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Newbie with an Electro-Voice SP15 and two aristocrat cabinets

S

SoundSensei

New Member
Hey AudioKarma members,

I don't really know what I have here and could really use some guidance and insight. I picked up some old audio and car parts from a lady whose husband passed away, In the items that I picked up from her were a pair of two aristocrat speaker cabinets. upon a home inspection, I found one had a speaker in and the other was empty.
The speaker is an Electro-Voice sp15, but the wiring looks cut. How do I go about testing it to see if it works? Is this worth anything or could it make a good starter system? I read somewhere on here that if I have one it may make a good mono system with a tube amp? what is that? any opinions or guidance is welcome...
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Thanks,
New kid
 
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The SP15 is a fairly well valued speaker. Depending on the versions it can have an LC network connected to a "brilliance" control. This is a full range speaker that goes out to 13-15 kHz. However, it still needs a tweeter or super tweeter to produce the highest tones. You could cut out that hole to fit a t-35 or other tweeter and make a simple first order crossover with a cap in series with the l-pad to the tweeter.
 
The EV SP15 is one of the finest 15" full range drivers you can drag home. The midrange and bass it's capable of will melt your skull and heart. You'll swear Johnny Cash is in your living room. You can check the specs somewhere, but I believe that driver is capable of 25hz. Its worth building an entire mono system around, that's how good it is. Pure gold. JBL D130? Pah! It wishes. Nothing compared to an EV SP 15 or 15b.

Biggles
 
drbiggles said:
The EV SP15 is one of the finest 15" full range drivers you can drag home. The midrange and bass it's capable of will melt your skull and heart. You'll swear Johnny Cash is in your living room. You can check the specs somewhere, but I believe that driver is capable of 25hz. Its worth building an entire mono system around, that's how good it is. Pure gold. JBL D130? Pah! It wishes. Nothing compared to an EV SP 15 or 15b.

Biggles
Click to expand...

I would say that this is true of an example in good condition. The surround can go porus and and there's an internal LC "brilliance" network that may need to recapped. I'm actually about to create a post regarding removing the bell cover to get to the LC network. My SP15 sound OK but not great at the moment.
 
rjb5191 said:
I would say that this is true of an example in good condition. The surround can go porus and and there's an internal LC "brilliance" network that may need to recapped. I'm actually about to create a post regarding removing the bell cover to get to the LC network. My SP15 sound OK but not great at the moment.
Click to expand...
Its not an acoustic suspension driver. Its designed to be used in a ported or folded horn design cabinet. The surround could be made out of swiss cheese and it wouldn't matter. The TRX driver has a tweeter in it, that's got a crossover with a cap.

Biggles
 
You're correct on the cap, I apologize.

Infinite baffle while "sealed" isn't an air tight design. Some leaks are okay. In fact, you'll find factory venting sometimes. Remember, we're trying to trick the driver into thinking it's in a larger cabinet that it's in.

Biggles
 
rjb5191 said:
I would think that you would want an air tight surround for a ported design and I think the SP15 was specified for infinite baffle designs as well. There may be a crossover in the TRX but there's also an LC network in the SP15.

Please see this description: https://audio-database.com/ELECTRO-VOICE/unit/sp15.html
Click to expand...
Hey, I went and reread the link you sent over. It mentions the LC network, which just sounds like a Level Control. L-pad or pot, or some such. The tweeter kit and midrange kit are sold separately. Those would have the crossovers, the pricey bits.
 
drbiggles said:
Hey, I went and reread the link you sent over. It mentions the LC network, which just sounds like a Level Control. L-pad or pot, or some such. The tweeter kit and midrange kit are sold separately. Those would have the crossovers, the pricey bits.
Click to expand...

I don't know for sure, but from the evidence I gather it means an inductor capacitor network. I've seen other posts of people opening the bell cover of SP15's and there being capacitor and coils in there. If you read the literature on the SP15, you can read about the "brilliance control" and how it effects and extends the high frequency response of the driver. that wouldn't be possible with just a simple level control.
 
Yes it would be, that's what an L-pad does. Volume control. An inductor is used as a filter to be used to filter out all the frequencies above a certain spot. And a capacitor is a filter to filter out all the frequencies below a certain spot.

Biggles
 
drbiggles said:
Yes it would be, that's what an L-pad does. Volume control. An inductor is used as a filter to be used to filter out all the frequencies above a certain spot. And a capacitor is a filter to filter out all the frequencies below a certain spot.

Biggles
Click to expand...

To be honest, I'm getting a bit confused here. In your previous post, it seems that you were implying the SP15 only had a simple level control. In your latest post, it seems you are saying that the SP15 has both a l pad and and LC network. The brilliance control and circuit in the SP15 is not a simple level control that is just turning up and down all of the frequencies. Please read the section "SP15 brilliance control" in the linked literature.

 
rjb5191 said:
To be honest, I'm getting a bit confused here. In your previous post, it seems that you were implying the SP15 only had a simple level control. In your latest post, it seems you are saying that the SP15 has both a l pad and and LC network. The brilliance control and circuit in the SP15 is not a simple level control that is just turning up and down all of the frequencies. Please read the section "SP15 brilliance control" in the linked literature.

Click to expand...
Its a variable impedance control network.

Biggles
 
I wish I had one to play with, I'd like to get my fingers in there. Also, I've got a beautiful cabinet to put one in. I'd choose that over my late 1950s Altec 604 Duplex. Them EV's special rigs.

Biggles
 
Unfortunately the reed switch on my hot air work station prevents it from being used near the speaker magnet. The iron method didn't work as the plate is recessed so the iron wouldn't make good contact. I need to find a hair dryer to try next i suppose.
 
Dang. Build dome of aluminum foil over top, put incandescent bulb portion inside to warm? That'd focus heat onto label. Or similar with hair dryer. You know, instead of losing all that hot air.

Biggles
 
Thank you, I was able to borrow a heat gun and was able to get the label off. I wouldn't say the label necessarily came off easily though.
 
rjb5191 said:
The SP15 is a fairly well valued speaker. Depending on the versions it can have an LC network connected to a "brilliance" control. This is a full range speaker that goes out to 13-15 kHz. However, it still needs a tweeter or super tweeter to produce the highest tones. You could cut out that hole to fit a t-35 or other tweeter and make a simple first order crossover with a cap in series with the l-pad to the tweeter.
Click to expand...

There's nothing inside the magnet assembly on that version of the SP15. The one pictured is the large alnico magnet can (like the original SRO15), and that's a solid metal can. No bolt-on enclosure on the back, like the later ceramic magnet version had.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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