Source Technologies JSE SEAS EXCEL 178XL Front and Center Speakers

Save $4200 off the retail price!

For sale is a pair of Source Technologies 178 XL speakers and a 178 Center Channel (with stand) designed and built by John Sollecito. John Sollecito was the co-designer of JSE Infinite Slope Speakers, which now has become Joseph Audio. These speakers rarely come up for sale used. Source Technologies has been making audiophile speakers for over 20 years and John Sollecito has been making audiophile speakers in Connecticut for almost 30 years.

This is one of the most musical pairs of speakers in the Source Technologies line. When on spikes, the speakers are 48 inches tall. The speakers are a 3-way design using a Dynavox silk dome tweeter, a magnesium SEAS Excel midrange, and a carbon fiber woofer by Forgings/Scan Speak. They are internally bi-wired, use Mundorf Supreme Capacitors in the time-aligned crossover, and have a curved front baffle to reduce diffraction. The cabinets are circumferentially braced and are extremely rigid. The speakers come with magnetic grills and are finished in gorgeous dark cherry on the sides, front, and top. They are finished in high-gloss black on the back and on the bottom. The fit and finish is amazing! The speakers currently retail for $5000/pr.

Not only are these amazing audiophile speakers, but because they are full range and have a frequency response that extends down to 32 Hz, they also work well for home theater. If you can get to Bloomsburg, PA, I invite you to audition the speakers. You will be amazed! You can bring your own electronics, or audition them with my equipment.

The center channel has the same driver configuration, crossover, and the same dark cherry finish. The center channel speaker is 30” wide, it is internally bi-wired, it uses Mundorf Supreme Capacitors in the time-aligned crossover, and it has a sloped front baffle so that the dialogue is correctly located in the soundstage. The cabinet is circumferentially braced and is extremely rigid. The speaker comes with a magnetic grill and is finished in gorgeous dark cherry on the sides, front, and top. The speaker is finished in high-gloss black on the back and on the bottom. The stand is on 1” spikes and is also finished in dark cherry with high-gloss black on the back, bottom and top. The fit and finish is amazing! The center channel currently retails for $2300 and the stand retails for $400.

The speakers are one year old. I examined the speakers thoroughly, shining a light on them at different angles, and I do not see any scratches or dents anywhere. There are natural spots in the wood veneer where there are grooves in the wood grain. There are a couple such places on the tops of each speaker. If you shine a light at the exact angle where the entire surface lights up and appears white, you can see a few 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch grooves that do not reflect the light the same way. When you examine them up close, they are not cracks or dents, they are natural grooves in the wood grain. From every other angle, you do not see them because they are only noticeable if the there is a direct reflection of light off the entire surface. Even without a flash, I was unable to get these to show up in a picture. This is the way the speakers came from the factory, I am the original owner.

The center channel and stand are one year old. I examined the speaker and the stand thoroughly, shining a light on them at different angles, and I do not see any scratches or dents anywhere. There are natural spots in the wood veneer where there are grooves in the wood grain. There are a couple such places on the top of the speaker. If you shine a light at the exact angle where the entire surface lights up and appears white, you can see three 1-inch, and one 3-inch, grooves that do not reflect the light the same way. When you examine them up close, they are not cracks or dents, they are natural grooves in the wood grain. From every other angle, you do not see them because they are only noticeable if the there is a direct reflection of light off the entire surface. Even without a flash, I was unable to get these to show up in a picture. This is the way the speaker came from the factory, I am the original owner.

I rate them a 9/10 on Audiogon’s conservative rating scale because they are used. Please see my feedback to see the condition of the products that I sell on Audiogon.

I am only selling the speakers because Source Technologies is coming out with a reference pair of floor-standing speakers that will retail for $20,000.

I do not have the original packaging, but I can have each speaker professionally packaged. Or, you can pick up the speakers for free in Bloomsburg, PA, Warwick, RI, Ann Arbor, MI, or Columbus, OH.

Packing and shipping via UPS Ground (with insurance and signature for delivery) is $300 (4 large boxes) in the continental U.S. PayPal adds 3.5%.