Recommendations for 12" woofer, 96 db, 4-8ohm, 30ish-2500hz

biscuithead

Me likes the eargasm retroplasm...
I am thinking about loading my Jensen BL-220 cabs with something nice...

It is a ported enclosure, will be horn loaded. I'd like to stay in the 150-200$ range each... or less...

Thanks
 
Altec/GPA 414.

My personal favorite, and current daily drivers use 414-8C.

ce2d40e5-75c3-410b-b8c7-fbc277aeb38b-bg2.png
 
+1

My daily drivers use Altec 414-16b. Great all around woofers. These can be had for under your budget. Just get the 8 ohm version like Bowtie has
 
Um, are we not going to talk about how that will work in a random ported cabinet? Or perhaps I'm underestimating biscuithead's knowledge of the topic. Maybe you have that all under control.
 
Um, are we not going to talk about how that will work in a random ported cabinet? Or perhaps I'm underestimating biscuithead's knowledge of the topic. Maybe you have that all under control.

No please... underestimate away... I have very limited knowledge of the 3127 and its characteristics in a ported cabinet. Please, I am here to learn...
 
No please... underestimate away... I have very limited knowledge of the 3127 and its characteristics in a ported cabinet. Please, I am here to learn...
More of a mid bass driver, no low extension, handles tons of power, more sensitive than many 15's and can play EXTREMELY loud, can be paired with large format HF, it;s an awesome driver properly applied

A 3127 could be fitted with 414 parts, but it's motor is so much more powerful it would be impossible to get it close to 414 parameters, i think that's essentially what a ferrite 414E is.

414E's:

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3127:

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No please... underestimate away... I have very limited knowledge of the 3127 and its characteristics in a ported cabinet. Please, I am here to learn...

Well, from what little I know, you usually take the driver's TS parameters and plug them into a box design software, maybe specify a box volume, and the output is the port length and diameter to use. For example, and I hope I explain this right, the box and port are usually designed to resonate at the driver's resonant frequency (Fs). Every driver is different in its parameters - xmax, Fs, Q and so on. Once you have a box with a certain size port, any other woofer may or may not perform the same in that cabinet, so the bass part of the response curve may be different unless you retune the box. Maybe not drastically different, and it's always possible that other smart people in this thread already know that the woofers being discussed have (or don't have, as appropriate) characteristics close enough to the original so that they'll work 'pretty well'.
 
Just for the fun of it, these are Jensen BL220s. I don't know about you guys, but pictures help me a lot.

1003018-original-jensen-bl220-corner-speaker-cabinet.jpg


1003020-original-jensen-bl220-corner-speaker-cabinet.jpg


jensen-speaker-bl-220-working_1_dfa9418d2af0f8248ede73dc90e66f20.jpg

GeeDeeEmm
 
Some musing:

BH - What, besides the woofers, are in your cabinets right now? Original horns, crossovers?

- If the original HF components are still there, are you intent on reusing them?

- For any woofer new enough to have the Thiel/Small parameters available, it will be quite easy determining what the port sizes should be by using one of the on-line calculators. I'm thinking that you will be best served by blocking the side vents and installing the vents in the blocking panels - all behind the existing grill cloth, of course. (Doing it this way will also allow you some leeway in determining the interior volume. I.e., installing the blocking panels at the very beginning of the vent will yield a smaller volume than by mounting the panels at the outside opening of the vents.)

- If keeping the current HF components is not etched in stone, you might want to consider installing a 12 or 15 inch coaxial driver. But, I'm afraid that would bust the bank as concerns the proposed budget. But not badly. For instance, the new Celestian FTX1225 has a street price of $225.

tf1225cx_zoom2.png


Again, just some meandering thoughts and throwing options in the air.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Some musing:

BH - What, besides the woofers, are in your cabinets right now? Original horns, crossovers?

- If the original HF components are still there, are you intent on reusing them?

- For any woofer new enough to have the Thiel/Small parameters available, it will be quite easy determining what the port sizes should be by using one of the on-line calculators. I'm thinking that you will be best served by blocking the side vents and installing the vents in the blocking panels - all behind the existing grill cloth, of course. (Doing it this way will also allow you some leeway in determining the interior volume. I.e., installing the blocking panels at the very beginning of the vent will yield a smaller volume than by mounting the panels at the outside opening of the vents.)

- If keeping the current HF components is not etched in stone, you might want to consider installing a 12 or 15 inch coaxial driver. But, I'm afraid that would bust the bank as concerns the proposed budget. But not badly. For instance, the new Celestian FTX1225 has a street price of $225.

tf1225cx_zoom2.png


Again, just some meandering thoughts and throwing options in the air.

GeeDeeEmm
Thanks for the pics! Thems the ones. Mine don't match, one is mahogany, other is blonde, but no matter...

I do not have any of the original equipment. Both cabinets came to me with other stuff stuffed inside. This project is being born from my love of my Econowaves that I built using JBL 15s and the 220ti horn. Love a simple 2-way. I really love that 220ti for 50 bucks! My econowaves are inside some Heathkit AS-15, with a down firing port, they're wonderful.

I have a number of 15" JBLs hanging around the shop that I could use for this project, but I really don't want to mess with the baffle board, that would require a cabinet tear down.
I just don't have any 12" woofs worthy of using. I have 60-80 raw speakers in the garage from years of hoarding... but my 12" selection is sparse and unimpressive.
 
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+1 GD

Also Radian and B&C have some affordable coaxials.
I'd like to use the 220ti again... so coaxials aren't necessary. Just a woof that can handle up to 2000hz ish.
I am getting a price quote from GPA on the 414 and the 3127... they couldn't quote me a price earlier today... I kinda suspect that GPA has organization issues, but it is an early opinion, I'll give it more time.
 
More useless rambling on my part:

Hmmm. Some JBL 15s, huh? Personally, I would not find anything concerning in mounting one of those fifteens using the twelve-inch baffle board, despite blocking an inch or so of the speaker circumference. What you would be losing is basically the surround area of the woofer. (And you will need to check to make sure that the surrounds do not buzz against the baffle. Easily solved with an extra gasket on top of the factory job. That will move the woofer further from the baffle.)

You could give this a try very easily and inexpensively by simply installing four (or eight) brass threaded inserts per cab to hang the fifteens on, and you wouldn't have to modify the baffle at all. (And, the pilot hole for these doesn't even need to protrude through the front of the baffle board, so no outward appearance alterations and no holes through the baffle. Neat.)

p.jpg


Ok. So if you do not have any components on hand to use for the HF section, what did you have planned for that? (Of course, going with a coaxial speaker would take care of the woofer and tweeter issues in one unit.)

But, I'd try the 15" JBL woofers you already have in those cabinets before going any further. If for nothing else, just the grins involved. You may be surprised. One way or the other! ;)

GeeDeeEmm
 
More useless rambling on my part:

Hmmm. Some JBL 15s, huh? Personally, I would not find anything concerning in mounting one of those fifteens using the twelve-inch baffle board, despite blocking an inch or so of the speaker circumference. What you would be losing is basically the surround area of the woofer. (And you will need to check to make sure that the surrounds do not buzz against the baffle. Easily solved with an extra gasket on top of the factory job. That will move the woofer further from the baffle.)

You could give this a try very easily and inexpensively by simply installing four (or eight) brass threaded inserts per cab to hang the fifteens on, and you wouldn't have to modify the baffle at all. (And, the pilot hole for these doesn't even need to protrude through the front of the baffle board, so no outward appearance alterations and no holes through the baffle. Neat.)

p.jpg


Ok. So if you do not have any components on hand to use for the HF section, what did you have planned for that? (Of course, going with a coaxial speaker would take care of the woofer and tweeter issues in one unit.)

But, I'd try the 15" JBL woofers you already have in those cabinets before going any further. If for nothing else, just the grins involved. You may be surprised. One way or the other! ;)

GeeDeeEmm

Man... I was close to doing that! I think I'll give 'er a go! I wasn't sure if this was an absolute sin or not... but I've done the Vott thing with turning the circle into a curved-edge, and cutting the edges out.
I will come up with a extra gasket...
Thanks!
 
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