Speakerlab S7s Rebuild and Modding (Ribbon Tweeter Model)
- Thread starter Bratwurst7s
- Start date
DrummerDoug
New Member
I have a friend back in the states that has 1) my original ribbon tweeters, 2) my first pair of steel frame Wavecor mids, 3) my original crossovers, 4) 2 pairs of W1208R woofers, and 5) an extensive woodshop. Guess where this is going. So I need to test 2 1208R's in parallel with WT2 to see if any crossover changes need to be made, and find out how much larger the cabs would need to be to make 2x 1208's happy.
Cheers,
James
James!
Indeed you do Pal. Indeed you do. I have read your entire thread here James. It was educational to say the very least.. I learned some new words and concepts to boot. I am done making holiday gifts in the wood shop. I am ready for this project now. Let's begin! All of these parts you have had me collect and those that you have bequeathed to me directly from your own stash -need to be united into cabinets! It will be quite cool for me to hear those original Tweets again after all these years.. (I was present in the 80's when he bought these S7's folks -and he played them LOUD friends, l o u d. I also loved how he was completely willing to play any track I asked for from his collection... I usually requested songs with heavy drums. Tusk comes to mind at this moment... etc. ) -anyway. Great read James. I am all caught up. Time to do it.
Doug
Cheers,
James
James!
Indeed you do Pal. Indeed you do. I have read your entire thread here James. It was educational to say the very least.. I learned some new words and concepts to boot. I am done making holiday gifts in the wood shop. I am ready for this project now. Let's begin! All of these parts you have had me collect and those that you have bequeathed to me directly from your own stash -need to be united into cabinets! It will be quite cool for me to hear those original Tweets again after all these years.. (I was present in the 80's when he bought these S7's folks -and he played them LOUD friends, l o u d. I also loved how he was completely willing to play any track I asked for from his collection... I usually requested songs with heavy drums. Tusk comes to mind at this moment... etc. ) -anyway. Great read James. I am all caught up. Time to do it.
Doug
c-atle-79bay
Super Member
Really nice build on those Will. Yes that same Paul. My 30's are gone by now, still need to get another driver to him, time drags and ability to get little things like that done are limited with kids. I'll still keep the kids though, more time later.
Bratwurst any snow yet? I just left central germany, not a flake.
Bratwurst any snow yet? I just left central germany, not a flake.
Hoot! Way good that you're here now Doug.
It's been a year+ since I last used the woofer tester program so I have to sit down and re-learn how to use it, shouldn't take long. Then I'll pull the woofers again and test the 2x 12" in parallel. We should probably start a new thread for the project when you/we actually start. Just what will you call these things? They will be a bit of a MutantFrankenLab7s.
Cheers,
James
Hey c-atle! Nice to hear from you again. I'm still ever thankful for your tip on using the Osmo hardwaxoil for the speakers. It's been on my 7s for 3 years now and still looks like new. I just refinished a pair of Canton Quinto 520's with it last week and they look gorgeous...
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/canton-quinto-520.749691/
It just snowed here yesterday, first time for this winter. Hope that you had a good time up there.
Cheers,
James
^^^In fact I hope you have a really SUPER 7 ... (teen) Jim!^^^
...Just couldn't resist...
Oh oh. I must be getting really out of touch, old, or dense (perhaps all 3) 'cause I'm not catching the reference.
On the other hand, now that they have had 10 hours or so of music through them in this new config I like the sound quite a bit.
Cheers,
James
Valveglow
Super Member
Oh oh. I must be getting really out of touch, old, or dense (perhaps all 3) 'cause I'm not catching the reference.
On the other hand, now that they have had 10 hours or so of music through them in this new config I like the sound quite a bit.
Cheers,
James
Boza had wished you a happy 2017. The (weak) joke was that I wished you a Super 7 (Speakerlab reference) teen...
Duh, shoulda seen that. I guess that I'm not used to it being seventeen yet. Doesn’t seen that it's been all that long since double oh. Wish you a super year too!
Cheers,
James
So, an interesting development. This last weekend I saw an offer on the 'bay for a pair of W1008R's. Ceramic magnets, paper+polylam cones, rubber surrounds. These are actually more desirable to me than the foam surround polypro cone versions that were original in my speakers.
I contacted my bro-in-law back in the States and he scored them for me!! I have to get some money over there to him to pay for them and work out shipping, but they will be mine.
It will be some time before I can use them, I'll have to work out what crossover changes I'll have to make, but sometime this year...
Cheers,
James
I contacted my bro-in-law back in the States and he scored them for me!! I have to get some money over there to him to pay for them and work out shipping, but they will be mine.
It will be some time before I can use them, I'll have to work out what crossover changes I'll have to make, but sometime this year...
Cheers,
James
The W1008R's arrived earlier this week. Well packed and in good condition.
I'm working on pinning a date on them. The '77 catalog still shows all AlNiCo magnets. The '80 catalog shows units like these with polylam coated ribbed paper cones and ceramic magnets. I have never been able to find any catalogs for '78 and '79.
My "new" woofers have the old "5500 35th NE" address on the stickers. Using google and searching magazine ads/dates the last date that I've found so far with that address is a March of 1978 advertisement in Popular Mechanics. The earliest ad that I've found for the "735 N. Northlake Way" address is an ad in the July 1978 issue of Popular Science. My 1983 W1208R's have the 735 N. Northlake Way address.
So so far that places these woofers as produced somewhere between ?-1977 and June-1978.
Cheers,
James
I'm working on pinning a date on them. The '77 catalog still shows all AlNiCo magnets. The '80 catalog shows units like these with polylam coated ribbed paper cones and ceramic magnets. I have never been able to find any catalogs for '78 and '79.
My "new" woofers have the old "5500 35th NE" address on the stickers. Using google and searching magazine ads/dates the last date that I've found so far with that address is a March of 1978 advertisement in Popular Mechanics. The earliest ad that I've found for the "735 N. Northlake Way" address is an ad in the July 1978 issue of Popular Science. My 1983 W1208R's have the 735 N. Northlake Way address.
So so far that places these woofers as produced somewhere between ?-1977 and June-1978.
Cheers,
James
More...
Cheers,
James
Cheers,
James
Valveglow
Super Member
I know this is perhaps sacrilege but many years ago, the woofers failed on an old set of AR LST II speakers, and knowing the Speakerlab line which was then still in business, I ordered a set of 10" woofers for an acoustic suspension box. Not having any idea whatsoever about proper volumes, crossovers, etc., I removed the cheap, blown, thin paper woofers and replaced them with the new Speakerlab woofers. The improvement in every respect, including the midrange where the woofers crossed over to the three domed drivers was astounding. In addition, the bass definition, depth, and power were in an entirely new category.
will d
Active Member
Just want to say, I love my completely refurbished speakerlab 4's. And it's nice to read other speakerlab user threads. Keep em coming, as I feel these speakers are seemingly underloved and underated. Will D.
will d
Active Member
P.S. My 4's are in my living room powered by an amp and preamp and no subwoofer. They just sound good. Will D.
Cool! What amp are you using?
Little need for a sub if your main speakers can go down to 32hz.
Now I'm going to have to pull a W1208 and use WT2 to measure them together to find out what cap I need for the Zobel and cap/coil for the cross.
Cheers,
James
will d
Active Member
Currently, a modest Rotel 50 wpc amp and a Rotel preamp. It's a smallish living room, and an eventual upgrade in amplification may make the 4's sound even better. Thanks for responding, Will D.
Too bad that we are so far apart. I have a 110w Yamaha AX-750 sitting here that I could lend you to try out. As much as I love living in Munich, Bavaria and Germany I do miss some things from the PNW. Especially the audio community.
In any case, moving up to something in the 100w+ class would pay dividends in tighter bass.
Cheers,
James