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Electro Voice Esquire (pics)

Lucky Pierre

Lucky Pierre

AK Subscriber
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Greetings,

On Thursday I picked up a pair of Electro Voice Esquires for a nice price. I have a pair of EV Aristocrats on an 8 watt SE amp running KT-88s as my daily listening set up. I really like the EV sound on low powered tube amps, so I figured I would give the Esquires a shot.

I plan on recapping the crossovers and refinishing the cabinets. The cabs are lacquered mahogany. I am going to strip, dye, and oil them. I tried my hand on re-lacquering a pair of speakers about 5 years ago. That is the last time I try spraying lacquer!

Here are a bunch or pics. Questions to follow.

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A couple of the binding posts are stripped. Does anyone know where I can source these? Shafts are 1/8".

IMG_4613.JPGIMG_4615.JPG
 
Is this a capacitor? It has a nylon strap glued and stapled holding it in place. If I try to lift the strap, it takes some of the paper with the markings with it. If so, does anyone know the value?

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I found the schematic! It's a 2.84 MFD cap.

Next question: any idea what kind it is and should I replace?


EV Esquire schematic.jpg
 
That 12W woofer is a fantastic one
Kinda limited Low frequency output in the smaller cabinets though. In horn’s or 8 cubic ft cabinets
Wow
 
Use this capacitor and parallel it with a .68uFd capacitor, also at Parts Express.

www.parts-express.com

Audyn Cap Q4 2.2uF 400V MKP Metalized Polypropylene Foil Crossover Capacitor

Audyn Cap Q4 2.2uF 400V MKP Metalized Polypropylene Foil Crossover CapacitorAudyn has supplied European speaker builders with high quality electrical components for use in crossovers since 1973. Their Q4 series of non-polarized capacitors feature MKP metalized polypropylene foil and are tightly...
www.parts-express.com
 
blademan13 said:
Is the frosting simply corrosion? If not cleaned can this lead to drive issues?
Click to expand...
Cadmium oxide. Many old speaker metal parts were cadmium plated to resist corrosion. In these speakers it is on the pots and some of the binding screw terminals. It is highly toxic in largeish amounts, but easy to deal with. Wear nitrile or rubber gloves and particulate mask and carefully remove with a damp cloth or paper towels. Dispose of all immediately. DO NOT USED COMPRESSED AIR OR VACUUM!!! DO NOT SNORT, EAT, OR OTHERWISE INGEST!**

** Bear in mind this is the advise of a hobbyist. If I were to encounter at work it would be disposed of as hazardous waste.

Regarding whether this can lead to drive issues, it may if there is corrosion inside the pots. I have not opened the pots here, and I may not if they work well. I'll probably just deoxit the insides.
 
So, I replaced the 140uF woofer cap. The new Daytons (50 uF + 90 uF) are about 5 times larger than the originals. I measured the 140s once I clipped the leads. They both measured close to 200 uF. I may go in later and replace the 100uF and 2.84 uF tweeter cap. I may also replace the pots (or are they l-pads?). See post #3

Man, these speakers sound great! They are powered by an Elekit 8 watt KT-88 SET amp. They are actually eclipsing my Aristocrats--one with a 12TRXB, one with an SP12B + T35B. Makes me think I may have to build new crossovers for the Aristocrats.
 
Cadmium was used to passivate various metals - it keeps oxidation and corrosion at bay. But over the decades it itself oxidizes and is somewhat toxic. So leave it alone or wipe it off with damp cloth and toss the cloth. Wash up afterwards too. There are lots of dangerous chemicals out there, and it is good to avoid those you can.
 
@Lucky Pierre

I was so glad to find this thread as I have just purchased an identical pair speakers, down to the frosting (thanks for your warnings and explanation on that front).
I've got many questions if you don't mind.

First, did you ever finish the restoration? Do you still have and use these speakers?

I promptly opened them up and removed the grills to inspect the drivers. Everything seems OK. Very clean on the inside. I then hooked them up to a small amp and gave them a whirl. The pots are clearly either corroded or filthy as adjusting them either cuts out all sound or creates lots of scratchiness. One tweeter has no sound at all, I wonder if that's the pot or a failed diaphragm, I'll bring out a multimeter shortly. The other tweeter works fine until I rotate the Brilliance pot, then it cuts out altogether. This makes me hope that the other tweeter is still OK, just needs to have the pots thoroughly cleaned.

Is Deoxit D5 safe to use on these vintage pots? Is the an accessible hole where to insert the straw to spray (after dealing with the cadmium as per your instructions)? Did you end up changing the pots?

Very grateful for any input!
 
Last edited:
Pics, please!

I am happy for you to have found these speakers! I am a pretty big fan of EV speakers.

I still have them, but I pulled the drivers for other projects. The Wolverine LS-8s are probably going to end up in a ~2 cu. ft. cabinet soon running full range, just for shits and giggles. Who knows what I will do with the T35Bs and the big woofers.

I have another EV project planned (or two). I want to build some big (>6 cu. ft.) cabinets for single 12TRX or two way with SP12 + T35 tweeters.

You probably have to clean and recap your crossovers. Put the dead tweeter on your MM and let us know what the reading is. You should be able to find a hole or crack in the pot housing to douse with deoxit. Do be very careful with the cadmium oxide dust. Gloves, damp cloth, then dispose of immediately.

Keep us posted!
 
I've long been a Klipsch Heritage guy and have owned many and still have the LaScala and Heresy I. The Esquires will likely take the Heresy's place as a background listening system driven by a nicely restored Harmon Kardon 330b (20W/CH). Not my main system, but gets lots of use.

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First thing I did was change the straps (which looked like they were made from a recycled paper clip).
 
Nice and clean on the inside. I love finding numbers scrawled almost 70 years ago from the craftsmen who put this together. I was baffled when I saw the semi sealed mid and tweeter section. It's not remotely sealed but clearly lots of thought went into the design, what are the reasons I wonder?

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The extended mid driver looks nothing like yours from behind, but the gold wolverine logo on the dust cap assures me that it's authentic.

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I was hoping the tweeter leads weren't soldered, in order to test it with a multimeter :(
 
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