Heathkit AS-18 Miniature Speaker System
A bookshelf speaker kit with a 6-inch woofer, a tweeter, and a balance control, in a cabinet under ten inches tall.
Overview
The AS-18 was Heathkit's entry in the miniature acoustic-suspension speaker field. The catalog copy said it plainly: miniature in size, but not in performance. The kit paired a 6-inch woofer with a 2-inch tweeter - both sourced from Electro-Voice, according to Heathkit's own literature - in an acoustic-suspension cabinet rated for 60 Hz to 20 kHz. Program handling was quoted at 25 watts. For a speaker this small, that's a sensible ceiling. It fills a room behind a modest receiver and doesn't pretend to be a floor-stander.
The AS-18 has a high-frequency balance control, which the average kit bookshelf box doesn't. Heathkit built in an adjustable HF trim so the owner could tune the top end to taste. That fit the kit-building habits of the era, where the builder was expected to voice the system rather than accept a fixed crossover curve. The cabinet measured 9 inches high by 15 inches wide by 6¾ inches deep and came in walnut with a clear vinyl wrap for durability. Shipping weight was listed at 16 pounds.
It was sold as a companion to Heathkit's compact systems, and the period literature suggested a pair for stereo compacts (Audio, November 1968, p.51). Heathkit marketed its AD-27 FM stereo compact as delivering 15 watts of music power per channel into reasonably efficient speakers. The sensible setup is two AS-18s flanking an AD-27 or a similar all-in-one.
It's a working speaker, not an investment, and the market treats it accordingly. The 25-watt rating means it pairs happily with low-powered tube gear and small solid-state receivers alike — which is exactly the company it was designed to keep.
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