Bozak Speakers
After looking at the cheap and very poorly made Divinci speakers a few days ago, we are now going to have a look at the completely opposite end of the spectrum Bozak Speakers. These speakers were top of the line when they came out, designed for pure audio enthusiasts who only wanted the absolute best money could buy. Sadly Bozak speakers dissolved as a business in the 1980’s, but their range of speakers can still be found for sale second hand. In this article we are going to talk about what happened to the company, and looking at some of the more popular models that they sold over the years.
A brief history of Bozak
Bozak as a company was formed in the early 1950s by Rudy Bozak. As an electronic designer, he created several distinctive speaker designs over the years. In 1950 he was hired by a company called Mcintosh Laboratory to develop a driver for their speakers. Over the next two years he made a variety of different driver designs, including one that was the core of the McIntosh F100 speaker system which sold quite well. Mcintosh however decided not to take his designs any further, which frustrated him as there was clearly a market for this. This lead him to found his own company, so he could focus on making high quality audio equipment. Over the next few decades, Bozak put out a variety of unique and creative audio products, many of which are still very highly rated today. In 1977 Rudy Bozak sold the company, although he was kept on in a consultant role to oversee the production of new products. Rudy Bozak passed away in 1982, and the company was re-organised by his wife and son in law the following year. The company enjoyed a brief bit of renewed success thanks to this move, but after a series of disastrous decisions the company finally met an end in 1986. The name was then bought up by Chinese buyers, who wanted to use the name to produce their own range of speakers. It was a sad end to what had been a very innovative company, but their products do still live on through their very good reputation. Now let’s take a look at some of their more popular models that they produced.
Bozak Concert Grand Speakers
The highlight of their lineup was the aptly named Concert Grand. This model was sold from the inception of the company, all the way until 1977. It initially started out with mono models such as the B-310 and B-310A, and later moved onto stereo models such as the B-310B and the B-400 models. These models were all roughly refrigerator sized, and contained four 12″ woofers, one 8″ ohm midrange driver, and eight tweeters. The B-410 was probably the most popular model in this product range, however it did cost around $2000 which was a lot of money in the mid 1960’s. It came in three different design shapes including the Moorish (pictured), the Classic, and the Contemporary. These kinds of speakers were designed for filling out large areas, with Bozak stating that these sounded best when the listener was further than 20 feet away. Today they are still quite popular, and get snapped up very fast on the second hand market. We should also mention that Bozak released the B-4000 Symphony a few years later, which was essentially a mini Concert Grand. The B-4000 consisted of two 12″ woofers, one midrange, and the same eight vertically stacked tweeters. The Symphony also sold very well, and some reviews even suggested it provided a better audio experience than its big brother!
Bozak B-302A Speakers
The Bozak B-302A was a much more affordable speaker in their product range, which made it very popular for anyone looking for high quality speakers that didn’t cost a small fortune. These speakers consisted of a 12″ woofer, a tweeter pair and one midrange driver. The B-302A models came in a variety of cabinet styles, with the Moorish style (pictured) proving to be one of the more popular choices. There was no minimum distance recommended to get the most out of these speakers, so they were a bit better in a smaller environment than their bigger cousins such as the Grand Concert. These speakers were produced for many years, and still sound really fantastic today if you can find a pair.
Bozak CMA 10-2DL Mixer
Speakers weren’t the only product that Bozak made, as they also started producing mixers in the early 1960s. This culminated in their best selling CMA 10-2DL mixer being released, which quickly grew in reputation due to the fantastic quality it offered. High quality Allen-Bradley components were used in the production of these units, and all the transistors were hand picked to ensure their quality. The were also made using a modular kind of design, which helped to ensure easy servicing and expansion. These models were hugely popular with the rise of discotheques, and the company continued to make and sell them after the death of Rudy Bozak. Even today these models are still sought after, which goes to show how great their workmanship really was.
Summary
So that is a look at some of the more popular models they sold over the years. If you are lucky enough to get hold of one of these items in good condition, make sure you hang onto it as these are collectors items now. They are part of a bygone era were quality was considered first, and built to last. The Bozak company may be long gone, but their products will likely be around for a very long time.
So where can you find them for sale? Ebay is often a good starting point, as you will occasionally find a decent quality model on there. Otherwise if you know of any audio stores near you that sell second hand speakers, it is worth asking them if they can keep an eye out for some. Keep in mind though that some of these speaker systems are very big and heavy, so you will a suitable form of transport, and something like a platform trolley to help move them around.
Bozak also had a speaker kit where you assembled the cabinet and wired the speaker yourself. You got 2 speakers. My dad bought one of these sets and “built it himself”, and Mom still has it. When completed the cabinets were about the height of a dining room table coming from the floor. This was either the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. Coupled with a Garrard record player and Maranatz receiver, you didn’t dare set the volume past 2 or 3 in your home. if you did, something would blow out, and it would not be the cones of the Bozaks either. It’d be either the windows in the building or even worse your eardrums that would blow out. Just as the kitchen range was the heart of the rural country home in the U.S.A. up to the 1940’s, the Bozaks were the heart of ours.
Mom and Dad never moved to a different home without ’em. Many of times these speakers played Simon and Garfunkel, Minnie Rippleton, Jim Croce, Richie Havens, Carol King, and others along with a lot of Jazz, Soft Rock and EZ Listening. Lord knows what might have happened if we played Rush, Quiet Riot or especially AC/DC’s song Thunderstruck through this [way beyond] Hi Fidelity speaker system.
The difference between the Bozaks and other speakers, including most of the most high ones, was that they sounded so good, you’d swear it was live unless it was on vinyl. It was beyond “is it live or is it Memorex?”! You’d feel not as if you got front row seats at a concert, but instead as if you were right next to the performer/speaker either on stage or in the recording studio. Old Bozaks from the 60’s and 70’s often sound better than BRAND NEW Polk Audio,
JBLs, & Harman Kardon,offerings today. The sound was clearer than even some of the BEST Bluetooth speakers today. The only way to get better is to switch to Marshall Amplifiers or the [‘old school’] Peavey ones [not the junk they sell today], and those two brands are generally sold only to Rock and Rap bands, not the home stereo market. If I remember right he bought his pair from Beatty Stereo, a now defunct dealer that sold NOTHING BUT the best in stereo.
If I understand right Beatty Stereo (based in Kansas City) was the only place you could buy Bozaks in Missouri or Kansas for many years.
If Mom decides to get rid of them or dies, I intended to get these, even if I have to buy ’em at an estate auction or something! It doesn’t matter to me if I get little else.
Hi Stephen,
Thank you very much for your detailed post. Bozak Speakers were very special products, and tales like yours make us sad that these fine products are no longer around. We haven’t heard about the self assembly kits before though – do you perhaps have any pictures of the speakers, or have an idea what the model name or numbers are? We would love to get some more info on this if you have any to share!