Finally, Electro Voice Sentry III

HyKlas

Super Member
After a long search I made a split second decision and purchased some of these guys, with the SEQ box. Going this weekend to pick them up (easier said than done at 150+lbs each)... Measured the car out and they'll fit perfect standing up face to face.

Wonder how they'll fare against the 4430s as it's been so long since hearing a pair of Sentry IIIs. The Sentrys will dig a little deeper and go a little higher so I think it will be a good run. Given I'm accustomed to the 4430s as my daily drivers (pun!) we'll see what happens.

Here's a few shots from the ad to tide you animals over until Sunday night...
 

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Nice! Recapped - both EQ and crossovers - I'll bet they'll give the mighty JBL's a run big time.

Just don't kill yourself getting them home.

Cheers,

David
 
Welcome to The club :thumbsup:
Bi-amp them if you can . I'm using an old JBL/Urei frequency divider but I'm sure there's better options out there
 
They look to be in great condition, since the foams are nice did the owner
keep the original woofer and do re foam?

I find corner placement and positioning can affect performance greatly
along with other tweaking.

BTW they appear to be MK I,s
 
They're reconed. Done before a suitable foam was available... Wasn't until recently you could find a matching foam for these.

A recap is in order, same for the JBLs really. I'm sure they both need it. I'll play around with the biamp eventually but for now they'll get the Yamaha PC4002M treatment.

No corners. Though I do have them in the room, if I place anything along that wall the listening position becomes a black hole for bass. Speakers are placed along a 21(?)ft wall, the long wall, which gives the best sound in my room.
 
They're reconed. Done before a suitable foam was available... Wasn't until recently you could find a matching foam for these


I did note the color of the cone was better than many so the re cone makes sense.
 
Enjoy them, I really don't think mine are going anywhere.
Especially after I solo-lifted them up 2 feet to go on top of subs. That wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had.

Mine didn't have the SEQ box, but had the ports on (and no amount of convincing would tell the PO that he was running them wrong). Pulled the ports, and there isn't much use for more bass, but I put them on top of JBL 4645B subs anyway, and will cross at 80hz. The sound across the board is phenomenal, and the midrange is exceptional. You'll love them, and I am curious to hear your comparisons.
 
Not sure when exactly the cones were done so hopefully they hold up for a while. Getting tired of bringing stuff home and having to wait for foams to arrive. ;)

Funny as I have a pair of subs in the works myself, that's what is in the corners of the long wall right now. Don't necessarily need more bass inside the room but if I open up the slider and the big window on the back wall, my system doubles as outdoor tunes during bbqs. That I do need more bass for... :beerchug:
 
I had a pair of those. I loved them. That mid horn is one of the sweetest. They will handle live concert volume and take it in stride. Great all around speaker. Had topartwith them. It was hard to cart them all over. I also had the S15-3 PA speakers and they were no slouch. I'd love to get a set of them and build new, proper cabinets. The VM (?) Thiele mid was nice on that speaker too. Nostalgic for some big EVs now. Nice score, and I'm sure you will enjoy them thoroughly.
 
Tomorrow is the day! Making a weekend out of it and won't be back home until Sunday night. That's usually the only way I can swing this stuff, treat the girlfriend to a night out of town.... :thumbsup:
 
Well, they've been in the car since yesterday afternoon. Came down with a bit of what seemed like food poisoning last night, excellent way to spend the evening in Tahoe... Don't think I'll have the strength to pull them out tonight so hopefully I'm feeling better tomorrow.
 
These speakers really interest me. I listened to an original pair locally a few years ago and they had potential but you could tell the crossover networks needed some love. I would have loved to take them home but it just wasn't to be.

Rest up then let us know what you think.
 
Managed to get them in the garage at least. The things we do to ourselves... Pulled the back off one to make a cap list, below is an awful shot of the crossover. Mostly 30uf with a 2.2uf and an oddball 17.7uf thrown in for good measure. A whopping 5 inductors in there as well... Pictures don't do justice to the sheer size of those resistors on the left. I'd put the bigger one at a good 6" long. Think I'll try to "pretty it up" some while I'm in there too. Could definitely stand to have a little more order than chaos.

That'll be down the road though. I want to get a firm grasp of what these sound like in their present state before mucking with them. Pictures will come tonight after I move some things around.

I'll also get on photobucket or something and post some high res shots of the SEQ internals, in case someone wants to try for a schematic...

Nevermind about the crossover pic. My phone takes too nice of pictures to upload to AK anymore. Loving the new format. /sarcasm
 
Check that the internal spades for running bi-amp or normal are correct on the jumper board.
And of course the phasing of the drivers. Not that I need to mention that but just in case.
 
I was the first to pull the back. Purchased these from the original owner.

Ok, so... First listening impressions...

I'm surprised by these, but not in a positive way. Everything feels disconnected. That's the first word that comes to mind. Like others have said in the past, each driver has it's own distinct point in space and it is very audible. Next, the bass down where the boost is made inside the SEQ box seems fake, overpowering, and bloated. It stands out above all the rest when the music presents it. Also, I feel the need to run with loudness on. Without it they sound thin. Truth be told, that may be more my room and the old caps than the speaker system itself but thought I'd point it out. Maybe getting them up off the floor will cure a lot of this. I'll see if I can come up with a temporary solution for testing that theory.

*edit* I forgot to add something positive! Maybe I was a bit unfair there but I have a few sets of heavyweights here so I'm a tough sell. The midrange on these is very good. Horns sound fantastic and I could listen to The Wall on repeat all night if it wouldn't drive the other half nuts... More to come as I tweak and find / repair the shortcomings.

As of right now the speakers are each 10' from the seated position, 8' apart (center to center), and only a few inches from the wall. I'll play around with positioning some but there isn't a lot if wiggle room.
 

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I found that the driver integration on mine is excellent-at least between woofer and midrange. My tweeter crossover was severely monkeyed with, and I haven't got them quite right yet. Love what I'm hearing, though.

Running them on a Yamaha P2075 gave a similar sound to what you describe in the bass region, though I don't have the SEQ box to test. Running a pair of Dynaco MkIII's seemed to make the bass work properly. I haven't tried anything else-I was so happy with the Dynacos that I've left them for the last few months.

My woofers were properly refoamed before I got them, but I don't have the SEQ, just the port covers. The PO was running them with the covers on and no SEQ, which is why I think he was willing to let them go. I pulled them off when I got home, and was in heaven.
 
As you mentioned the disconnect between drivers, before redoing the crossovers
reconnect the jumpers for bi-amping and run 2 amps with 1 or both having level controls
as this can give you some flexibility adjusting driver levels and existing issues.

Curious what difference you hear.
Your pretty much mirroring my original findings so far.
 
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