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Open Baffle Epiphany!

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Having spent over a half century in an open backed Zenith console the 49CZ still looks pretty good. I did paint the outer gasket flat black which really helped. Interesting design with all those concentric cone rings. Don't know how you'd re-foam them as they don't have conventional surrounds. The cone extends all the way to the edge.
 
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essNeff said:
Nice looking set Mr. P.!
Is that a Fostex Super?
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I think they was made by Fostex. Labeled as Realistic, I removed the pod enclosure so the back could radiate. Fostex made lots of stuff for Radio Shack back in the day. These were made in Japan which is a big clue whereas the later ones labeled Radio Shack came from Korea and then China.
 
Today I'm driving the Zeniths with the tiny Miniwatt which is only good for a couple of watts. We know the big vintage alnico drivers love tubes and this combo is no exception. Listening to some Billie Holiday and her voice is crystal clear. If you love the female voice the 49CZ's do it so well.

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Just finished assembling my DIY version of OBs featuring Fostex 208 sigmas. The Fostexes alone are very impressive and I added inexpensive 15" woofers for the low end.
Presently powered by a receiver using a and b speaker outputs. And the next step is to try an electronic crossover (biamped) to goose up the low end.
The highs and mids are lusciously realistic with pleasant depth.
As you will see, I deliberately avoided the "normal" rectangular shape. The shape is "Gary Larsen Alien-like".
The materials (birch plywood) for the baffle and rear brace arc came from a local furniture maker's scrap.
The base is intentionally deep to force a certain distance off of a rear wall.
I hope you like them.
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As I search for full range drivers, I see a LOT of vintage 8" to 12" (and larger) models that are very reasonably priced.

If this is truly an unanswerable question, just tell me, but IN GENERAL, are vintage full range drivers better than modern full rangers in terms of audio quality? Sure I know... if you buy junk, new or old, junk is junk. But for example, if I were to buy a pair of Electro Voice LS8's, how would those compare next to my Pioneer BOFU clone? But how about compared to one of the new Tang Band 8" full rangers? The price/cost gap can be very significant. I guess, bottom line, the price gap between the vintage full range speakers and some good modern full range speakers is pretty significant. Is there a similar gap in audio quality?

I don't want to end up purchasing 6 different pairs of full range speakers before finding the ones I want. But that may be what has to happen. I'm just asking to try and get a jump on this. Thanks.
 
The Zeniths are the only vintage wide band drivers I've tried and I did so based on the "Glow in the Dark" recommendation.

My recommendation is what I've always done and that is to not buy anything new or old unless someone has had success with it in OB.

For example I tried the Beta12LTA because of godzilla's work with that driver.

https://speakerprojects.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/eminence-beta-12lta-on-open-baffle/

Anyone interested in open baffles should read the "Gravity Well of the Dark Star" thread at

Audio Circle. Problem is it's almost like reading a novel as it goes on for years.
 
hnash53 said:
As I search for full range drivers, I see a LOT of vintage 8" to 12" (and larger) models that are very reasonably priced.

If this is truly an unanswerable question, just tell me, but IN GENERAL, are vintage full range drivers better than modern full rangers in terms of audio quality? ..........
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I have such little experience, especially with current FRs, that I probably shouldn't even be replying, but.....................I'm posting to point out an obscure vintage FR that gets good comments when it does get them: Richard Allans, 8 or 10 inchers. If you come across a pair, you might enjoy listening to them. I'm running CG10Ts (with bass assist and tweets) in my crude OBs. The "T" suffix denotes the whizzer cone.

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Some info at post 2 here: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/richard-allan-cg10s.401098/#post-5090256
 
RDecartridge said:
Just finished assembling my DIY version of OBs featuring Fostex 208 sigmas............
As you will see, I deliberately avoided the "normal" rectangular shape. The shape is "Gary Larsen Alien-like".
I hope you like them.
View attachment 861411 View attachment 861412
Click to expand...

Wow!! I'm in awe of your design sense. I especially like your "rear brace arc"! That's some real "googie" (or boomerang) style!
 
This a.m. I tried the Zeniths with the Bottlehead 2a3 SET amps and anything beyond the first step on the Foreplay III attenuators was just too loud for early morning listening. That tells me the Zeniths must be around 96+ dbs.

I totally love the Zeniths and they really have no downside. Buttery smooth at low volume and the raspiness of Diana Krall's voice I've heard with other drivers is not there. I discovered that one of my tweeters is not working but it's not missed as the big Zeniths still produce all the shimmer of the top hats one could want.

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hnash53,
i was using a set of 15" jensen triaxials in vintage BR cabinets. i had recapped the crossovers with dayton caps. then i lucked into a pair of 12" audio nirvana drivers. the ANs have a lot more detail so they have pushed the jensens aside. some people like tone and others like detail; i'm a detail guy and that seems to push me towards modern drivers. you will need to sort out your own preferences.
 
Thanks for all the tips/suggestions/links... this is fun stuff!

Since many of the vintage drivers are "inexpensive," I may just go ahead and buy several pairs and "audition" them.
 
Parting out an old console is how I came upon the Zeniths. I think I paid $35 for the console and sold it's tube amp and other parts for around $150. Glad I hung on to

the speakers which turned out to be keepers. Most of the guys who hunt down and harvest tube amps from consoles care little about the speakers. Oftentimes you can

find them for not much money on eBay.
 
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