Electro Voice Royal corner horn

[Old_School]

I picked up one of these this weekend, along with some other stuff (tube gear). It looks like a big Aristocrat, and this one is two-way, with a 15" woofer and single horn tweeter. I haven't pulled the baffle off to see what the model numbers are, but it looks like a 15W for the bass driver was the standard. There's a cutout in the baffle for what should be a mid-range horn, but it's blocked off. I'll try to get pics in the next day or so. It seems the enclosure was licenced from Klipsch (probably in return for Klipsch using EV drivers).

The woofer has what looks like green cloth gasket and grey flannel surround. I don't have much familiarity with EV stuff, so not sure if that means anything.

I'm hoping this thing is working, as I've wanted to do a mono setup for a while, so I could play my 78s the way they were intended. I have to figure out how to do a few of the things between the speaker and the source though.

 

[Old_School]

Got some pics:

The weird marks on the cabinet are from a foam pad that sat on it for a while. they come off easily. Only a few scratches here and there that need to be dealt with. The cabinet seems a bit thin though. Only about 1/2 inch.

 

[sealy]

Without the mid horn, I wouldn't expect too much. Probably a gaping hole in the mids. Interesting cabinet.

 

[aidynphoenix]

 

[audiozaz]

I'm pretty certain the woofer is Wharfedale. The green gasket material tips me off. Tweeter is T35-familly AFAICT.

az

 

[Ohighway]

Without the mid horn, I wouldn't expect too much. Probably a gaping hole in the mids. Interesting cabinet.

Well he could always pull that panel off and install a mid horn/driver and an appropriate crossover to make it a 3 way....

 

[spkrman57]

I think it's a Wharfedale woofer also!

I'm pretty certain the woofer is Wharfedale. The green gasket material tips me off. Tweeter is T35-familly AFAICT.

az

Hopefully it's one of the older woofers w/alnico magnet!

Regards, Ron

 

[similost]

My wive bought a pair of Aristrocrat speaker boxes that look exactly lke this one does.

I loaded them up with EV drivers and crossovers I got from Gordon W. The woofer in yours looks a little different, but it uses the same horn..

The sound... MmMmmmmm.. .really good sounding speakers. My wife uses them in her office daily..

 

[Old_School]

Woofer is, in fact, Wharfedale (good call - the green should have been a givaway). Tweeter is at T35, and crossover is X36. By the look of things, now that I've opened it up, the woofer was replaced at some point. The cabinet was available as a kit, but there is evidence of mounting holes for a different type of woofer. I'm trying to find info on the Wharfedale W15/CS, but there isn't much out there, so I'm not sure what the freq range was. I could probably make it a 3-way fairly simply by getting an X8 crossover and suitable midrange horn from our favorite audion site.

I still have to test this one though. The drivers could be shot. The cabinte is filled with rotting stuffing material. I'll need a mask to clear that out - I'm still coughing from simply opening it up. At least there were no dead mice. Here's pics of the drivers and crossover:

 

[sealy]

Well he could always pull that panel off and install a mid horn/driver and an appropriate crossover to make it a 3 way....

He could indeed do that, if he can find a mid horn to match the tweeter. Or better still, chuck the T35 and put two better horns in there.

Regarding the woofer, Wharfedale was my first thought as well. It may have a square magnet if that's the case.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

No offense...but those T35's have all the finesse of a Skill-Saw. I'm with Sealy, look for better horns.

 

[Sam Cogley]

That looks just like an Aristocrat, but if it's a 15" woofer it's a huge variant that I haven't ever heard of.

 

[Old_School]

He could indeed do that, if he can find a mid horn to match the tweeter. Or better still, chuck the T35 and put two better horns in there.

Regarding the woofer, Wharfedale was my first thought as well. It may have a square magnet if that's the case.

Yep. Pic shows square magnet. Not sure yet what I'll do about the horns, but I've hoisted aboard your point. I'll have to look into it.

That looks just like an Aristocrat, but if it's a 15" woofer it's a huge variant that I haven't ever heard of.

It's definitely called a Royal, and the cabinet dimensions are greater than the Aristocrat, though the basic design looks the same. I found some lit on it here scroll to the last page.

 

[battradio]

That must be a real early cabinet , the 12" where usaly called aristocrat and the 15" versions called Regency .Sell the early T35 to someone in the far east and buy a crites tweeter for it .

 

[Old_School]

Here's a shot of the logo:

Definitely "Royal." From that brochure I would guess '50s vintage. I don't know much about Klipsch, but wasn't there some sort of symbiotic relationship between him and E-V in the early days?

Crites tweeters. Thanks. My next question was going to be "what should I replace the tweeter with?" I'd also like a recommendation for a midrange horn and a three-way crossover.

Finally, anyone have any info on the Wharfedale W15 CS?

I still haven't put power through anything. Time is not on my side on this, nor do I have some simple equipment that I can just hook up to give it a shot (here's where I could use a lightweight receiver). I'll try to rig something in the next week or so.

 

[Sam Cogley]

Definitely "Royal." From that brochure I would guess '50s vintage. I don't know much about Klipsch, but wasn't there some sort of symbiotic relationship between him and E-V in the early days?

After Stephens Tru-Sonic went under, PWK had a bear of a time finding anyone who would sell him suitable drivers (Altec and JBL flat refused). EV agreed to sell him the parts he needed, even making woofers to Klipsch specifications, but only if he'd give EV a license on the corner horn patent.

 

[Tom Brennan]

After Stephens Tru-Sonic went under, PWK had a bear of a time finding anyone who would sell him suitable drivers (Altec and JBL flat refused). EV agreed to sell him the parts he needed, even making woofers to Klipsch specifications, but only if he'd give EV a license on the corner horn patent.

As I hazily recall Stephens was still in business when Klipsch went to the EV woofer and EV was making corner horn Patricians and Georgians and such.

PWK seemed to play catch as catch can and used woofers, compression drivers and tweeters from many sources. In one interview when asked why he used a certain driver he said because it was "available".

It's hard to imagine PWK ponying up for expensive JBL or Altec parts, note that back in those days EV, Jensen and University stuff (not to mention Atlas) was cheaper than JBL and Altec and PWK was kind of a cheapskate. When I met him in the early 1970s he had scorn for expensive woofers with cast frames, big voice coils and nice finishes and a positive hatred for JBL (and AR, Bose and all electrostats. ) He did express admiration for the VOT though.

 

[Sam Cogley]

As I hazily recall Stephens was still in business when Klipsch went to the EV woofer and EV was making corner horn Patricians and Georgians and such.

PWK seemed to play catch as catch can and used woofers, compression drivers and tweeters from many sources. In one interview when asked why he used a certain driver he said because it was "available".

It's hard to imagine PWK ponying up for expensive JBL or Altec parts, note that back in those days EV, Jensen and University stuff (not to mention Atlas) was cheaper than JBL and Altec and PWK was kind of a cheapskate. When I met him in the early 1970s he had scorn for expensive woofers with cast frames, big voice coils and nice finishes and a positive hatred for JBL (and AR, Bose and all electrostats. ) He did express admiration for the VOT though.

I seem to have read somewhere that he did approach JBL and Altec and neither would sell him anything. I could be wrong, though.