Eico HFS-2 Speakers -- a Stewart Hegeman Design -- Back Loaded Horn

For sale is a pair of the rare and legendary
EICO HFS-2 Speakers Designed by renowned audio maestro Stewart Hegeman
This is the fabled 1958 omidirectional design by the legendary audio designer Stewart Hegeman, predecessor to the famed Citation X, T-1 Tweeter, and Hegeman Models 1 and 2. You can read Roger Russel's excellent article about them here.

The speaker received tremendous press attention at the time of its release due to Hegeman's "assault on the state-of-the-art" design, appearing on the front cover of Radio Electronics, in the first issue of HiFi/Stereo & Music Review (there it is behind Arthur Fiedler), and in a feature in Popular Electronics.

High Fidelity Magazine's J. Gordon Holt reviewed the EICO HFS-2 in the March 1958 issue. In Mr. Holt's words:
"This speaker has aroused considerable interest, discussion,and disagreement among HIGH FIDELITY s staff members. Some who have heard it think it possibly the most musical and most realistic -sounding thing in its size or cost range. Some are less enthusiastic about it, conceding its smoothness and freedom from distortion, but maintaining that its sound is short of impact...Relevant to this may be the fact that the EICO is more dependent upon room acoustics than most speakers, probably in part because of its highly unorthodox design by Stuart Hegeman...
In my own fairly small living room, where it behaved to best advantage, the EICO Standard system proved able to create a remarkable illusion of realism from all types of program material... indeed, when I played some tapes that I had recorded from a microphone distance of, say, eight feet, the EICO speaker seemed to put the musicians precisely eight feet behind the system.
String tone was reproduced with a smooth, gutty richness. At times some hearers remarked on a subtle high-frequency edginess in the sound - an effect aptly described by one listener as little sonic whiskers, but since this was absent from some recordings, it could conceivably have been peaks in the recording microphones. The speaker's useful upper range extended to well beyond my 16,500 - cycle hearing limit, and its entire spectrum seemed very linear and notably free of peaks and dips.
The EICO was an outstanding reproducer of wood -wind and string timbres, and while brass was also very felicitously portrayed, there was not the projection or bite so dear to lovers of dramatic sound. Bass transients were well handled and, perhaps oddly, some of the deepest bass notes were heard from this speaker in small listening rooms. There was never any sensation of two sound sources; the speakers blended faultlessly.
My conclusion about the EICO is that, under ideal conditions, it can sound most impressively realistic, and is describable as an eminently musical reproducer. Ideal conditions seem to imply an average -size or smaller living room, or fairly close listening in a large room."

Please check out this (admittedly bad) video of these speakers in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLiZtGiLKiA
You cannot really get a sense of their sound, but you can see and hear them work. I consider this video a part of the description of the speakers' condition.


Condition
The vast majority of EICO HFS-2 speakers that have made it to market are sonically compromised due to poor storage. The tweeter and "boat whizzer" in these speakers -- made of a special sandwich of paper and aluminum -- degrade quickly in high humidity and heat. And sadly, many of these glorious old speakers found themselves in basements and garages after they fell out of style. As a result, finding them in excellent condition, like these, is extremely rare. But don't take my word for it, please judge their condition for yourself.
Cabinets
Upon close inspection will you see some typical flaws in the finish (a few nicks, etc), but very little for a 63 year old piece. You'll also notice the rear molding on one speaker (see the photos) was damaged at one point and was repaired with wood filler. There is also a water stain on the bottom back of one of the speakers. This is entirely aesthetic. There is no sign these were subjected to flooding. The wood and joints are all completely sound. This was most likely the result of a spill of some kind that occurred at one point in this speakers life.
Drivers
The tweeters are fully functional and in excellent condition. I cleaned their gaps -- which had accumulated a lot of dust over the years -- by removing the tweeters from the cabinets, suspending them upside down, and playing a 400Hz test tone through them while blowing air between the cones and the phase plugs. This dislodged the dirt. They both pass a clean tone with no issues.
The woofers are, besides the inevitable dust from 63 years of pointing upward, in excellent condition. I cleaned the cones with a soft brush and compressed air. This removed all the loose dirt, but not the stuff lodged in the cones' textured surfaces and stuck to their surround treatment. I could clean more aggressively, but given their age, and the fact that any difference would be entirely aesthetic, it didn't seem worth the risk. I also removed the drivers' magnets (they bolt on) to clean and re-align their gaps. Both woofers work flawlessly with no buzzing or rubbing.
Crossover
I left the crossover all original, except the capacitors. I left the originals mounted in place, but removed them from the circuit and added a new Solen Silver cap of equal value in their place.
Hardware
The original screws and other hardware were in great shape, and were retained. The original mounting brackets for the crossover boards and tweeters had peeling paint, so I repainted them black.

Shipping
I recommend using a "white glove" service, like uShip, to move these speakers. The cost will be similar to UPS, but much safer for the speakers. I am happy to arrange the service. Please let me know if you are interested once you make the purchase.
If you prefer UPS, I will happily pack the speakers. I have shipped several pairs of these with no issue. They will ship by UPS, fully insured.
You are also welcome to pick them up or have someone pick them up for you.

Questions
If you want a closer look at something, ask! If you have a question, ask! But always ask BEFORE purchasing.