The new budget speaker king?

[analog addict]

Great description of how they sound.

I may try to recap mine. Is 3uF is the target cap value?

Finally got a chance to Listen to the Presidians vs. the Insignias last night via a 30W McIntosh MA230 integrated (SS pre/tube power). IMO the Insignias are much better speakers. No contest.

I'm just tweaking to see what providing the tweeter with lower frequencies will do to the sound. I've been told that this tweeter is good down to about 5KHz, so you could go lower, say 4uF or so...

I have a pair of Insignias also, and even though I haven't listened to them lately, I believe you. However, the $40 I paid for the Insignia's is almost 3 times what I paid for these...Are they 3 times the speaker?

The jury's still out on that question....

 

[analog addict]

Think I'll sit tight...

3uF sounds pretty good, kind of rounding out the sound of the tweeter. I'm using old Sprague caps scavenged from discarded EEG amplifiers. Since they were medical grade, they have nice tight tolerances. I think any good cap would make a big difference, such as Solens, etc. Take a look at Parts Express crossover capacitor page here...

The Dayton metalized PP caps are an especially good value right now...:thmbsp:

I'm also going to stuff these like last year's Thanksgiving turkey to tighten up the bass a little with some polyfill foam or similar. If you feel like doing the same, remember not to obstruct the port....

I know Zilch would rather start with better speakers, but for me, there's something I enjoy about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.... O.K., maybe not silk, but at least nice leather....

 

[Argyle]

thanks for the info and feedback on these, analog addict. I gave a turntable and receiver to my girlfriend's sister, because she wanted to put together a little system to listen to vinyl. She was on a budget (aren't we all) so i suggested the Presidians to her, since i'd heard about them here on AK.

I'm not an "audiophile" but I'd like to think i have a pretty good ear. Obviously considering the fact that they're $15 a pair, i was relatively impressed. I want to eventually get into rebuilding/repairing speakers, so i think i'm going to pick a pair up for myself and listen to them for a while, then use them to attempt a recap, maybe later this year.

Again thanks for the posts and please let us know how the "stuffing" goes.

 

[braxus]

Not a bad price, but any modern amp would probably blow them since they only take up to 50 Watts RMS. Not many amps sold today that are below 100 watts, or even 60.

 

[Zilch]

Not a bad price, but any modern amp would probably blow them since they only take up to 50 Watts RMS. Not many amps sold today that are below 100 watts, or even 60.

They'd only get blown if someone cranked that power to them.

A 10-Watt amp would be more likely to blow them with clipping to the tweeter. :yes:

[What would I do to "fix" $15 speakers.... :scratch2: ]

 

[analog addict]

Here are some pix...

Starting with the front of the speaker enclosure...

Tweeter removed, showing the rather wimpy magnet and the POS 1.0uF micro cap...

Here's the woofer, a bit more substantial....:thmbsp:

Now the nekkid enclosure showing the rear firing port....

Now the simple mods....Add 3.0 or so of high quality cap - cost - Free to a scrounger like me... Solder into place...

Drop back into enclosure, and fasten down...

Add some foam padding, with caps visible underneath...and Presto!

$15 speaker that now will give the Mini-Me-7 a run for it's money...:thmbsp:

I hooked these up to a Dynaco ST-80/PAT-4 I've been testing and frankly they are giving the tired AR-4x's a run for their money....:yes:

OK so one of the AR's tweeters is out do to a cranky pot, but still, whaddya want for 15 bucks?!!?....

 

[AnalogDigit]

The shack was always good to pick up a pair of cheap speakers.

 

[x_25]

Suposidly they are in stock at the one near me (unlike those little amps) so I will be picking up a set or two tomorrow. Will have a reveiw and possibly pictures if I try to mod them.

 

[Zilch]

Quality midrange sound--65Hz-20kHz

I'm SURE that tweeter will play AT LEAST an octave lower, no sweat.... :thmbsp:

 

[analog addict]

Hmmmm...

I'm SURE that tweeter will play AT LEAST an octave lower, no sweat.... :thmbsp:

I'm not sure if you're yanking my chain or not....

If you're serious, 4uF high pass???? Afraid all I've got are my ears for testing...:scratch2:

 

[Robie]

I believe Zilch was quoting text from the Presidian page of the RS website.

I may have some old wavy foam from a mattress topper laying around that might work inside. I figure a recap with some Daytons would cost less than $7, including postage.

BTW, I believe they like SS control over tubes. They much sounded much better on a HK PA2100 power amp Snade found for me at GW. I ran it directly from the portable CD player headphone jack in lieu of a preamp. Via my old 30W McIntosh MA230 integrated (SS pre/tube power) they sound way too muffled.

 

[influx]

I don't know why you guys are messing with crap speakers when Control 1s are available in the JBL Pro eTent Sale for $70 a pair.

Gotta buy 3 pair and share, is all:

http://www.jblpro.com/commerce/tent_sale/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=229

...or these I picked for my daughter several months ago online for $100.

http://www.athenaspeakers.com/v2/classic.php?ident=AS-B1.2

 

[bakes]

Looks like the venerable Audax 10 mm dome or a knock-off thereof. 5k Xover would work at 12 dB/oct, but you're better off sticking with the 3 µF cap if you'rerunning 6 dB/oct. I wonder if they included the 1 µF cap to give it a higher power rating - hard to blow a tweeter on RMS power if it's reproducing dog sonatas.

Leave the foam in one box then try stuffing the other box with some good old Owens Corning Pink, or better yet the Mansville white fiberglass (less itchy) and play around with the density.

Just be careful removing the woofers - a guy could cut his lip open that way...

 

[analog addict]

Just be careful removing the woofers - a guy could cut his lip open that way...

Yeah, don't do that....I charge a lot more these days, and my hands prolly aren't as steady as they used to be.....

 

[x_25]

Well, I just picked up a pair at my Rat Shack, last pair they had. For $15 they are not half bad speakers. Although they do sound like they are underwater (probably has something to do with that 16khz cross over). They have more bass then the Minimus 7's do. So 3uf or 4uf cap for replacing the one in there? And then I will try stuffing it with... I duno I'll find something.

 

[bakes]

Yeah, don't do that....I charge a lot more these days, and my hands prolly aren't as steady as they used to be.....

That's what scares me - a co-worker wants me to refoam his Genesis IIs and I keep getting flashbacks of flying woofers and walking around in downtown Portland Maine with Frankenstein stitches on my upper lip. I could barely taste the Gritty's ESB!!!

 

[x_25]

I found some 4uF caps in my parts box. Would these work?

 

[bakes]

I found some 4uF caps in my parts box. Would these work?

Potentially, but keep in mind that a 5K crossover at 6 dB/octave on a tweeter with an resonant frequency of 3K could slightly affect the tweeter's longevity. :scratch2:

 

[Zilch]

I'm not sure if you're yanking my chain or not....

I'll see if my local R/S has a pair to measure.

I'm saying there's risks inherent in messing with the highpass frequency; I doubt it's arbitrary....

 

[Robie]

Love to hear your opinion of them Zilch. At the risk of sounding like a "suck up," your opinions and suggestions carry lots of weight with me.