DLK 2's ...Restore or Econowave?
- Thread starter markw300d
- Start date
markw300d
Super Member
Thanks guys! Good luck on your project, electronjohn. Those 1 1/2s are very nice speakers as well. The surrounds on these early woofers were in great shape. It's amazing how dust and stuff still sticks to these after all of these years. I learned the hard way to keep them covered up while storing them or working on the speakers.
Not the 3, which had a perfectly nice philips dome, but a touch of nasal midrange sound from either a mid, woofer, or crossover weakness. I'm guessing the (non-super) tweeter on the 4 is also fine, although I haven't heard it.
markw300d, nice job :thmbsp:.
Nice Job.
I have a nice set of very early dlk 1 1/2's (#578;580)-birchwood cabs, Alnico green basket woofers and CTS ring tweeters.
Bass is outstanding, and rocks easily with 50-75 wpc.
IMHO any of the DLK's that use this tweeter, this was clearly it's weakness. They had a tendency to beam very badly, with the very narrow sweet spot. Sometimes smooth, but lacking any real detail. Horrible IMHO
In fact DLK made a limited edition 1 1/2 that used the Peerless plate style tweeter.http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestspeaker/ecommerce/mw-audio-mt-4115-tweeter.html
They also used this style in a few other models. Very nice unit.
The best tweeter I have found, that will closely fit the 3" cutout, and come close to filling the 4.21 " out side diameter is this Vifia tweeter (4 and 8 ohm).
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-1026
And is a budget champ.
This tweeter will completley out perform the CTS tweeter in every category except nostalgia. Very smooth with good dispertion. Very detailed as well-especially for the price.
You will need drill 4 new holes, and use some Hurricane nuts, or Menicus also make some nice alternatives that will use the stock screws. http://meniscusaudio.com/8x1-ss-ms-p-382.html
Midwest speaker alos sells replacment grill foam-which most old stuff is dry rotted.http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestsp...th-foam/mf-1-2-foam-speaker-grille-cover.html
They also benefir from some added stuffing as well (fiberglass works very well).
In the case of the DLK 1/2's (which are easy to find around here in excellent shape for under $100) pr-this becomes a great speaker, and in another league with a good tweeter.
A recap is also a must-but for under $150 dollars, you will end up with a speaker that will have huge bass, clear highs, and work well with modest power.
The upgrade is also completly reversable (not with the plate), and wouldn't be noticed.
I wouldn't get too nostalgic about those CTS tweeters, you don't know what your missing with the tweeter upgrade-hell DLK finally realized it when technology advanced. and installed soft domes.
The advantage of those rings at the time were they were cheap, could go down fairly low for a 2way, and where fairly smooth in there response, comparded to the alternatives at the time.
I would still like to find a nice cheap small Heil and crossover from a ESS PS6/PS8 and install it in the DLK 1 1/2's-this would be a killer speaker for sure.
The woofers can take alot of abuse-been to plenty of parties back in the day-and those speakers wouldn't die (except for the tweeters-and caps at times)-never saw a rubber surround woofer blow up.
Again their advantage was great and realtively clean and warm bass, especially at louder volumes, solid cabinets, and a effective, but simple crossover. In the case of the older models, good looks as well.
Make sure if you choose another type of tweeter, that it can easily go to 1000hz, to work with the stock crossover.
I have a nice set of very early dlk 1 1/2's (#578;580)-birchwood cabs, Alnico green basket woofers and CTS ring tweeters.
Bass is outstanding, and rocks easily with 50-75 wpc.
IMHO any of the DLK's that use this tweeter, this was clearly it's weakness. They had a tendency to beam very badly, with the very narrow sweet spot. Sometimes smooth, but lacking any real detail. Horrible IMHO
In fact DLK made a limited edition 1 1/2 that used the Peerless plate style tweeter.http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestspeaker/ecommerce/mw-audio-mt-4115-tweeter.html
They also used this style in a few other models. Very nice unit.
The best tweeter I have found, that will closely fit the 3" cutout, and come close to filling the 4.21 " out side diameter is this Vifia tweeter (4 and 8 ohm).
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-1026
And is a budget champ.
This tweeter will completley out perform the CTS tweeter in every category except nostalgia. Very smooth with good dispertion. Very detailed as well-especially for the price.
You will need drill 4 new holes, and use some Hurricane nuts, or Menicus also make some nice alternatives that will use the stock screws. http://meniscusaudio.com/8x1-ss-ms-p-382.html
Midwest speaker alos sells replacment grill foam-which most old stuff is dry rotted.http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestsp...th-foam/mf-1-2-foam-speaker-grille-cover.html
They also benefir from some added stuffing as well (fiberglass works very well).
In the case of the DLK 1/2's (which are easy to find around here in excellent shape for under $100) pr-this becomes a great speaker, and in another league with a good tweeter.
A recap is also a must-but for under $150 dollars, you will end up with a speaker that will have huge bass, clear highs, and work well with modest power.
The upgrade is also completly reversable (not with the plate), and wouldn't be noticed.
I wouldn't get too nostalgic about those CTS tweeters, you don't know what your missing with the tweeter upgrade-hell DLK finally realized it when technology advanced. and installed soft domes.
The advantage of those rings at the time were they were cheap, could go down fairly low for a 2way, and where fairly smooth in there response, comparded to the alternatives at the time.
I would still like to find a nice cheap small Heil and crossover from a ESS PS6/PS8 and install it in the DLK 1 1/2's-this would be a killer speaker for sure.
The woofers can take alot of abuse-been to plenty of parties back in the day-and those speakers wouldn't die (except for the tweeters-and caps at times)-never saw a rubber surround woofer blow up.
Again their advantage was great and realtively clean and warm bass, especially at louder volumes, solid cabinets, and a effective, but simple crossover. In the case of the older models, good looks as well.
Make sure if you choose another type of tweeter, that it can easily go to 1000hz, to work with the stock crossover.
Last edited:
markw300d
Super Member
Hey, thanks for the input. I'm not stuck on the CTS tweeters but this was a low budget project since I am laid off and it allowed me to hear what they likely sounded like when they were new and in their original form which is pretty nice I think. I've been checking out other tweeters (especially the Vifas) and since these are 3-ways, I have more options. This 3/4" poly dome is a good tweeter for a 3-way and has a DC res that closely matches the CTS tweeters. I really don't want to get into modifying the crossovers if I can avoid it. I'm curious to try these.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-500
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-500
I agree about not modifying the crossovers-they are fine and do the job-just a recap.
That tweeter looks nice-I'm not sure if it's closed back-or if your speaker has a tweeter enclosure.
It's nice to have a starting point-the original aound and go from there.
My first speakers were Omega 300's (DLK's cheaper line- a12 inch ported woofer 5-6 inch midrange and the same ring tweeter with a chrome trim ring)bought by my father from Schaack Electronics. Not bad for the money-but no real deep bass.
I used to visit Schaack (and Sound World (Best Buy)-down the hall) at least once a week, I always wanted a pair of those 1 1/2's-but @ $299ea-out of my price range.
They really are a well designed, and underated speaker line IMHO-not AMT's but very nice in their own right, and really work well, and sound great with real world power, a good 50-75 watt amp-which is one of their strongest points IMHO-up and down the line.
In my pair both the woofer and tweeter have factory installed t-nuts and threaded bolts holding in the drivers-something you rarely if ever see in consumer speakers.
They are still thick like fly's around here-and a quick look at Craigslist will easily bring up 2-3 pairs every week.
Let me know your thoughts on that Vifa if you get it, and installation etc.
That tweeter looks nice-I'm not sure if it's closed back-or if your speaker has a tweeter enclosure.
It's nice to have a starting point-the original aound and go from there.
My first speakers were Omega 300's (DLK's cheaper line- a12 inch ported woofer 5-6 inch midrange and the same ring tweeter with a chrome trim ring)bought by my father from Schaack Electronics. Not bad for the money-but no real deep bass.
I used to visit Schaack (and Sound World (Best Buy)-down the hall) at least once a week, I always wanted a pair of those 1 1/2's-but @ $299ea-out of my price range.
They really are a well designed, and underated speaker line IMHO-not AMT's but very nice in their own right, and really work well, and sound great with real world power, a good 50-75 watt amp-which is one of their strongest points IMHO-up and down the line.
In my pair both the woofer and tweeter have factory installed t-nuts and threaded bolts holding in the drivers-something you rarely if ever see in consumer speakers.
They are still thick like fly's around here-and a quick look at Craigslist will easily bring up 2-3 pairs every week.
Let me know your thoughts on that Vifa if you get it, and installation etc.