jozeppy26
Active Member
Done. St. Louis, MO here
Done. St. Louis, MO here
In a word, no. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a well designed sealed back midrange driver used in the right place. There are many pros to sealing a driver including, in no particular order:
- limiting bass response to increase power handling/protect the driver
- limiting bass response to create an acoustic high pass filter, thereby negating the need for more electronics
- removing back chamber cabinet geometry from the driver response, thereby opening the door for creative enclosures
- removing driver interaction in a common enclosure thereby negating the need for complex internal baffles
MannyE
Exterminate!
The way I see it is that unless you've sat down to hear them, or have owned a pair in the past and are 100% they were set up correctly, then that's the only way a true opinion can be formed about the sound.
At 106 pounds each though, shipping is going to cost more than the speakers. Add another 20 pounds each for correct packing and you've got at least another $300 in shipping alone (off the top of my head) if not more.
So that leaves you with a local buyer. One that has a dedicated listening room because although I think they are super cool looking, I can't see anyone with a lot of estrogen coursing through their system liking them... AT. ALL.
My advice would be to set them up correctly, get yourself a good few tracks of demo music and post them here, CL and Ebay as local pickup. I think the way you "refinished" them is more like a cleanup and less like an alteration (I read the resto thread) and I think the end result looks fantastic.
I have no idea what the value is.
At 106 pounds each though, shipping is going to cost more than the speakers. Add another 20 pounds each for correct packing and you've got at least another $300 in shipping alone (off the top of my head) if not more.
So that leaves you with a local buyer. One that has a dedicated listening room because although I think they are super cool looking, I can't see anyone with a lot of estrogen coursing through their system liking them... AT. ALL.
My advice would be to set them up correctly, get yourself a good few tracks of demo music and post them here, CL and Ebay as local pickup. I think the way you "refinished" them is more like a cleanup and less like an alteration (I read the resto thread) and I think the end result looks fantastic.
I have no idea what the value is.
superdog
AK Member
I had some if I recall correctly some Sansui sp2000.They were not the largest and not the smallest speakers in that particular lineup.I ran them with a Sansui 2000x playing a Mapleshade sampler cd of mostly blues/jazz and was absolutely blown away on how good they sounded.They were positioned out in the middle of the room.I don't know if it was synergy of all of the above but I heard how Sansui speakers can be pretty good.I am a big fan of Sansui but have moved on from them but if I was running 70s Sansui I would love to have these.These being TOTL Sansui I know they will be wanted.
audiosignal
Active Member
5 things one can do to improve the bass of many speakers, not just Sansuis:
- add additional poly fill - this creates virtually larger cab, resulting better bass.
- recap
- get them off the floor
- use an EQ (yep, your untreated room can severely attenuates bass frequencies)
- soften up using chemicals, or at least work, the surrounds if they’re too stiff
Sansui speakers are very underrated imo, compared to some others that I have seen.
- add additional poly fill - this creates virtually larger cab, resulting better bass.
- recap
- get them off the floor
- use an EQ (yep, your untreated room can severely attenuates bass frequencies)
- soften up using chemicals, or at least work, the surrounds if they’re too stiff
Sansui speakers are very underrated imo, compared to some others that I have seen.
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z-adamson
Addicted Member
When you take a mid that has a sealed back, that mid won't be able to play very low (relatively speaking) and as such how high is the woofer going to have to play? You are pointing out how the sealed back limits bass response and pointing the advantages to that....fine.....but what about the disadvantages?
In the right place....yes. But they are usually used to cut cost down because the sub enclosure for the mid is no longer needed, not because they are ideal. There is a reason the cheap, entry level speakers frequently use sealed backs.
Agree here. The midrange drivers are sealed in my big Sony SS-3300's and sound excellent. The big woofer gets to use all of the cabinet space to do its thing. It all depends on the cabinet and crossover designs. I don't think you can make that blanket statement without knowing the intent of the design.
jozeppy26
Active Member
I see your point, however wouldn’t this low frequency limitation be a good thing in a speaker cabinet that also features a midrange horn?
z-adamson
Addicted Member
I have only seen sealed backs used in two kinds of systems.
1) Low budget, low priced 3 way designs. JBL D315 comes to mind. Some 80s 3 way sansui with white woofers comes to mind as well. In the JBL D315 the mid does not play low enough and the 15in woofer can't play high enough. Does not work. The set up is not ideal.
2) Sansui 4-5 way speakers loaded with many drivers covering the same frequency range. OK, so you have a midrange horn and thus the midrange driver does not need to play that low. Fair. But how low does the horn play? This system is less than ideal as well however. Multiple midrange drivers side by side like that playing the same frequencies, plus the horn. The acoustic problems that arise are obvious.
Let us imagine a system using a single open back mid in a subchamber playing all the same frequencies that the horn and multiple midrange drivers are playing. This imaginary mid has power handling capabilities and a sensitivity rating that are more than adequate. Don't you think this is preferable?
When I said sealed back = the suck I should have said that it is very rare that it is used in a system that is well designed and yields good results. I have yet to see one myself.
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centsless
Super Member
My pair of AR12's have sealed mids and is considered one of their better drivers and is an excellent speaker.
If the system is designed well, then the woofer will play up to the mid. It's all about the design, not necessarily one of the parts. All drivers have disadvantages, the trick lies in matching up the advantages of several drivers to make something more.
Maybe you should get out more. They tend to get use in prosound systems because physically limiting the bass generally means more power handling and sometimes better efficiency (again, dependent on the design). You can do a lot in a system with a 100dB midrange.
superdog
AK Member
You did pretty good.I knew someone would pay a premium for those.
Kudos to you
That goes to show you just how far behind the times we are on pricing here in the cheapskate capital of the world.....woops I mean New England. Those 5500's I mentioned were in nice shape; recapped and still they sat for a very long time at half your price
That goes to show you just how far behind the times we are on pricing here in the cheapskate capital of the world.....woops I mean New England. Those 5500's I mentioned were in nice shape; recapped and still they sat for a very long time at half your price
jozeppy26
Active Member
Kudos to you
Hahaha
I have found that there’s nothing I can’t move reasonably fast when I use my Canon DSLR to take staged photos of the item with natural lighting. DSLR pictures will always “pop” and grab attention more than a picture taken with an iPhone. Plus, every picture of a vintage speaker being sold in my area is dark and blurry with no description. It’s like no one even knows how to use an iPhone camera. Lol.
Lazarus Long
Super Member
I like the old Sansuis. I have a pair of sp-2700a. Cabinets are rough and I am reveneering with some nice walnut veneer. Can't find much info on this particular model..
