Upgrade path for DIY thrift find

[caxton1476]

Okay, friends...I finally assembled and played these things. Desoldered the binding posts and wired them directly to my Sansui 5000x. Put a bit of polyfill inside at (probably?) strategic points. Started with this and that - a Nick Drake cd, a Mary Lattimore LP, Paul Desmond streamed over wifi through an Echo Dot.

And...it all sounds fantastic. Shocking detail. Enough bass to satisfy. A sense of space and depth. Accuracy with warmth.

It's possible I'm romanticizing. I might like these more than they deserve. But. Everyone that walked into the room said some variation on: "Wow, that's gorgeous." And that's what I want from this modest hobby. That little moment of hearing music differently.

I think I'll add the binding posts, just to make them easier to swap out. Maybe these won't be the best for every cut I want to play, but for the moment, I feel like this random thrift store grab is a little bridge across time. I used to research Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts; certain moments with those gave me a similar thrill. Someone, back there, across a dim expanse, made this, and now it's a small light in this room, in a place and time unimaginable to its maker. That's a real privilege. I don't want to chase a notion of absolute sound. I want to stumble into moments of connection through sound. These speakers have given me an access to that experience today, and I couldn't be happier.

 

[caxton1476]

Another update to supplement my (hyperbolically) enthusiastic first impressions.

I continue to love these.

They are so easy to listen to. I don't think I'm an especially discerning or demanding listener, for what it's worth. I don't listen at high volumes - mostly between 50-60 db max, according to Decibel X. My bass satisfaction is easy to achieve - the Bang on a Can cd of Eno's Music for Airports sounds nice, to me, on these. Voices sound terrific - Madeleine Peyroux on cd is lovely.

A few weeks ago, we ate at San Giorgio, a fantastic pizza place in Milwaukee. Everything was top-shelf and basically perfect. Except the music. It was being piped through tiny speaker high in corners. Like, speakers a bit larger than a Rubik's cube. They were playing what you'd expect - midcentury jazz stuff, female vocals, etc. - and it sounded awful.

I know there are complexities to these things. But man, that music, in that place, through these speakers - that could have been a magical thing, not the fatiguing, pushy stuff we heard.

What I'm saying is these speaker give a voice to music I love in a way that makes me want to keep listening.

 

[Hipocrates]

I love in a way that makes me want to keep listening.

That's awesome, Kudos!

 

[jheu02]

I know it's also a totally reversible project, too - I could fabricate the open baffle pair, install the drivers, then put them back in their original cabinets at any time.

My experiment used cardboard "Wardrobe" boxes from a move. They were sturdy and cut so that one panel was gone, making for a front baffle, and two side "wings." the wings enable the box to still stand on its own and could be opened for a larger front face to see what was needed. They did reveal certain things in familiar music that I hadn't heard before. I never progressed with the project due to life and having this grand idea to make the baffles look like the cover of "The Division Bell", where the drivers were the eyes of the statues.

 

[caxton1476]

That would be an amazing, and possibly disturbing, set of speakers to have in one's home. Properly lit from behind, they'd be a pretty spooky encounter for a houseguest.

 

[fxer1982]

Here’sa close-up of the surrounds. Insights requested as to what the material actually is. Its texture looks and feels much more like a dollar bill, now that I’m examining it again.

Treated cloth surrounds the good kind. the treated is a liquid with a nice controlled movement structure. similar to KLH old woofers. I wouldn't put to many watts to them they are very close to near field speakers yet I can't read the back of the magnets wouldn't dought that they are alnico magnets a little in gives alot of db out. but not made for 100 watts at full power, great for SE tube amps. they are sought after well, they look great condition no need to treat them at all you will loose money sometimes less is best and that is what you have there. please put any numbers you can see from the magnet cover on this page id like to just search them I have pritty close to the same UTAH one horn doesn't work mine are older so it two way. haven't found the right guy that can work on them but I'm not looking that much. These you have look like 3 way in one basket. look close you have the center high freq, then towards the outer 1/2" you have a midrange, the largest is the woofer, the crossover maybe within the magnet cover. big money you have....there are some who will pay 1000.00 each for a pair fully working no up dates. great for the bedroom....