Matched pair of WE 755A Silver finish. The Silver era drivers date from the late 1940's. Western Electric shortly switched to grey crinkle paint (a VERY close second), also fine drivers. WECO stopped making the 755A in-house by the early 1950s. Then came KS production (good). Followed by Altec (OK/fair). The 755A/silver era is believed to be the best sounding of all 755 types. Treasured for many years by advanced collectors and hobbyists worldwide. I agree. They are the best...if you can find them. Silver's have a few more edge stamps, and thus were inspected to highest degree, in all of WECO's production history.
We acquired these about 25 or 30 years years ago, they were (removed from the Bell System at that time). Typically installations were mounted on walls or recessed in ceilings, so 755's were exposed to a variety of conditions ... (ie direct sunlight, ambient moisture, dirt etc.). Common maladies include metal dust in the gap (the worst, inexperienced seller's rarely check for) and fading from direct sunlight (not so bad, really just cosmetic).
This pair escaped the wrath of time very well, NONE of those issues whatsoever -- a very rare find. The cones are matched in cosmetic appearance and amazingly well centered. The edge damping compound is still supple and tacky as it should be. The V.C. readings are exactly, perfectly matched ... spot on to about the tenth of an ohm.Coils clean, well centered and electrically matched. Cones cosmetically matched, supple paper and compliant, supple surrounds.
No patches, holes or glue spots. Voice coil leads are solid and magnets are strong. I frequency swept them, tested for perfect center, and compared response with a signal generator/FFT and calibrated mic. Tested efficiency seemed a little higher than a grey/crinkle I compared it to (@1500 cyc).
The "silver" finish of the 755A is actually a bright zinc plating. The silver era is now close to 70 years old, and the exterior finish as some patination from years of life on the wall and a few fingerprints (all silver's have this). So you can be assured they are the real McCoy!
Unit#1 is perfect.
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Unit#2 is a great match, and ranked excellent, rather than mint (see photo B).
Condition note: I really scrutinize during testing and inspection.... and under magnification and lights I found some type of irregularity in the fibers on the dust cap... it's been there all along I believe...a slight distortion in the grain of it's paper. A truly trivial cosmetic note here. This does not affect sound or re-sale value that I can see. Never-the-less, I did build in a discount for it, during the price calculation.
In conclusion, the pair was selected for the closest match, balanced sound, mechanical and electrical function, out of many units.
See the included paper reports for more info. Both have edge inspection stamps and an inspector's signature. Unit #2 did not have a serial number, or it was lost to the ages...it is however very close in production as they were all from the same "install". They sound just as 755A's should sound. Given the condition, I think they will out last both of us, given normal storage and use. WE's cones were very rugged and well formulated.
