GOODMANS MAXIM

 INDEX 

THE SMALLEST TRUE HIFI SPEAKER IN THE WORLD

 by Ted Jordan

  Goodman's Maxim  Maxim drivers   Maxims around the world   MAXIM VALUES

Maxim sixties adverts   OTHER M SERIES (Magister, Mambo and Maximus)

 
   

 GOODMAN'S MAXIMS BUILT 1965 

        

 Bass surrounds not original ( I had the original replaced thinking it was a bad repair !!)  Nice old screw terminals, designed for thin wire only

     Not bad considering nearly 40years old

Recently rescued from an op shop in Maroochydore . These brilliant small and extremely heavy little speakers feature what appears to be an ordinary cone tweeter and a tiny 3in bass midrange.  From an article I remember reading 5 years ago these speakers are rated at 8W ( Hifi amplifiers in the 60's were  usually 15-20 watters) These speakers are also 15ohm resistance.

The baffle board is mild steel! The bass mid magnet practically touches the back of the case. In fact I have yet to come across a magnet that is so proportionally big. The tweeter is encased in its own plastic chamber. As for the sound it is actually difficult to describe. These speakers just sound right. When I first played them I kept being surprised at how good these boys are. They have tremendous clarity in the midrange, a sparkling treble and a really extended bass

 MAXIM DRIVERS 

A quick glance will tell you why these speakers are so popular. This speaker started the mini monitor fashion.

 

 These pictures have been taken from an eBay advert

 http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=22062&item=3816681237&rd=1

 Many thanks to macroots

 

 The hard to get at view, Maxim's massive alnico magnet

  The bass front with original surround on very heavy steel baffle

07 5445 4628 for all his time and effort. I proved to be quite a job getting them open because of the old style baffle board (which supports the drivers ) This it is glued to the backing. The speaker surrounds were also quite difficult due to their odd size.

The end result though was well worth the effort. These speakers would leave most modern small speakers for dead

If you see old Goodman's speakers from the fifties or sixties buy them      TO TOP 

 

  MAXIMS AROUND THE WORLD

 Here are parts of some of the photos sent to me by Orn Por Arnason a Maxim Fan living in Iceland. We have agreed to work together to find out more about these excellent mini monitors. Orn's speakers have completely original drive units, but have a slightly modified exterior. ( They have been painted white!).

 If anybody reading this article owns a pair of these speakers, or has information relating to these speakers can you please contact me

  HERE ARE THE PICTURES

Orn's speaker with unpainted baffle   (Orn Por Arnason ICELAND)

 

 The following have been provided by Mr Barry Lovelock UK.

 

 Please note the excellent matching electronics

 John Keung (Honk Kong) Is a huge LS3-5a fan. He also owns this Maxim which he regards very highly. This particular speaker is interesting in many ways. It has a modified speaker connector (I must admit the original is a bit of a fiddle) and has the drivers mounted on a layer of foam. There are also some felt strip surrounds which should help to reduce diffraction ( similar to the LS3-5a)

 

Notice the unusual Goodmans badge.

 

 A layer of foam has been placed behind both drivers

 

  Din type connector

 

  The eBay print screen (Nov 2003) suggests current value?

 

This sale finished on the 28th June 2004

This sale finished on 23rd March 2005    TO TOP

      

 

 Taken from a copy of Hi Fi  News Dec 1965. The Maxim the smallest true hifi speaker in the world.

 Provided by Dave Roberts,  http://www.retrohifi.co.uk

 

 

  My Maxims work brilliantly in this surround sound system. Although rated at about 15W they produce music on a grand scale using the 110W per channel Marantz power amp shown on the right. The low bass is handled by a Velodyne VA810 sub (not shown). I use a Mordaunt Short T1000 centre speaker and two Mordaunt Short CS3 at the rear.

 I often just use the Maxims on their own because they do such a convincing job with vocals and they produce a very wide and high stage.

 The stands are very heavy but I haven't got round to filling with shot

 

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