Stromberg and Carlson behemoths

Well I now know two of these suckers just barely fit in the back of a Rav4.
I will thoroughly document whatever I do with them but that won't start until the weekend at the earliest.
 

Attachments

  • 20170912_211931.jpg
    20170912_211931.jpg
    75.5 KB · Views: 138
I'll work on that tomorrow. Very curious about getting the grill off. I think there are screws coming up from underneath.
 
Well they work and sound better than I expected. Not exactly ideal listening environment. Hopefully I'll get the grills off Friday evening and we can see what's underneath. The cat approves.
 

Attachments

  • 20170914_213140.jpg
    20170914_213140.jpg
    79.2 KB · Views: 161
Good for you! See, they fit in the house!
Time to make that basement a listening cave!
 
Good for you! See, they fit in the house!
Time to make that basement a listening cave!
We did get a great new dehumidifier this summer!
I may hit you up for some refinishing advice soon GD. Looks like somebody did a poor job with some type of clear coat substance at some point. I'd like to sand that off and just hit it with tung oil or Danish oil as i am not a fan of the gloss.
 
Success!
Grill is actually very easy to get off. Four screws on the bottom then a hole to stick a screwdriver in to pop the grill off. There are three nubs on the top of the grill to hold it in place. There is also a metal lattice behind the grill cloth to protect the speakers.
Speakers are a 12", 7" and a tweeter.
Paper cones with treated surrounds.
Here are some more pictures.
Very exciting!

***edit the drivers are a 15" woofer and 8" mid***
 

Attachments

  • 20170916_172724.jpg
    20170916_172724.jpg
    81.9 KB · Views: 222
  • 20170916_172735.jpg
    20170916_172735.jpg
    66.8 KB · Views: 192
  • 20170916_172756.jpg
    20170916_172756.jpg
    63.3 KB · Views: 184
  • 20170916_172809.jpg
    20170916_172809.jpg
    60.7 KB · Views: 202
  • 20170916_172020.jpg
    20170916_172020.jpg
    78 KB · Views: 199
Last edited:
Previous owner clearly spray painted the grills black which is a shame.
Note the original color in the picture.
I intend to get them back to a lighter color.
Thinking these may be MSS491s.
 

Attachments

  • 20170916_180137.jpg
    20170916_180137.jpg
    168 KB · Views: 124
Although both tweeters are definitely working, one speaker does not have the clear highs the other does. I am hoping some deoxit to the high and mid balance pots might take care of that.
I'll give that a shot tomorrow and see if I can get a look at the crossover.
 
Maybe there is something you could wash the grill cloth in that would remove the paint, but not ruin the cloth. I'm trying to think of what would remove spray paint, that isn't a harsh solvent.

I would think the weak HF on the one speaker is either a dirty pot like you mentioned, or a bad capacitor in the crossover. You could always swap tweeters to see if the problem follows. If the deoxit doesn't fix it that is.

Nice find
 
I would think the weak HF on the one speaker is either a dirty pot like you mentioned, or a bad capacitor in the crossover. You could always swap tweeters to see if the problem follows. If the deoxit doesn't fix it that is.

Nice find

My thoughts exactly.
I'm hoping a good cleaning will do the trick.
Someone at classic speakers offered up a crossover schematic that doesn't look too crazy, but I'll try to get in there today and have a look.
 
So the speaker with the diminished highs had its High Freq Balance control disconnected and internally wired to a different pot.
Turned that up and the highs returned.
It now seems the mids in that speaker are a bit off.
I'm a little concerned about the pots. They are covered in a white crystal powder. I've recently read about old pots being coated in cadmium and that this is highly toxic.
Anyone have any experience or knowledge about this potential danger?
Here are some internal pics including the pots and crossover.
For the record I washed up thoroughly and the cabinets are sealed back up.
Thanks.

Mike
 

Attachments

  • 20170917_173555.jpg
    20170917_173555.jpg
    67.2 KB · Views: 140
  • 20170917_173547.jpg
    20170917_173547.jpg
    80.7 KB · Views: 135
  • 20170917_172806.jpg
    20170917_172806.jpg
    83.5 KB · Views: 133
  • 20170917_172655.jpg
    20170917_172655.jpg
    70.7 KB · Views: 128
  • 20170917_172751.jpg
    20170917_172751.jpg
    47 KB · Views: 128
Cadmium powder is usually a yellowish powder. I can't tell from your pics if that is what it is.

I have run into cadmium powder on many old tube amps chassis, speaker parts, and other various audio related hardware. You are right, its bad stuff. I wipe if off with a cloth dampened with alcohol. It comes back eventually. Your best bet is replacing the cadmium coated hardware.

If you are planning on keeping these speakers, I would consider replacing the pots with matching units, or just replacing them with fixed resistors.
 
Cadmium powder is usually a yellowish powder. I can't tell from your pics if that is what it is.

If you are planning on keeping these speakers, I would consider replacing the pots with matching units, or just replacing them with fixed resistors.

There is white powdery stuff on the pots and some of the screw in connections on the crossover.
I'm thinking my best bet is to replace the pots and whatever caps are in the crossover.
Not sure if I'll be able to keep them just because they are so damn big.
My concern is what is an acceptable level of refurbishing that will enhance or at the very least maintain their value.
I kind of feel that in their current state, if I replace the four pots, recap the crossovers, sand and treat the cabs with tung oil and paint or recover the grill cloth these things will be killer but will I have adversely affected their value.
 
So these guys have been on hold for a bit but finally started ripping them apart today.
Cleaned up all the cadmium powder, pulled out all the fiberglass insulation and vacuumed them out. Definitely feel i should replace the pots/rheostats. Here are a few new pics.
 

Attachments

  • 20171022_170710.jpg
    20171022_170710.jpg
    66.1 KB · Views: 121
  • 20171022_192602.jpg
    20171022_192602.jpg
    65.8 KB · Views: 126
  • 20171022_202651.jpg
    20171022_202651.jpg
    62.3 KB · Views: 124
Excellent project!
Those pots look pretty good internally. On AR pots, after cleanup, I coat the coils and wiper with dielectric grease.
The cabs look like a very easy sand and refinish. The grills, I'm not sure what to use that wont damage the grill fabric. Is it actually fabric, or more of a plastic type material?
If fabric, than maybe a paint remover would work, though try a hidden spot as a test.
 
Back
Top Bottom