Magnavox Console Record / Tape player rebuild - help

jeff_r07

New Member
I recently inherited a Magnavox Phono and tape player console cabinet. It was my grandfathers, and its a beautiful piece of furniture. I started listening to some of his old records on it. and some other classic rock records I found. Problem is, the sound was not so good. I went to one of these old analog restore places and he told me, basically, these old console pieces were never meant to sound all that good. well.....I gutted it. and I'm going to rebuild it as best I can. and get a good sound out of it.

the reason I'm here is, I'm stuck. the speaker, crossover, amp combo is driving me nuts.

what I will buy is the following.

source: Pro Ject Debut Carbon DC turntable. Preamp: Pro Ject Tube Box DS Preamp (so I can control the volume )

and this is where I get stuck. I have read so many articles about active vs passive crossover, 2 way vs 3 way speakers, low watt class D amp vs class AB. amp, Bi-amping Tri-amping ahhhgghh! conclusion, I now know I am in way over my head. you might say, hey man, just buy some decent 2 ways and be done with it. Problem is, it won't fit in the console. the original console had a 2 way 12" sub and I assume a 2" by 6" horn of some kind in a sealed styrofoam box. I would love to have the same driver size ( maybe a bit smaller sub driver ) and box as the original. it would save a lot of head ache. the original box had the horns pointing forward, and the sub pointing out the sides. so the console already has the holes cut for that arrangement. but, building a speaker combo with the right crossover and amp is proving a mountain of a task.

what I would like to use is a low watt, 8 ohm ( I read low impedance, sensitive speakers sounded great at low watt ) 2 way type setup that sounds leagues better than it originally did. I just don't want to throw stuff in there, and cause a big sonic soup, if you know what I mean. I don't know if I can post pics. some forums won't let you until you've had a certain number of post.

any help, suggestions, point me in the right direction....
 
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Have you already pulled the speakers from it? I think those speakers are great with an added tweeter. The horn rolls off at about 13k-14k so if you add a tweeter in the 12k-22k range, it really livens it up. I have installed cheap lepai 20 watt amps in some consoles that the SS amp has not much to offer. Just cross this one at 10-12k :
upload_2017-8-19_10-27-44.png

The tt and preamp you chose will work fine.
 
well, thats the thing. I don't know how to "cross it over". I pulled all the old gear out. I already cut one box open, to see whats inside. however, I can build new boxes. I just figured these speakers were no good. what your talking about is turning this into a 3 way? is that right? can I just add a passive crossover after the amp to filter it all? and....I do like those Lepi amps. thats what I was considering using. I don't really need a full on receiver.
 
actually.....this is what I considered doing. please tell me if I'm off my rocker.

build a box exactly the same size as the original. 16" cube. and, in place of the horn use this.
Tang Band 1" tweeter https://www.parts-express.com/tang-band-w1-1070sh-1-full-range-driver--264-863
Tang Band 5" Mid https://www.parts-express.com/tang-band-w5-2143-5-paper-cone-full-range-driver-8-ohm--264-958
and for the sub use
Dayton audio 10" sub https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dsa270-8-10-designer-series-aluminum-cone-woofer--295-532
or maybe this one. its a lower watt
https://www.parts-express.com/peerless-by-tymphany-830668-10-paper-cone-sls-subwoofer--264-1110

and put a 3 way crossover after the amp like this
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/speaker-crossover-3-way-a-1307.html#tab-2

and use this amp
https://www.parts-express.com/lepai...with-power-supply--310-3000#lblProductDetails

am I just looking for trouble, or will this work?
 
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