Electro Voice Regeneracy 3's, Am I Doing Something Wrong.

[Tala Mink]

I just picked up a EV Regeneracy III speaker yesterday and today I hooked it up to a newly recapped Realistic STA-2600 in mono, after a couple hours of listening I really don't like how it sounds.

I've tried moving it around, putting speakers next to the vents on the side for more bass / reflections and adjusting the potentiometers but nothing seem to make them sound more enjoyable, I don't know what its supposed to sound like but after doing some research I don't think its supposed to sound this bad.

I know I could just part it out or sell it but I really wanted to hear the mono sound that some people go on about.

The Cabinets Contain A 15W Woofer, T25 A Horn Midrange, And T35 Tweeter, With X8 and X36 Crossovers

And yes I know its ugly, I plan to clean it up.

 

[macyjrm]

While I have no prior experience with EV Regency IIIs (note the corrected spelling), I’m pretty familiar it’s the EV sound having owned multiple other EV models. Normally they are quite satisfying and very efficient, meaning they only need a little power to produce big sound. I suspect something is amiss with yours. Perhaps one or more of your drivers is muted or inop. Do you have access to a tube amp and a decent preamplifier? Big EVs like tube power. At the moment I can’t walk you through all the troubleshooting options. If you could share your approximate location perhaps an AK member living near you could help you sort these out.

As a start have you determined all the connections between the crossovers and drivers are in correct polarity and corrosion free and snug? If not, that’s where I would begin.

 

[Ohighway]

Electrovoice Regency

It's designed to be used in a corner !!! It's a corner horn enclosure and uses the walls for bass reinforcement.
(Just like a Klipschorn...... the EV Regency is actually licensed by Klipsch.)

Also crossover components could need refurb (new capacitors)

.....

 

[grindstone]

Yeah too many variables so far to conclude anything about causality. Go get the manual and check the wiring as recommended above. That one is DIY-cab but w/o factory cab kit.
How long has it been sitting? Any insulation in there on the back panel or the top of the lower duct? Was there weather-stripping around the panel you removed to show internals? Does it appear sealed? How long have you run it since you got it? Lemme guess--it's "polite" on top, but what else?

 

[Tala Mink]

Thank you all for your input.

I just checked the schematic and the Regency III's (correct spelling noted) are in fact not wired correctly, I don't really know much about crossovers but hearing this speaker something did seem wrong, the tweeter is playing the majority of the midrange and the midrange, which in other speakers I've heard makes a majority of the noise, was very quiet, I didn't know that there was still a schematic available so thanks for telling me, I will be rewiring the speaker soon. The schematic says that the first crossover for this layout should be the x8 where in this one it is the x36.

Also I understand that this speaker should be placed in the corner by a wall, I don't have any clear wall's to place it by but I do have some large coral speakers that could act as pseudo walls.

I will update you all later today or tomorrow.

 

[GetBusyLivin]

To the OP ... Thank you for the update.
I have many sets of speakers. One is a set of Regency's with the same driver compliment as yours. In fact, they were the first set of very sensitive speakers that I owned. I still remember being amazed at the output with only 1 watt. Anyways, unlike you, I have never tried them as a single mono setup but I can guarantee you that they have a very effortless, dynamic sound with deep bass. The first time I heard the opening to Heart's "Barracuda"...I knew they were keepers.
My set played well but when I opened them up there was a mix of thick monster cable, lamp cord, and brittle 60 year old wire going to the attenuators. I had some Kimber cable laying around so I rewired my set with 15 feet coming out the back and bypassing the tone controls. If you need any help rewiring your speaker, just shoot me a pm. I'll give you my number and talk you through it.

 

[DOBIEGUY]

Your Regency lll drivers look very similar to my Aristocrat llls. Your cabinet may have been a kit but the profile of the front frame and the brass trim are identical to mine. The two controls are for ‘presence’ and ‘brilliance’ and are part of the crossover network. They should not be removed, just cleaned up.
The crossovers are potted and a recap is not something easily done.
Get the diagram, some different color stranded wire and a soldering iron. A few watts and your EV will thunder!
My Fisher Mono system sounds outstanding with the Aristocrat.
Good luck!

 

[Tala Mink]

Update

I have corrected the crossovers and they sound great, the harshness of the tweeter is gone and there is much more midrange and louder more detailed bass.

Thank you all for your input, now I can get to cleaning them up.
Edit - Now I need to find a real corner to put them in.

 

[GetBusyLivin]

Your Regency lll drivers look very similar to my Aristocrat llls. Your cabinet may have been a kit but the profile of the front frame and the brass trim are identical to mine. The two controls are for ‘presence’ and ‘brilliance’ and are part of the crossover network. They should not be removed, just cleaned up.
The crossovers are potted and a recap is not something easily done.
Get the diagram, some different color stranded wire and a soldering iron. A few watts and your EV will thunder!
My Fisher Mono system sounds outstanding with the Aristocrat.
Good luck!

View attachment 2512321 View attachment 2512322

I'm happy the OP has figured everything out on his own and is now enjoying the EV. With the right source material they are a nice speaker.
As far as the similarities to the Aristocrat, I'm sure we both know the Regency is just the bigger brother in the line up. a 15" instead of a 12", a larger cabinet volume with a different layout but similar in the desire for a corner to maximize effectiveness for bass reproduction. As far as taking the attenuators out of the chain ... we'll have to agree to disagree. I fully understand everybody's ears are different but I played them quite a bit after the rewire and I was more than pleased with the results.

 

[soundoc03]

I just acquired a pair of similar era Regencys. They are factory light mahogany and have the same vertically oriented horns as yours. I’m pretty certain some previous owner painted your original cabinets so possibly you may have decent veneer underneath the odd paint job. If not you could also spray paint them gloss black and this may look better.

Mine are close to mint and have the T350 tweeters which are very rare and highly regarded. I have not dug into them yet but the AT37 LPads need cleaning although one may be defective as it rotates beyond 360 degrees. The wiring is original and needs an upgrade. CritesSpeakers hopefully still produces the combined crossovers using Sonicaps. I sent out an email to Mike and hope to hear back soon. Interior damping material can also be upgraded and mine is missing coverage of the bottom surface. I will also replace the speaker terminal with 5 way Daytons.

I finished a previously posted rebuild of a Wolverine Lancaster cabinet using Crites tweeters, T25a drivers with Crites G700 horns and SP 12 woofers. I had lucked out and found some vintage DIY crossovers that had true to spec canned oil main caps bypassed with PIOs. I replaced the latter with Jantzen Z Silvers and the end result was excellent though somewhat bass shy. I’m assuming the Regencys will be a significant upgrade based on the larger cabinets, woofers and folded horn architecture. I’ll post when I’m all done

 

[soundoc03]

Regencys dialed in after rewire, crossover upgrade and replacement of dampening material with 1” cotton batting.

 

[soundoc03]

Sometime in the future I hope to flip one of the baffles to make them mirror imaged and replace the grill cloth with something lighter.

 

[Tala Mink]

I’m pretty certain some previous owner painted your original cabinets so possibly you may have decent veneer underneath the odd paint job

I actually started stripping it almost a week after I got it (three layers in some places), the top, sides, and front are walnut, everything else is Douglas fir, I've gotten most of the paint off and am going to sand once it starts to get warm and I have fewer projects.

I did also pick up an aristocrat with a sp12b a little after the regency, and am holding out hope of finding a match to either one.

my plan is to rebuild the crossovers and mirror the drivers once I get another regency then hopefully never need to buy another pair of speakers again.

fyi - the schematic diagrams for the crossovers.

 

[soundoc03]

I originally had 12Bs in my DIY Marquis but traded them out for SP12s which was a significant upgrade. It also pairs best with the T25a mid range horn if you are going with 3 ways. The Crites tweeter is a drop in replacement for the T35 and is reasonably priced. My Regencys came with T350s which have larger magnets than the T35 and more efficient.

 

[soundoc03]

This the port for the “Marquis” although the actual cabinet volume is modestly smaller
The baffle originally had Wolverine drivers. So rather than mess up the grill and enlarge the cut out for the mid horn, I used Crites G700s which were a perfect drop in fit

 

[stormking]

Warning! Golden age Electrovoice speakers are addictive. I wasn't paying attention, now I have Coronets, Empires, Regency IIIs and Patricians. I might have to get a bigger place. Tala Mink, It won't be to hard to find another Regency in the PNW, they come up for sale fairly often. The problem is finding a matching driver compliment.