What should I do with my Optimus STS-1000s?

[BobBobberson]

Hello!

I am new to the world of audio and I'm hoping for any opinions or advice regarding my speaker situation. I have recently come into possession of these Optimus (Radio Shack brand I would assume), STS-1000s from a guy down the street for $20. It's come to my attention that the suspension on the 12'' woofers has cracked and fallen off, so I plan to at least make that repair. Regarding my set-up I currently have them paired with a 12'' sub, two smaller JVC brand surrounds, and a small RCA brand center, all connected to a Sony STR-DE895. To my untrained ear it sounds great in the small space I got, but I'm looking for opinions. From what I've seen online these STS-1000s were generally considered an OK sounding budget friendly option.

I say all this because I have a couple plans in mind for these. The cabinets they're in right now are water damaged so I'm thinking of making my own, though I have no idea what kind of wood to look for. I personally like the look of the big boxy cabinets but I'm also concerned about sound quality. If I am to rebuild the cabinets the same way, is it reasonable to upgrade the speakers too or does the cabinet shape and size restrict that? I know some cabinets get filled with a type of insulation (currently does not have any), does that make a difference? If I upgrade the speakers I assume I'd have to find different PCB like the one in the picture. Or are they just kinda junk? Is it even worth touching these or should I take my time and invest in something better?

Any opinions or advice regarding the speakers or my current set up is much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[swechsler]

Unless speaker building is a hobby you want to get involved in, I would not recommend trying to replace drivers. Generally the most cost effective upgrade is to just purchase a better set of used speakers. Luckily, in most cases, speakers don't wear out; you've already discovered that foam can be replaced, and the only other repair required in most speakers is replacement of capacitors (if they are old, and old varies by model) and cleaning of controls, if there are any. Really old speakers (like from the 1970s and earlier) if not treated well might require more thorough disassembly and repair, but I suspect you won't have much trouble finding something decent on one of the for sale websites.

 

[BobBobberson]

Unless speaker building is a hobby you want to get involved in, I would not recommend trying to replace drivers. Generally the most cost effective upgrade is to just purchase a better set of used speakers. Luckily, in most cases, speakers don't wear out; you've already discovered that foam can be replaced, and the only other repair required in most speakers is replacement of capacitors (if they are old, and old varies by model) and cleaning of controls, if there are any. Really old speakers (like from the 1970s and earlier) if not treated well might require more thorough disassembly and repair, but I suspect you won't have much trouble finding something decent on one of the for sale websites.

Thanks for that, I suspect I'll find some kind of repair kit online somewhere. Calling around, there doesn't seem to be to many stores in town that sell foam kits like that anymore.

 

[OldGman]

If all the drivers work, the cabs are usable and you want a project by all means "run what ya got". Get some experience in on the cheap.
Surrounds can be found on evilbay for $25 pair or so. Caps are cheap, just go electrolytic, nothing fancy.
Shore up where the damage is, add some bracing all around, including 1"wooden dowels forward to aft behind the woofers. Add some polyfill ( if not ported ), seal any/all leaks if acoustic suspension.
Obviously you'll still have inexpensive drivers, a fairly lightweight box ( more than likely 9/16" thick or less material) but you can improve their sound by reducing a buzz box you have now.
No point in throwing new drivers, building new cabs and such as you can find something better as already stated.
If you do go this route get those off the floor about 6".
Just my tinkering mentality/opinion mind you.

 

[BobBobberson]

If all the drivers work, the cabs are usable and you want a project by all means "run what ya got". Get some experience in on the cheap.
Surrounds can be found on evilbay for $25 pair or so. Caps are cheap, just go electrolytic, nothing fancy.
Shore up where the damage is, add some bracing all around, including 1"wooden dowels forward to aft behind the woofers. Add some polyfill ( if not ported ), seal any/all leaks if acoustic suspension.
Obviously you'll still have inexpensive drivers, a fairly lightweight box ( more than likely 9/16" thick or less material) but you can improve their sound by reducing a buzz box you have now.
No point in throwing new drivers, building new cabs and such as you can find something better as already stated.
If you do go this route get those off the floor about 6".
Just my tinkering mentality/opinion mind you.

Thanks for the advice, I hadn't thought of reinforcing the box that's a great idea. And yes, I think at this point I'll probably stick with the drivers I have, I thought it might be fun to experiment building some fresh boxes myself but that'll take time so I'll run what I got for now. Any particular reason why they should be raised off the floor that much?

 

[Nat]

Go to what used to be Mat Electronics and is now Hospitality Electronic Supply, and buy a pair of surrounds and new, higher voltage caps. You'll need to buy more to make shipping costs worth while, but they have a lot of useful stuff. They aren't as astonishingly cheap as they used to be, but who is? Quality is fine, given the prices, and sometimes fine period.

 

[BobBobberson]

Go to what used to be Mat Electronics and is now Hospitality Electronic Supply, and buy a pair of surrounds and new, higher voltage caps. You'll need to buy more to make shipping costs worth while, but they have a lot of useful stuff. They aren't as astonishingly cheap as they used to be, but who is? Quality is fine, given the prices, and sometimes fine period.

Thank you, I'll have to check them out. I'll look into higher voltage caps too, looks like I might be able to solder them onto the existing PCB?

 

[OldGman]

Speakers off the floor eliminate some floor bounce and early reflections...cleans up the bass frequencies a bit.
I would imagine those sound boomy in the 50-55hz range as is and that frequency would only be multiplied on the floor.
Perhaps if your room is big and you keep them on the floor it'll help reinforce the bass some.
In a small room it might be overwhelming.
Experiment a bit. On the floor, then on temporary stands ( blocks ), vary the height.
Remember speaker placement plays a big factor in sound quality within the room's acoustics. Distance from walls, toe in/out, height etc.
Plenty of info of do's/dont's concerning placement on the net or simply ask the much better informed members here.
As always,what sounds best to your ears is what is counts....bottom line.

 

[Nat]

That circuit board will probably only work with the same size caps, and they will have to be radial caps with both leads out the bottom. Both factors limit you somewhat - better caps are usually bigger than the el cheapos that the bean counters insist on, and most crossover caps seem to be axial - leads at the opposite ends from each other. So I would suggest using hot glue to mount caps to a little board and running wires from the terminal cup to the caps (the little circuit board is probably soldered to the terminal cup and is easily removed. Just keep track of which wires went where - taking a picture or two before disassembly can help a lot if you forget what you did, which happens.

 

[homebrew]

The simplicity of the crossover should tell you all you need to know. Those are cheap speakers and not worth messing with expecting to make the proverbial silk purse from a sow's ear. If you want to keep them, relegate them to a secondary area like a garage. You should be able to pick up a decent pair of used speakers for a couple of benjamins.

 

[Nat]

I don't think anyone is under the illusion that these are top of the line, or even close. But he owns them, and if he can replace the surrounds on the woofers for a modest price, spending a few bucks on better caps would probably be a worthwhile upgrade. While it is true that buying better speakers would probably result in better sound, the poster might enjoy learning how to fix up speakers, and that is a gift that keeps on giving,
And because a crossover is simple means the speaker is no good will come as a surprise to a lot of EPI/Genesis owners. Complexity in a crossover comes with its own set of problems - inefficiency, since all a crossover can do is block frequencies, and complex loads which can upset amps. I don't doubt that this crossover is too simple, and that rolling off the upper end of the woofer and midrange might be worth doing, but that is also something that the poster might investigate crossover design and add some coils and see how that sounds.