mystery garage sale speakers....

[judgeschreber]

I just picked these up for a pittance. No labels anywhere on the cabs, but they are hefty and in good condition, though not perfect.

I'm about to open them up, but before I do, anyone care to make a guess as to what's inside?

HINT: looking through the grills in strong sunlight I can barely make out three drivers, a woofer, mid, and tweeter, and there don't appear to be any horns in there, but I can't be sure.

jozmo happened to be there when I picked them up, and helped me load them into my car--thanks jozmo! It's always nice to meet AK'ers in random places!

 

[doucanoe]

Sure look to be a EV Aristrocrat varient to me. The "mid" might be a port actually and the tweeter is a mystery if it's not a horn.

My guess would be EV or University drivers.

RC

 

[cabinover]

Don't have a clue but I bet they clean up real pretty with some furniture oil/polish.

 

[dc270]

Ditto, I had a pair just like them a few month ago and they had EV coax 12" in them and a huge rectangular port. I think they were EV kits at on time. I think there was an "L" pad around back on the corners.
The ones I got literally fell apart from the old glue. I rebuilt them and they came out pretty nice, all be it replaced all the drivers.
Good luck, they are a nice classic design.

 

[markus]

what are you and you're new speakers doing the 23rd ?? :scratch2:

hint:

party party :beer:

 

[judgeschreber]

I was thinking EV too, when I spied them at the sale, but the lack of any markings or l-pads made me think they were kits or some sort of homemade job--and there were definitely three drivers in them.

Well, I opened them up, and here's what I found:

(1) No crossovers! This is a big let-down, since it means I won't be able to listen to them just yet. I did test all the drivers in one speaker for continuity, though, and they all work.

(2) A big 12" Jensen alnico woofer. It's a A12-PM. A quick search shows that the field-coil version is pretty highly thought of, but there's not much about the alnico that I could find.

(3) A 5" "McGregor" midrange. Don't really know anything about these, and I only know the name by looking up the eia code.

(4) Well, it turns out there are horns in these, after all. The tweeters are Lafayette "HW-7" horns. No idea what the deal with these are, either.

So, anyone have any info on these drivers, and possibly some advice on how to go about putting together a crossover for these? The cabinets look very well-made, and I think with a little sanding and refinishing they could look amazing.

And Markus, I'm definitely looking forward to the 23rd, although I'm not sure these new finds will make the trip, especially since they're unlistenable at this point. I do have some other nice treats in store for the party, though....

 

[judgeschreber]

more pics

 

[beemer]

Wow! Nice find those cabinets look great. Here's your opportunity to tri-amp.

Anyway, I'd bet even those Lafayette horns will sound quite good.

Take a look at this link, it's a crossover design box that lets you make changes on the fly. Maybe it may help you? I have no idea how much it costs though!

http://www.vidsonix.com/vx3/vx_aud4ind.html


Good luck!

Paul :thmbsp:

 

[JoZmo]

Judge, good to meet you. You never know where you're going to meet another Aker.

When I first spied those speakers from a distance before you got there I thought to myself K-Horns maybe but, nah, no luck. That would have been too good to be true.

Nice find though. Those cabs look to be made of some real good wood.

I ended up with what looks like to be two early Fisher solid state receivers.
Haven't tried them yet, they're still in the trunk of my car.

Couldn't pass them up for $10 apiece. That's cheaper than GW these days.

 

[judgeschreber]

Thanks Paul!

That little machine looks really nice! It's a bit expensive, though--they're going for $230 plus shipping on the 'bay. I don't know if I want to invest that much. OTOH, it looks like a fantastic tool for those of us who are confident in their ears, but a bit less confident in their knowledge of crossover design. I imagine that if I built a crossover, even if it was based on someone's recommendation that I really trust, I would always wonder, "what if I had made that a 12db rolloff instead of 6db?," or, "I wonder what it would have sounded like it I had rolled off the woofer a little sooner than I did?"

 

[judgeschreber]

Likewise JoZmo!

Let us know how those fishers sound--I haven't heard much about their SS stuff...

 

[doucanoe]

Wow! thats a driver lineup I wasn't expecting.

Those horn tweeters sure look interesting.

RC

 

[kfa888]

Looks like a good score and interesting project. I'm guessing that woofer does not go real low.

 

[judgeschreber]

crossovers located!

Ok, so I went back to the garage sale, and spent a good half hour scouring a giant uhaul truck (it must have been 100 degrees and 90% humidity in there!), and in addition to a goldmine of Sprague and Sangamo oil capacitors and a nice KLH table radio, I think I found the crossovers that belong to these speakers.

They aren't the same brand, but they look functionally equivalent, and luckily one of them has instructions on the bottom. They cross over at 500 and 3300, with a 6db/octave slope.

I'll hook them up as soon as I can, and report back.

 

[mhardy6647]

umm... if you lose interest in those enclosures... umm... let me know

 

[judgeschreber]

Well, I've got the crossovers wired up, and I have to say I'm not ready to part with the enclosures just yet

I haven't heard a whole lot of high efficiency speakers, but these definitely compare favorably to the fraziers I have. They have a very forward presentation, and they actually go pretty low in the bass. They have a very small sweet spot, but when you're in there, the presentation and imaging are fantastic. I still need more time to listen before I decide whether I really like them, though.

At this point I'm thinking these were totally homemade, designed by the builder, but if anyone has any ideas about whether or not they might have been a kit or even a manufactured speaker I'd be happy to hear it.

And, does anyone know why the baffle has all those holes in it? Is that a common design?

 

[Zilch]

And, does anyone know why the baffle has all those holes in it? Is that a common design?

Distributed porting, not a common approach.

Rear is closed, no?

 

[kfa888]

Ok, so I went back to the garage sale, and spent a good half hour scouring a giant uhaul truck (it must have been 100 degrees and 90% humidity in there!), and in addition to a goldmine of Sprague and Sangamo oil capacitors and a nice KLH table radio, I think I found the crossovers that belong to these speakers.

They aren't the same brand, but they look functionally equivalent, and luckily one of them has instructions on the bottom. They cross over at 500 and 3300, with a 6db/octave slope.

I'll hook them up as soon as I can, and report back.

Nice work / effort finding those :thmbsp:

 

[judgeschreber]

Thanks kfa888.

And yes, the rear is sealed. What's the idea behind distributed porting? Did any manufacturers you know of use it?

EDIT: OK, I'm beginning to think these are GE cabinets, based on some net research.

 

[judgeschreber]

OK, just found this online regarding distributed ports:

The extending of the frequency range or reproduction is accomplished by producing an enclosure with multiple ports along a wall of the enclosure with the ports arranged in a horn law shaped pattern thus making the enclosure less of a single frequency resonating air column and more of a broad-band frequency resonating column.

Reduction of the harmonic distortion in the reproduction of the acoustic energy in the enclosure of the present invention is accomplished by positioning the ports along a wall of the enclosure in a pattern of sizes, shapes and density designed to control the possible harmonic distortions.