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Magnavox open baffle advice

davestradamu

davestradamu

Swimming in Sound
I just rescued a Magnavox console with a 6bq5 tube amp. I am experimenting with the drivers in an open baffle.

the drivers are late 1950s. There are 2 15" woofers 2 4" mids and 4 3" tweeters. I have them mounted to their grilles and have been making baffles with cardboard.

anyone use these same drivers in a diy?

I am looking for general advice for baffle dimensions. I dont want them too big but still want some bass extension.


cheers!!
 

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I've pulled my DIY Magnavox cardboard Open-Baffles from the garage about six weeks ago. I replaced my Wharfedale W-70s (circa 1962) with the Magnaovox OB's and oh boy what a difference. Well I did a groogle search for Magnavox Open Baffle and found this thread so I thought I should resurrect it.

So to answer the original poster's question. My baffle dimensions are 32 x 43 inches, with the 15" woofer approx. 4" off the floor. I'm running these in the basement and they're sitting on laminate flooring over a concrete slab. The bass is actually amazing. I listen to mostly acoustic jazz, and the bass is both tight and deep. The tweeters and mids provide a much more forward and sharp highs than do the Wharfedales.

There is one thing that I noticed that those who are OB DIY's might be able to address: I noticed that the cardboard has quite a bit of resonance and vibration to the touch. I'm wondering if maybe does this add to the overall bass extension and if so... or not even, what plywood thickness is recommended in final OB construction, and why (that particular thickness)?

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It's an old thread but still a good objective to discuss.
I have experimented with some different 15" driver. One set is from a Magnavox console like the ones the OP use, the one with the small magnets. Another one are CTS driver with the monster AlNiCo's (also from a Magnavox console) and at last a set of Eminence Alpha 15A.
The general baffle size I use is roughly 2x4 feet, 3/4 inch ply wood with 2x4 bracing in the back.
The first setups were one 15" driver in the bottom and the upper part for the mid/tweeter part containing an 8" Electrovoice M8 and a tweeter horn. It was OK but I still had other driver and wanted to have a larger set up.
The CTS and the Magnavox produced the best bass, nice deep and defined bass. The Alphas were OK but both vintage driver beat them by a lot. The vintage stuff reaches further down in a single setup and seem to be better bass driver in an OB.
My actual setup that I'm still using and love is a 4 way combination of the 15" CTS, the Alpha, Electrovoice for mid range and a horn for tweets. The CTS are running from the bottom to 300Hz, the Alphas also from the bottom to 800Hz, the Electrovoice M8 from 800 to 4KHz and the horn for the tweet. The two driver bass with different upper cut-off seem to ad to the depth of sound, more bass and the Alpa are doing a good job in the lower mids.
The CTS and the Magnavox are comparable but I like the CTS in that setup since I have other plans for the Magnavox. I still need to make the baffles final since I have the M8 and horn hanging on to it more or less. Need to get the CTS lower to the ground together with the Alpha and integrate the mid and tweet into it. Final size will be somewhere 4.5x2 feet, 4 way. The setup is discussed here http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/open-baffle-epiphany.566879/
I's a very good read and a lot of inspiration.
The only reason why I have not finalized the baffle is that I can't decide if I want to make it modular for further experiments or one large board.

In general 15" driver beat any 12" driver I have tested so far.

Get rid of the card board and get some ply wood, makes a big difference.
 
Haven't tried any Magnavox, just posting because I love (DIY) open baffle threads. My setup is a 3-way with B&W (EMI) 13 inchers, 10 inch Richard Alan fullrangers, and some Foster Zenith) bullet tweets. All on 3/8th masonite (for now).

3wayOB.JPG

In this pic I was running Wharfedale Super 3, but one burnt out.

I really respect those who do OB with passive crossovers. It's a lot easier with bi-amping.

Thread here:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/all-british-3-way-open-baffle-help-thread.588445/
 
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