Sonab OA6 Mk2a Speakers

Further Information: 

Sonab OA6 Mk or "Type" 2a 

The earlier version of the OA6 used valves, but the later one (my ones) used a solid state actuator/booster to assist the bass response. The bass boosters are not currently working, but read on. All is not lost!

I acquired these from Len Wallis himself, who had them in storage. They had suffered some water damage, and I had to replace the top pair of Philips 9710 dual cone woofers, and a couple of tweeters. The bottom pair of Philips 9710 were ok , housed underneath where the actuators also normally reside. I’ve been using these speakers (as they are now) at home for about eight years, and recently decided to replace them with one of my other “speaker rescue” models*. Just the two pairs of Philips 9710 are worth quite a lot of money.

The electronic components were also suss, so I took them out and made this pair biwire/passive. I’ve attached a photo of the underside showing that. It’s all reversible, and the actuators come with them. If you can find a schematic and a friendly repair guy, you might be able to get them back to original spec.

My alternative would be to simply bi-amp them, using a separate stereo amp - doesn't have to be massive - to run the bass drivers. My biwire arrangement makes this easy.

But even as they stand, they are charming omni-directionals designed by the legendary Stig Carlsson, and rarely on the market at all.

Note*: if you’re interested the fuller story is at homeentertainment.com.au/sonab.html