? I'm happy with the sound they produce but I don't know why they're so big if there's nowt much inside? Does only one driver mean rubbish speaker? They certainly look expensive! Any info on these speakers would be appreciated.

[Edward Huggins]

Only one driver certainly does not mean a "rubbish" speaker. This could either be a twin-coned unit or a dual-concentric driver. Take it out and post a photo. I remember this maker. Edward

[Herald1360]

Pictures?

Drive unit could be a dual concentric type if the speakers really are anything special. Is the box damped inside or just empty bar the drive unit and the "box"? Any wires into the box?

[RojDW48]

I had a pair of LNB Paralab 20s for a long time. Transmission lines in all but name - they came with (if I recall correctly) an 8" Kef woofer, a celestion HF 1300 tweeter and an STC super tweeter each - and they were outstandingly good! They were floorstanders - about 4' tall. Are you sure the fronts don't pull off? Mine were secured with velcro - give 'em a good tug. LNB were very little known but really really good speakers. I believe they were bought by IMF and formed the basis of IMF's very successful T-lines. Yes - pics please - you have a pair of little crackers there! Roger

[Radio Wrangler]

I don't remember them, so I'm really looking forward to seeing some photos. I'm a fan of transmission line designs. The box within a box bit sounds like TL internal partitioning. There may be midrange and tweeter drivers that can't be seen with just the back off. Usually fronts do come off.

David

[sp10mk11]

LNB the first thing that comes to my mind is Transmission line, I am a fan of this type of design.
I remember they got good reviews
Good luck getting the front off and can we have some pictures please
Gary

[clksteve]

The fronts are not removeable as the cloth is trapped around a frame that is screwed from the inside.
The rectangle box is sealed and I assume empty as I can see all around it as there's a 2inch gap between it and the front panel
There's only two aperatures in the front panel one circular one for the driver and a letter box sized one at the bottom (see last pic).
There's no wadding/insulation any where and the speakers certainly appear as if they've never been tampered with.
I hope the pics help.

[clksteve]

and a couple more pictures...

[paulsherwin]

That's clearly a dual cone full range speaker. They were quite popular at one time and can sound very good, as there is none of the complexity involved in designing a good electrical crossover, and the stereo imaging is often better.

The internal structure does look a bit like a transmission line.

I think they may be a bit older than you think, maybe mid-late 60s.

[roffe]

Since it's marked with only the 12NC-code number(no 9710 marking),it has to be a somewhat later 9710M/01 from the 70's.
7-69 AH is an indication of an early made 9710M/01.
If it's of any great importance.

[Edward Huggins]

Looks like a good pld Philips driver. I'm a great fan of twin-cone speeakers. Good imaging, no insertion loss or phasing issues from crossovers.....Edward

[Vintage Engr]

I found the LNB Paralab Super to be excellent. Mine are still in my workshop, had them from new, 1973. (From a shop with a comparator, in a listening room!). Sadly the surrounds on the Kef Bass units have disintegrated.

I think your units are worth keeping, if they are as good as the other product that LNB manufactured.

Good luck,
Dave.

[clksteve]

Well I'm certainly happy with them! The seperation and imaging is as good as I've heard from any speaker.
I've learned they're a twin/dual-cone transmission line speaker with a Philips driver from around 1970.
Cheers guys.

[LNBAudio]

Hello.

I'm Mike Batten, the B in LNB Audio

My son showed me this thread

If anyone would like any information on LNB products then I'll give it my best shot.

@clksteve

Your loudspeakers were designed exclusively for Sid Booth, a retailer at 11 Queen St, Mansfield. They were supplied for around six years during the 1970s until Philips withdrew the unit. The design was based on the exponential horn principle and was known as the LNB Mansfield

Other LNB loudspeakers of the time had the KEF B200 SP1022 or SP1014 unit, and a KEF T27 HF unit in a transmission line cabinet, designated the Lab 20 mark II and the smaller Lab 8

If anyone has any queries please ask, I don't have any spares though

Regards
Mike

[Edward Huggins]

That 8" twin cone Philips was a super, robust, unit capable of being used in many different types of enclosure design. I worked for Philips in the 1970s and had several of these for experimental purposes, including 360 degree radiating columns. No need for supplementary tweeters and the associated crossover insertion loss!

[RojDW48]

How nice to hear from you Mike. I have been a fan of the Paralab 20s for years! I sold mine in the end to a friend (and bought them back when he was broke and sold them to him again later) only because I got an amazing deal on the enormous Radford Studio 60s. The legend goes that the 20s were designated 'labyrinth' so as not to upset Arthurs Radford and Bailey. I wonder if that was true? And did your designs form the basis of later IMF speakers?

Roger

[Hartley118]

Wouldn't Arthur Bailey have specified damping with a filling of good Yorkshire long-fibre wool , or was that only for reflex cabinets?

Martin

[RojDW48]

Indeed those were the days when hairy sheep never had it so good! Wouldn't you love to have been there when the estimable Dr Bailey outlined his proposal to the farmer? My old Radfords have their share and I might be corrected, but I seem to recall the LNBs had some too!

[Diabolical Artificer]

That's nice that Mike got in touch, we don't get makers of less well known hifi popping by much. where was the factory Mike in Loughborough and when did you stop making speakers?

Andy.

[LNBAudio]

Where was the factory Mike in Loughborough and when did you stop making speakers?
We started in the cellar at home, with my wife winding copper wire onto ferrite rods at the kitchen table!
We moved a couple of times until production ended in the very early 80s. That factory was an old Victorian building in Duke Street, Loughborough, and has since been converted into flats.
We later did some development work on the Lab 7 at the Loughborough Technology Centre using nearby test facilities.

Wouldn't Arthur Bailey have specified damping with a filling of good Yorkshire long-fibre wool, or was that only for reflex cabinets?
While Arthur Bailey's idea was an interesting one, we detected no improvement in performance and it was time-consuming to install during manufacture. Most manufacturers used bonded acetate fibre (BAF), however, we used soft loft insulation material which proved a good compromise.

I have been a fan of the Paralab 20s for years!
If I had a favourite it was the Lab-20. A Bruel & Kjaer (B&K) plot indicated that it had a "flat response".

The legend goes that the 20s were designated 'labyrinth' so as not to upset Arthurs Radford and Bailey. I wonder if that was true?
The name came from drawings of the folded cross-section. The 20 and 8 designations came from the KEF B200 units, which were 20 cm or 8 inches. The later Lab-7 used a SEAS 7 inch unit.

And did your designs form the basis of later IMF speakers?
There was never any connection with IMF.

Regards
Mike