I have a pair of Cizek Model Ones that I did a total restoration on. I will never, ever give them up. They're one of my favorite sets of speakers. I first listened to a pair in the early 80's and always remembered them. When I saw a pair for sale last summer, I grabbed them, even though the cabinets were in really rough shape. I knew that they had potential to be great speakers again. And now they are.
Roy Cizek
Started by
Guest_christa14_*
, Dec 17 2004 07:37 PM
9 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Ralphie_*
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Posted 03 March 2006 - 02:35 AM
Yep he did make some good 'uns. I have two pairs of Model 1's. They are well built and look impressive double-stacked.
#3
Guest_AndyH_*
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Posted 03 March 2006 - 12:33 AM
I bought a pair of Cizek Model 1's in 1977 and still have yet to own or even hear a pair of speaker matching the pure awsome sound of my Cizeks. And I do own a pair of ADS M12s as well that really don't match up. I had a pair of the smaller speakers as well (Model 2?) but sold them when I was broke about 25 years ago.
Your dad was brilliant and has been unmatched in speaker development as far as I'm concerned.
Andy
Your dad was brilliant and has been unmatched in speaker development as far as I'm concerned.
Andy
#4
Guest_lemon_*
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Posted 15 July 2005 - 07:44 PM
I have a pair of cizek speakers unlike any you show on your page. My mom ran a nursery school in Bloomington through the 60's and I believe Roy's kids attended it. (Small World Nursery) She got a nice pair of speakers from Roy around 68 or 69, (can't say they were in lue of payments for school, but that seems to ring a bell) They always sounded great and I used them up until my last move 3+ years ago. Still have em, plus the 68 Rotel I had em hooked to.
I'll get with my Mom to learn more and get her recollections, she 74 now, but always spoke fondly of Cizek as a character.
I got out the speakers and hooked em up last night, still sounds damn good .
On your "User Comments on Cizek" section - Steve Ekblad
Mine are the 8.5's, exactly as described, with the original (no longer)white burlap. They have gold UAC plates glued to the back as if they were staged there before bringing them to United audio and letting them move them to the grill cover. Got them directly from Cizek in Bloomington, Indiana, he and a friend brought them out to the house one night.
I'll get with my Mom to learn more and get her recollections, she 74 now, but always spoke fondly of Cizek as a character.
I got out the speakers and hooked em up last night, still sounds damn good .On your "User Comments on Cizek" section - Steve Ekblad
Mine are the 8.5's, exactly as described, with the original (no longer)white burlap. They have gold UAC plates glued to the back as if they were staged there before bringing them to United audio and letting them move them to the grill cover. Got them directly from Cizek in Bloomington, Indiana, he and a friend brought them out to the house one night.
#5
administrator
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Posted 03 January 2005 - 05:12 PM
Hello!
I'm glad you wrote, for a couple reasons. Information on Roy and his speakers is pretty difficult to come by, and I needed some motivation to update the Cizek section of the website.
Anything you can send over via email or snail mail would be great - if you can email me at webmaster@arsenal.net I'll give you a mailing address.
I just updated the Cizek section of the main website with some new pictures and a memorium. If anyone out there has sent me Cizek material and you don't see it posted, please email me a friendly reminder!
Thanks again for posting,
Mark
I'm glad you wrote, for a couple reasons. Information on Roy and his speakers is pretty difficult to come by, and I needed some motivation to update the Cizek section of the website.
Anything you can send over via email or snail mail would be great - if you can email me at webmaster@arsenal.net I'll give you a mailing address.
I just updated the Cizek section of the main website with some new pictures and a memorium. If anyone out there has sent me Cizek material and you don't see it posted, please email me a friendly reminder!
Thanks again for posting,
Mark
#6
Guest_christa14_*
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Posted 17 December 2004 - 07:37 PM
Hi All,
Its just amazing to see all the information and compliments for Roy's work on the speakers. I am one of Roy's stepdaughters, my mother was his 3rd wife. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1993 and my mother in 2002. My sister and I started a scholarhip in their name at the Indiana School for the Blind.
He was truly amazing and could accomplish great feats despite his blindness. My mother and Roy built speakers in the early 90's and attended two (i think) CES shows in Vegas. Our families still have some of his latest speakers and I think even some of the brochures with pictures of the last models that they made together. The sold some in a store in Los Angeles, unfortunately I don't remember the model number and still might be there today. I think the store was LA Audio if anybody is familiar with it.
We are still looking for more information on Roy if anybody reviews this forum and has info from his time at IU.
Thanks!
Its just amazing to see all the information and compliments for Roy's work on the speakers. I am one of Roy's stepdaughters, my mother was his 3rd wife. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1993 and my mother in 2002. My sister and I started a scholarhip in their name at the Indiana School for the Blind.
He was truly amazing and could accomplish great feats despite his blindness. My mother and Roy built speakers in the early 90's and attended two (i think) CES shows in Vegas. Our families still have some of his latest speakers and I think even some of the brochures with pictures of the last models that they made together. The sold some in a store in Los Angeles, unfortunately I don't remember the model number and still might be there today. I think the store was LA Audio if anybody is familiar with it.
We are still looking for more information on Roy if anybody reviews this forum and has info from his time at IU.
Thanks!
#7
Guest_mdeneen_*
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Posted 17 August 2007 - 08:07 AM
I quite accidentally stumbled on to this site and I just wanted to take a moment to honor Roy here in this thread. I worked with Roy at Audio Dynamics in Connecticut in 1978 - 1980 where he designed some fabulous small speakers for us. This was shortly after his Cizek Model One fame.
Roy was a spectacular engineer, acoustician, music buff and intriguing fellow to know. Roy could tell more about a part by fondling it for a minute than most people could tell by measuring it. His ability to visualize internally, spatially and conceptually and turn that vision into products was a marvel to witness. His design process was rigorous and he was a bit of a perfectionist. He knew quite precisely what he wanted and knew how to hold out to get it. He would drive those driver manufacturers nuts in getting just the exact right spiders, cones, pole pieces, coils and so on to meet "his spec."
Roy was really a special fellow and a joy to work with. Here's to you Roy! Cheers!
Mark Deneen
JuicyMusic
Roy was a spectacular engineer, acoustician, music buff and intriguing fellow to know. Roy could tell more about a part by fondling it for a minute than most people could tell by measuring it. His ability to visualize internally, spatially and conceptually and turn that vision into products was a marvel to witness. His design process was rigorous and he was a bit of a perfectionist. He knew quite precisely what he wanted and knew how to hold out to get it. He would drive those driver manufacturers nuts in getting just the exact right spiders, cones, pole pieces, coils and so on to meet "his spec."
Roy was really a special fellow and a joy to work with. Here's to you Roy! Cheers!
Mark Deneen
JuicyMusic
#8
Guest_Ron Nadeau_*
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Posted 28 June 2008 - 07:23 AM
Hi All,
Its just amazing to see all the information and compliments for Roy's work on the speakers. I am one of Roy's stepdaughters, my mother was his 3rd wife. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1993 and my mother in 2002. My sister and I started a scholarhip in their name at the Indiana School for the Blind.
He was truly amazing and could accomplish great feats despite his blindness. My mother and Roy built speakers in the early 90's and attended two (i think) CES shows in Vegas. Our families still have some of his latest speakers and I think even some of the brochures with pictures of the last models that they made together. The sold some in a store in Los Angeles, unfortunately I don't remember the model number and still might be there today. I think the store was LA Audio if anybody is familiar with it.
We are still looking for more information on Roy if anybody reviews this forum and has info from his time at IU.
Thanks!
#9
Guest_Ron Nadeau_*
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Posted 28 June 2008 - 07:45 AM
Hi,
I stumbled onto this website and thought I would respond to your post.
I knew Roy Cizek. He was a personal friend. I met him while attending Indiana University in the late 1960s and continued my association with him when he moved to Cambridge, MA. Roy was one of two people who turned me on to music and high fidelity so much so that I worked in the Hifi industry for many years, specifically for companies like Acoustic Rsearch and Advent. I knew his wife Fran who also moved to Cambridge, MA from Bloomington, Indiana. I remember he had a son called Carl. I also knew Ron Whaley, his constant companion, who was legally blind but not totally blind like Roy was. It was interesting to hear Roy talk about his lack of vision and he often told me that he would much rather have healthy legs before sight. I did not know his subsequent wives except that I believe he married a woman from Haverhill, MA and then he moved awy from New England working for other speaker companies like Altec Lansing.
There is so much I could tell you about Roy. I lost contact with him for several but managed to find him just before he died in California. What I regret is not having spoken with him but we did correspond via Fax and then I was going to call him only to discover he died.
If you ever want to speak with me about Roy please call -mail me at 603-465-8398 ext. 623 or send me e-mail at nadeau@textcorp.com
Fond memories of Roy...
Ron Nadeau
I stumbled onto this website and thought I would respond to your post.
I knew Roy Cizek. He was a personal friend. I met him while attending Indiana University in the late 1960s and continued my association with him when he moved to Cambridge, MA. Roy was one of two people who turned me on to music and high fidelity so much so that I worked in the Hifi industry for many years, specifically for companies like Acoustic Rsearch and Advent. I knew his wife Fran who also moved to Cambridge, MA from Bloomington, Indiana. I remember he had a son called Carl. I also knew Ron Whaley, his constant companion, who was legally blind but not totally blind like Roy was. It was interesting to hear Roy talk about his lack of vision and he often told me that he would much rather have healthy legs before sight. I did not know his subsequent wives except that I believe he married a woman from Haverhill, MA and then he moved awy from New England working for other speaker companies like Altec Lansing.
There is so much I could tell you about Roy. I lost contact with him for several but managed to find him just before he died in California. What I regret is not having spoken with him but we did correspond via Fax and then I was going to call him only to discover he died.
If you ever want to speak with me about Roy please call -mail me at 603-465-8398 ext. 623 or send me e-mail at nadeau@textcorp.com
Fond memories of Roy...
Ron Nadeau
#10
axoneill
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Posted 04 January 2011 - 11:51 PM
I'll add my brush with Roy Cizek as well. In 1974 I had a summer job at a contract speaker manufacturer on Canal St in Lawrence MA - Ultrawood, I was a college engineering kid with some knowledge of acoustics just looking to earn spending money. Ultrawood primarily made boxes for Advent, other New England speaker companies came to us for prototype runs or if they had a shortage of a particular model.
Their ambition was to become a full fledged speaker manufacturer, and the technical designer was Roy Cizek. I remember he and Ron in the factory absorbing the processes despite being blind, and talking with the company owners about their concepts. I was a lowly machine operator and set up man, but was not shy about giving my own advice and told them they would never be able to compete with the likes of AR and Henry Kloss at Advent (which collectively owned the category at the time) and I'll never forget the response Roy gave me - "they put their pants on one leg at a time - just like us...".
I lost all contact with the company after that summer, and see that Roy did proceed first in Andover, and then in Lawrence. Does anyone out there know what became of Ultrawood? Did they morph into Cizek?
So nice to learn of the outcome of Roy's designs, I never would know if I hadn't stumbled on this site.
Andy O'Neill
Their ambition was to become a full fledged speaker manufacturer, and the technical designer was Roy Cizek. I remember he and Ron in the factory absorbing the processes despite being blind, and talking with the company owners about their concepts. I was a lowly machine operator and set up man, but was not shy about giving my own advice and told them they would never be able to compete with the likes of AR and Henry Kloss at Advent (which collectively owned the category at the time) and I'll never forget the response Roy gave me - "they put their pants on one leg at a time - just like us...".
I lost all contact with the company after that summer, and see that Roy did proceed first in Andover, and then in Lawrence. Does anyone out there know what became of Ultrawood? Did they morph into Cizek?
So nice to learn of the outcome of Roy's designs, I never would know if I hadn't stumbled on this site.
Andy O'Neill
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