Design Acoustics D-12 subwoofer?

[doodlesticks]

Blew one of the subs in my beloved Design Acoustics D-12s. It's a 10" sub with butyl surround, 8 ohm. Relatively unmarked, only serial numbers (DWA6 C5810305) – but I know it should be a CTS sub. Anyone know a replacement? I absolutely love these and need them firing again!

 

[painttoad]

don't search for a cts sub. they are cts woofers.

can't you just replace the surrounds?

i always thought those were cool looking speakers but never have had a chance to hear them. i've never seen them in the wild.

 

[Dswankey]

I see this is your first post so welcome to AK and here's hoping you enjoy your time here.

It's Woofer not sub woofer and yes it's a CTS

 

[stickman]

I worked at D-A in Torrance for a period when the D-12's were being assembled in the 1970's and the woofers used were made in the USA primarily by CTS, Amperex and Gefco although the owner would look for "close-outs" on woofers with similar operating characteristics. The numbers on your woofers are baffling as normally an EIA code number would be present. Look on FleaBay to see if anyone is parting out a D-4 (not the D4-A) or D-6 model as they used the same type of woofers. A woofer from a D-2 would probably work just fine as well except the ones with the balsa wood "spokes" glued to the front of the cone which should be avoided.

Its always possible your woofers are not original as when the foam surrounds would fail back in the 1970's or 80's (long before the internet) owners often would just replace the woofers since only speaker repair shops were doing replacement foam surround work way back then.

 

[doodlesticks]

don't search for a cts sub. they are cts woofers.

can't you just replace the surrounds?

i always thought those were cool looking speakers but never have had a chance to hear them. i've never seen them in the wild.

I’m registering a pure 0 ohms disconnected and on the posts. Assumed blown voicecoil, and assumed inoperable. The woofer on the other side had around 5 ohms under the same conditions.

And they sound as good as they look. I’m sure there are speakers with more refined characteristics, but these fill a room like no other.

 

[doodlesticks]

I see this is your first post so welcome to AK and here's hoping you enjoy your time here.

It's Woofer not sub woofer also asking for someone here to sell to you is a no-no, I would edit that part out of your post if not a Moderator can do that for you.

Great advice, edited and thank you.

 

[lab]

Sometimes the flexible wire (tinsel leads) from the woofer terminals to the woofer cone can have a small break caused by decades of moving back and forth. With a little luck and skilled soldering you can occasionally restore continuity; that is if your voice coil isn't melted. I don't want to generate false hope but maybe worth investigating.

 

[doodlesticks]

I worked at D-A in Torrance for a period when the D-12's were being assembled in the 1970's and the woofers used were made in the USA primarily by CTS, Amperex and Gefco although the owner would look for "close-outs" on woofers with similar operating characteristics. The numbers on your woofers are baffling as normally an EIA code number would be present. Look on FleaBay to see if anyone is parting out a D-4 (not the D4-A) or D-6 model as they used the same type of woofers. A woofer from a D-2 would probably work just fine as well except the ones with the balsa wood "spokes" glued to the front of the cone which should be avoided.

Its always possible your woofers are not original as when the foam surrounds would fail back in the 1970's or 80's (long before the internet) owners often would just replace the woofers since only speaker repair shops were doing replacement foam surround work way back then.

Wow that’s very cool. I live not far from there and always loved how local my D12s are. The D-series is always more obscure than the PS, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled for matches.

That’s what I was kinda thinking regarding originality. Likely not. Is there a specific spec I should be looking for to match original? So many 10” woofers out there.

 

[doodlesticks]

Sometimes the flexible wire (tinsel leads) from the woofer terminals to the woofer cone can have a small break caused by decades of moving back and forth. With a little luck and skilled soldering you can occasionally restore continuity; that is if your voice coil isn't melted. I don't want to generate false hope but maybe worth investigating.

I’ll look again, but I did check these and they appeared ok. Under the circumstances of the blowout, I fear the coil is melted.

 

[doodlesticks]

I worked at D-A in Torrance for a period when the D-12's were being assembled in the 1970's and the woofers used were made in the USA primarily by CTS, Amperex and Gefco although the owner would look for "close-outs" on woofers with similar operating characteristics. The numbers on your woofers are baffling as normally an EIA code number would be present. Look on FleaBay to see if anyone is parting out a D-4 (not the D4-A) or D-6 model as they used the same type of woofers. A woofer from a D-2 would probably work just fine as well except the ones with the balsa wood "spokes" glued to the front of the cone which should be avoided.

Its always possible your woofers are not original as when the foam surrounds would fail back in the 1970's or 80's (long before the internet) owners often would just replace the woofers since only speaker repair shops were doing replacement foam surround work way back then.

Consulted fleabay with the new knowledge from everyone on the forum. These look like a match to me, and not too expensive. Figure I’ll swap both subs so they match, having a spare isn’t the worst thing ever.

 

[stickman]

Those CTS woofers from a Rectilinear model are actually quite expensive for a pair of vintage 10" domestic woofers as Rectilinear models other than the 3 (excluding the Mini-3), 5, & 7 series were not considered to have particularly good sound quality.

One of the main factors involved in making a selection is the efficiency of the woofers as replacement woofers that either play more loudly or more softly at any given wattage input level than the stock units will affect the balance of the sound spectrum.

If you live in the Torrance area, I highly recommend Bao at Speaker Repair Pros in Garden Grove as he is worth the drive. Bao is always swamped and turn around may take a couple of weeks but he always does quality work. His shop is only open Mondays Thru Wednesdays from Noon to 5 PM.
Link: http://www.speakerrepairpros.com/home.html

 

[doodlesticks]

Those CTS woofers from a Rectilinear model are actually quite expensive for a pair of vintage 10" domestic woofers as Rectilinear models other than the 3 (excluding the Mini-3), 5, & 7 series were not considered to have particularly good sound quality.

One of the main factors involved in making a selection is the efficiency of the woofers as replacement woofers that either play more loudly or more softly at any given wattage input level than the stock units will affect the balance of the sound spectrum.

If you live in the Torrance area, I highly recommend Bao at Speaker Repair Pros in Garden Grove as he is worth the drive. Bao is always swamped and turn around may take a couple of weeks but he always does quality work. His shop is only open Mondays Thru Wednesdays from Noon to 5 PM.
Link: http://www.speakerrepairpros.com/home.html

Looks like Bao's out for the week but I'll definitely try and catch them next week. Thanks for the rec.

Noted on the Rectilinear woofers, thank you. A lot of what I'm finding are CTS Alnico woofers – seemingly out of Fender amps (these, for example). Is this more likely what I'm after? Reading up on Alnico speakers, and they seem to be preferred by many. I guess what I'm struggling with is understanding how to determine whether the woofers match the output and sensitivity of the originals.

This is a surprisingly difficult journey, I really appreciate the help.

 

[peterp1]

I worked at D-A in Torrance for a period when the D-12's were being assembled in the 1970's and the woofers used were made in the USA primarily by CTS, Amperex and Gefco although the owner would look for "close-outs" on woofers with similar operating characteristics. The numbers on your woofers are baffling as normally an EIA code number would be present. Look on FleaBay to see if anyone is parting out a D-4 (not the D4-A) or D-6 model as they used the same type of woofers. A woofer from a D-2 would probably work just fine as well except the ones with the balsa wood "spokes" glued to the front of the cone which should be avoided.

Its always possible your woofers are not original as when the foam surrounds would fail back in the 1970's or 80's (long before the internet) owners often would just replace the woofers since only speaker repair shops were doing replacement foam surround work way back then.

Very cool. Design Acoustics made some very cool looking speakers. I've never heard any of them, but always admired the way they look.


Hoping he OP will post a full pic of his D-12's.

 

[doodlesticks]

Very cool. Design Acoustics made some very cool looking speakers. I've never heard any of them, but always admired the way they look.


Hoping he OP will post a full pic of his D-12's.

They're truly unmatched designs. I'm not much of an audiophile, more so a purveyor of rare and interesting items who loves a good set of speakers, but these really are just so impressive to see and hear.

Here's one of them. They're definitely well-loved and a bit of a rat rod pair. Serial number 3545 (no clue what that means in terms of production date). I got them as someone's project, so grill covers are off and half redone in a cloth I don't like. I prefer them bare, even if it's a bit taboo. Built the stands myself as a material study (I have the original stands but they need work) and to lift them higher off the floor for the event that inevitably blew the woofer.

 

[spicer]

They're truly unmatched designs. I'm not much of an audiophile, more so a purveyor of rare and interesting items who loves a good set of speakers, but these really are just so impressive to see and hear.

Here's one of them. They're definitely well-loved and a bit of a rat rod pair. Serial number 3545 (no clue what that means in terms of production date). I got them as someone's project, so grill covers are off and half redone in a cloth I don't like. I prefer them bare, even if it's a bit taboo. Built the stands myself as a material study (I have the original stands but they need work) and to lift them higher off the floor for the event that inevitably blew the woofer.

The stands and the speakers definitely go together. DA made interesting speakers with good sound.

 

[doodlesticks]

Just thought I'd close this thread. After about a month of searching, I found a set of D6s in rough physical shape in Vegas. Ended up pulling the woofers from those, so now my D12s are back together and sounding perfect. However now I need a set of woofers for the otherwise complete D6s I have (lol).

Comparing the sound from the unblown woofer and replacement D6 set, I can say that whatever was in there was definitely after market as the old woofers were slightly boomier. Overall very happy to keep these original, and I appreciate everyone's help getting me there.