Electro-Voice X-2635 crossover problem

[scottieb]

I just acquired an Electro-Voice Patrician 4 speaker. All the internal speakers are in beautiful condition and when played at a lower volume they sound great but as I increase the volume I start getting some light popping and distortion. It gets worse as I continue to raise the volume. It has the X-2635 crossover with AT37 controls. I have to think that the crossover needs some attention.
Are there any reputable people that can recap or do any necessary repairs? I feel comfortable working on it but I think it would be best to use someone who specializes in this type of repairs.
This is a really beautiful speaker and I want to return it to it's full ability to produce beautiful music.
Thank you

 

[grindstone]

Congrats! Even as old as they are, the mid-late '50's stuff used film caps. It could also be dirty controls (or both).

If you have the wood case XO, you may have a better chance of accessing caps, but put that on hold for the moment. If you have some clip leads, you can use them to jumper across each of the 3 l-pads, you can see if it clears anything up or not.

You can try cleaning the controls (search) but they may just be shot. If you have it somewhere you can leave it with signal going through it for some hours unattented (not loud, just present/on), see if that gets you any more life.

Just try to isolate those bits one at a time as a start.

PS We like pictures a lot, too!

 

[scottieb]

Congrats! Even as old as they are, the mid-late '50's stuff used film caps. It could also be dirty controls (or both).

If you have the wood case XO, you may have a better chance of accessing caps, but put that on hold for the moment. If you have some clip leads, you can use them to jumper across each of the 3 l-pads, you can see if it clears anything up or not.

You can try cleaning the controls (search) but they may just be shot. If you have it somewhere you can leave it with signal going through it for some hours unattented (not loud, just present/on), see if that gets you any more life.

Just try to isolate those bits one at a time as a start.

PS We like pictures a lot, too!

I just inserted a picture of the X-2635. Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[grindstone]

Thanks. OK, yeah those are pretty early and it's the right age to have a better chance at the caps (but again, hold that for now). Guessing second version--you've got the 12W-1 cone low-midhorn in there, I trust? So yeah, you can get date codes off the stamped info on the back of the level controls. Looks like you have the dress cabinets removed from the utility cab so far, so...you removed the controls or re-attached them? Either way, see if jumpering like this, save for being louder, makes any difference.

 

[scottieb]

Thanks. OK, yeah those are pretty early and it's the right age to have a better chance at the caps (but again, hold that for now). Guessing second version--you've got the 12W-1 cone low-midhorn in there, I trust? So yeah, you can get date codes off the stamped info on the back of the level controls. Looks like you have the dress cabinets removed from the utility cab so far, so...you removed the controls or re-attached them? Either way, see if jumpering like this, save for being louder, makes any difference.

I got up early to look at the controls. I had originally sprayed them with a high-end electrical contact cleaner. Today I thought that I would give them a good dose of DeoxIT D5. After many rotations and waiting for a while I am now getting beautiful sound and am very happy.
I want to thank you for your valuable information, it is very much appreciated. This is a great site and everyone has been very helpful. My thanks to all!!

 

[grindstone]

Outstanding! We'll still take more pictures if you feel like it. ( Trying to figure out if it's a P2 or a P3 (or the crazy rare P1 with both the little multicell and the sp8bt metal-dustcap tweeters ) Congrats in any case and happy to hear another survivor has been saved.

 

[scottieb]

T

Outstanding! We'll still take more pictures if you feel like it. ( Trying to figure out if it's a P2 or a P3 (or the crazy rare P1 with both the little multicell and the sp8bt metal-dustcap tweeters ) Congrats in any case and happy to hear another survivor has been saved.

The small speaker on the left is a SP8B, the one on the right is a T10 and the horn is a T25. All speakers look like they were just unpacked.

 

[grindstone]

You have absolutely made my day--thank you so much. That's the first one--the 5-speaker 4-way. You are the only person I've ever come across that has one. Circa 1950 or early '51. And the metal cap SP8B is the SP8BT. Should be a 12" cone (12W or 12W-1) behind the T10 and SP8BT into that woodhorn...in the sealed chamber behind the crossover. If not for a drive crash from which I may never recover, I have information about those. TBD.

I have, however, quite literally searched for years to get both H & W of the throat and mouth of that horn.

Sincere thanks from the bottom of my heart. It's like seeing those YT videos of coelacanths...

 

[scottieb]

You have absolutely made my day--thank you so much. That's the first one--the 5-speaker 4-way. You are the only person I've ever come across that has one. Circa 1950 or early '51. And the metal cap SP8B is the SP8BT. Should be a 12" cone (12W or 12W-1) behind the T10 and SP8BT into that woodhorn...in the sealed chamber behind the crossover. If not for a drive crash from which I may never recover, I have information about those. TBD.
View attachment 3715325
I have, however, quite literally searched for years to get both H & W of the throat and mouth of that horn.

Sincere thanks from the bottom of my heart. It's like seeing those YT videos of coelacanths...
View attachment 3715329

Thank you, you evidentially know much more about this unit than I do. The speaker is a W12 and it is still beautiful. The person that originally owned the speaker was a friend of my uncle's. They both got into audio in the early fifties. I got interested when my uncle let me play his system when I was in junior high. When they started buying everything was mono. My uncle had a McIntosh a-116, a MC-30, Rec-O-Kut T12 turntable, Ampex A122 and Jensen G-610 speakers. I still have the turntable.
When I bought the the Patrician speaker I also got a Scott 710 Stroboscopic turntable with a Gray Research 710 tonearm, a Marantz audio consolette and power supply.
The turntable has a Fairchild 225A cartridge that the stylist is missing on. I am in the process of finding a replacement stylist or have the original retipped.
Thanks again for all the advice! I am 76 now but have never lost my love for really fine workmanship.
Thanks