Offered for your consideration is a pair of vintage Quam-Nichols 8 inch woofers, USA-made in 1966-67.  As you probably know, Quam was a notable OE supplier to the domestic speaker industry starting in the 1940’s and they were the last of the original raw speaker manufacturers based in Chicago.  Per the EIA source/date codes on the magnet covers, “270 650” and “270 702”, these speakers were manufactured by Quam (270) in the 50th week of 1966 and the 2nd week of 1967, respectively.

So, please have a look at my large photos and read the remaining description to decide if these remarkable Quam woofers should be yours.


 


This pair of Quam woofers is in clean, excellent condition.  They have sturdy paper cones that are perfect and the vented voice coil dustcaps are just as nice.  Plus, the surrounds are permanent, integral to the cone-style instead of the fragile foam that would soon come into widespread use.  And the galvanized steel baskets, with Quam’s own style of magnet assembly (magnet structure secured to chassis with screws; most companies use only glue), are in great shape with no dings or notable scratches.  Lastly, the +/- terminal screws are marked for polarity and are a welcome departure from soldering; one seldom-seen on mass market raw drivers.  Overall, these are some very well-preserved woofers.


 


More importantly, they’ve been recently tested and sound wonderful with strong, well-detailed midrange, decent low-end for the driver size, and highs extending deep into treble.  Plus, since this platform was designed in the tube amp era, it produces good output even at low volumes.  And, I tested their DC resistance at 7.6 and 8.0Ω, respectively, consistent with a nominal 8 ohm driver rating.  Lastly, the baskets measure 7½” across (just over 8” at the corners), stand about 2¾” tall, and the mounting holes are spaced 5½” adjacent / 7¾” diagonal apart, c-t-c (the standard EIA mount pattern used on US-made 8” drivers for decades).


 


 

As pictured and described, this splendid pair of Quam 8” woofers is offered at a competitive price.


 


 

Terms of Sale:

I encourage interested parties to ask any questions they may have about this listing before committing to purchase.  Payment is due at checkout by PayPal or other accepted methods. U.S. mailing addresses will pay $17.95 for very carefully packed shipping via U.S. Postal Service or FedEx with tracking and delivery confirmation. International purchases shipped by U.S. Postal Service Global Priority Air Mail. Thanks for looking!


 

 

*the cabinet label photo is presented only for donor model reference