Found EJ korvette speakers seeking opinions

[7whales7]

I found these in the trash, an old timer had passed away and they where cleaning out. I saw them and thought Advent, KLH, Dynaco.....nope EJ Korvette XAM, damn! Hooked them up and was not impressed. I had them apart, the drivers seem to be good quality, woofers have cloth surrounds I didn't think they had a cross over just a resister.... I could be wrong thought, cabinets are heavy duty. Why do the sound like ****? I was going to use more modern drivers in the old cabinets, I have plenty of parts and like the cabinet's. Maybe a crossover upgrade? Any ideas?

 

[Retrovert]

Crossovers do not use resistors to create filters. Instead, the tweeter crossover is a first-order, just a capacitor, which is now bad. Replace it with a PP film from Parts Express, the Dayton house brand is fine.

Paper-cone tweeters did not sound that good when new, and have an impedance rise at 8k to 9k Hz which makes it sound bad as well. Look up Zobels for tweeters. You can replace that tweeter with an inexpensive soft-dome.

The L-pad is likely to balance the tweeter's output against the woofer-midrange.

 

[7whales7]

Crossovers do not use resistors to create filters. Instead, the tweeter crossover is a first-order, just a capacitor, which is now bad. Replace it with a PP film from Parts Express, the Dayton house brand is fine.

Paper-cone tweeters did not sound that good when new, and have an impedance rise at 8k to 9k Hz which makes it sound bad as well. Look up Zobels for tweeters. You can replace that tweeter with an inexpensive soft-dome.

The L-pad is likely to balance the tweeter's output against the woofer-midrange.

I had them apart at one time but I couldn't remember what was going on inside, it was very primative I do no that. I keep them because I liked the look, i was thinking I can redo them. Thanks,

 

[F1nut]

I'll be blunt, they are junk.

 

[jgannon]

XAM speakers CAN be good. I have a big 3E (I have two, but one of them is labeled 3E and the other 3D - the 3D needs a new tweeter, I think). But anyway, the 3E sounds great with my mono Fisher 500 receiver. I also have to little XAM 5E speakers that I got for old times' sake, because I had them as a kid. They can sound good too with a good amp. They sounded good when I used them with a Marantz 2230.

Here is an AK members surprised reaction when hooking up some XAM 1D's.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/xam-speakers-ever-heard-of-them.184683/

 

[7whales7]

I'll be blunt, they are junk.

I know, hence the dissapointment when found LOL, they are just a project. Just wondering if I should save anything on the of them? I will use the cabinet.

 

[7whales7]

I couldn't find a model number, 8" woofer,2"or 2.5 tweeter, 19" x10.5"x 9."5 cab.

 

[7whales7]

XAM speakers CAN be good. I have a big 3E (I have two, but one of them is labeled 3E and the other 3D - the 3D needs a new tweeter, I think). But anyway, the 3E sounds great with my mono Fisher 500 receiver. I also have to little XAM 5E speakers that I got for old times' sake, because I had them as a kid. They can sound good too with a good amp. They sounded good when I used them with a Marantz 2230.

Here is an AK members surprised reaction when hooking up some XAM 1D's.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/xam-speakers-ever-heard-of-them.184683/

Mine didn't sound good at all, I figured if it has a Capacitor... it's bad, but that can't account for everything? Can it? Just don't know if the drivers are worth saving.

 

[Retrovert]

A lot of junky two-way speakers can be greatly improved without a lot of money. Just look at the Minimus 7 improvements.

Some of the XAM speakers were made by Electro-Voice, others by Roland or another Japanese company. The EIA code on the drivers will tell you who made them.

The sealed cabinets are typically infinite baffle type, so a big issue is proper lining of the cabinet to remove the backwave. Cotton batting is best, and very inexpensive.

The crossovers were typically first-order for the tweeter. Using a new PP film capacitor plus a better tweeter will improve the sound. The existing L-pad or rheostat can be used as a variable attenuator. Paper-cone tweeters are never that good, so a new tweeter will greatly improve the sound.

I'm not saying it will be the Speaker of the Gods™ but it ought to perfectly listenable, about as good as any random two-way in that size.

 

[7whales7]

A lot of junky two-way speakers can be greatly improved without a lot of money. Just look at the Minimus 7 improvements.

Some of the XAM speakers were made by Electro-Voice, others by Roland or another Japanese company. The EIA code on the drivers will tell you who made them.

The sealed cabinets are typically infinite baffle type, so a big issue is proper lining of the cabinet to remove the backwave. Cotton batting is best, and very inexpensive.

The crossovers were typically first-order for the tweeter. Using a new PP film capacitor plus a better tweeter will improve the sound. The existing L-pad or rheostat can be used as a variable attenuator. Paper-cone tweeters are never that good, so a new tweeter will greatly improve the sound.

I'm not saying it will be the Speaker of the Gods™ but it ought to perfectly listenable, about as good as any random two-way in that size.

Thanks that's kinda what I'm looking for o.k two ways.

 

[Retrovert]

Thanks that's kinda what I'm looking for o.k two ways.

Any low-cost soft-dome tweeter with a decent capacitor (see above for details) will be fine. I suggest adding a simple Zobel filter to tame the impedance rise with frequency, and the cotton batting, and you're all set.

Worst case, you end up replacing the woofer-midrange with a decent full-range coaxial.

Enjoy.