Electrovoice (EV) Speaker Cabinet Identification Help

[M.Yu]

I have recently acquired an Electrovoice cabinet. It has a unique "V" shaped front I have never seen before. It has a tag with a serial number stamped on it but no model number was written in.

In it are two SP12Bs with no crossover. The openings are about the front one third of the sides. The speakers fire directly on to the angled baffle in front.
It has a mahogany finished top.

Is anyone familiar with this speaker or have any idea idea about how it was used? It is strange in that it has no horn or other HF drivers in it. It sounds nice but needs some HF help and seems to be part of something else.

Any info is appreciated!

 

[macyjrm]

Can't help you much other than giving the thread a bump. I'm an EV fan but unfamiliar with the model you have (it looks great!). The drivers appear designed to output low and mid frequencies. Agree the absence of a tweeter is puzzling. I would have jumped on that on if I stumbled upon it!

 

[CLS500]

I don't know what it is but I like it !!! Those SP12B's are very cool and the design of the cab is very nice. I wonder if you add a pair of smaller EV's and use it as a bass unit in a three piece set up ???

 

[M.Yu]

I like the design too. It matches an old Magnavox Berkshire cabinet I have. Same cloth and mahogany finish. The front is very unusual. I have never seen any like that before. Maybe there is a companion box with a mid and/or tweeter in it somewhere.

I am going to try a pair of Heathkit AS-173s in it and wire it for stereo.

Those SP12Bs are in mint condition. I am sure I can find a place for them elsewhere or maybe I'll keep them in there and add another small box on top with a super tweeter or something else and keep it as a mono speaker.

 

[macyjrm]

I'm liking your plan B listed above. Keep them as close to original as possible.

 

[jwrauch]

I'm liking your plan B listed above. Keep them as close to original as possible.

:thmbsp::thmbsp: Nice speaker. JOHN

 

[M.Yu]

Any suggestions about what might be suitable to achieve the "Plan B" above,
using EV components or something similar? I used to have a pair of University Super Tweeters but they went in a trade deal last year.

I am looking for a way to make this cabinet work into my space if I can. I wish I had another one.

 

[Stephen J]

My guess...

....is that it is an extension speaker for an organ.
I've seen a lot of EV drivers in organ speakers.


As far as tweeters go.See if you can find some EV ST350's.

 

[M.Yu]

For sure it is not for Hi-Fi use as is. I was thinkng the same thing. It was probably is a type of extension speaker for an organ or microphone or something similar because of the way it is designed to disperse sound.

The only difference between this one and other organ speakers I have seen is the lack of a built-in amp. The mahogany finish is unusual for an organ speaker though I have had a '57 Thomas organ in mahogany. It had an "Invisible Teacher" record player and headphone jack built in to it for home lessons

Thanks for the tip on the tweeters. I'll bet those are not so easy to come by these days.

 

[rusomon]

Definitely a cool, unusual cabinet. In a few ways it reminds me of one of the Stereon cabinets: sharp-edges, metal trim detail, finish (sort of), grill cloth. On the other hand, the size, shape, and configuration of the thing are completely different. So there you go. No help at all. I guess maybe we can say it's more or less contemporaneous to the Stereon I'm thinking of. Late 50's, early 60's.

At to its intended use, hi-fi or not, I can't help you much there either. But I can say the lack of a tweeter doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't a hi-fi speaker. Lots of people used the SP12B as a stand alone hi-fi speaker. It was, after all, sold as a "full-range" speaker and some people, I guess, took this literally. (It is a nice-sounding speaker, even without a tweeter.) As to the cabinet, it does look to be a weird design for hi-fi, but who knows? Designers were trying out lots of ideas back then. Some stuck, some didn't.

A Jensen RP-103 might be a tweeter to try. But I should talk, since I've never gotten around to actually doing this myself, even though both SP12Bs and RP-103s live in the audio closet. It seems like it would be a good idea anyway.

Good luck.