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Worth restoring these Speakerlab Thirtys?

Sorry for not responding sooner Stimpy. I was busy listening to more music last night ☺️

I ordered the caps and tweeters from Parts Express. Most of the caps were Dayton non-polarized electrolytics but there were a couple that Paul recommended that I use metalized polypropylene. They were the 2.0uF and 24uF. Can't remember if those were for the tweeters or mids at the moment.

The tweeter was part #264-1040 and you also needed to add a 1.5 ohm 10 watt resistor for that mod. There was a resistor and cap delete that I can share details with you if you're going to do the tweeter update and I highly recommend that you do.

Steve
 
sbcrockett said:
Sorry for not responding sooner Stimpy. I was busy listening to more music last night ☺️

I ordered the caps and tweeters from Parts Express. Most of the caps were Dayton non-polarized electrolytics but there were a couple that Paul recommended that I use metalized polypropylene. They were the 2.0uF and 24uF. Can't remember if those were for the tweeters or mids at the moment.

The tweeter was part #264-1040 and you also needed to add a 1.5 ohm 10 watt resistor for that mod. There was a resistor and cap delete that I can share details with you if you're going to do the tweeter update and I highly recommend that you do.

Steve
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve,

I'm not doing the mod. Just living vicariously through others! :D

And thanks for the component details. Good to know, especially for real modder's, who own these same speakers. Oh, the 2.0uF and 24uF might be the series capacitors, that control the high pass and mid pass function. Those would benefit from poly caps.

Happy listening! :music:
 
sbcrockett said:
Good news...

I spent some time pulling out the woofers and mid range from the first speaker and they're all original. I heard back from Paul at the Loudspeaker Store and his prices are quite reasonable I thought, roughly $50 per woofer for him to do the surrounds. I figure it's a good investment to have someone far more experienced do the work and check things out at the same time. While he's doing that, I'll start replacing the caps:

View attachment 1662904

Paul gave me some good tips while replacing them, specifically about the 10" woofer cap, installing a 0.1uF cap in parallel with it to improve the voltage handling. He also recommended replacing the tweeter with one that will give more extended and smoother highs. Apparently, Speakerlab had a ton of the tweeters they used (which were used out of convenience of them being plentiful) but then installed some notch filtering components to make it work. I'm going to drop off the woofers next Saturday and hopefully even get a chance to hear Paul's Thirtys which have the upgraded tweeter. That should help me get closer to deciding if I want to replace or not.

Any recommendations about the caps I should buy? Any tips about doing all that soldering down in the hole? I'd rather not remove the board material that everything is stuck to as there's a pretty significant bead of sealant holding it on to the cabinet back. Appreciate the comments and tips. Hopefully in a couple weeks I should have them back together and ready to play!

Thanks guys.

-SteveView attachment 1662956
Click to expand...
Do you know the brand and model of the upgrade tweeter?
 
Post #21 above gives the Parts Express part number for the tweeter.
www.parts-express.com

Peerless by Tymphany BC25TG15-04 1" Fabric Dome Tweeter

Peerless by Tymphany BC25TG15-04 1" Fabric Dome TweeterDesigned by Tymphany's experienced team of engineers, the BC25TG15-04 1" dome tweeter can meet the most demanding requirements for audio excellence. The tweeter features a textile diaphragm, high-energy ceramic ferrite magnet, and sculpted...
www.parts-express.com
 
Salt Lake was, to my knowledge, the only town outside Washington state where Speakerlab had a retail store. Not long before their store closing sale, the guy there said he thought the Thirty was their best sounding speaker. I heard it briefly and can’t characterize the sound after all these years other than it being powerful and neutral.
 
nerdorama said:
Post #21 above gives the Parts Express part number for the tweeter.
www.parts-express.com

Peerless by Tymphany BC25TG15-04 1" Fabric Dome Tweeter

Peerless by Tymphany BC25TG15-04 1" Fabric Dome TweeterDesigned by Tymphany's experienced team of engineers, the BC25TG15-04 1" dome tweeter can meet the most demanding requirements for audio excellence. The tweeter features a textile diaphragm, high-energy ceramic ferrite magnet, and sculpted...
www.parts-express.com
Click to expand...
nerdorama said:
Post #21 above gives the Parts Express part number for the tweeter.
www.parts-express.com

Peerless by Tymphany BC25TG15-04 1" Fabric Dome Tweeter

Peerless by Tymphany BC25TG15-04 1" Fabric Dome TweeterDesigned by Tymphany's experienced team of engineers, the BC25TG15-04 1" dome tweeter can meet the most demanding requirements for audio excellence. The tweeter features a textile diaphragm, high-energy ceramic ferrite magnet, and sculpted...
www.parts-express.com
Click to expand...
I saw that after I posted thanks
 
Hi folks! I recently picked up a pair of these and am going through the process of restoring. Just dropping in here to share a couple of things that might benefit others. Massive thanks to @sbcrockett for this post and everyone that has contributed.

Rick Cobb does not have parts for these. I reached out to Paul Johnston and while there are some aftermarket surrounds that will fit (Boston 8" and 10") but he indicates they don't meet specs. While my ear may not be able to notice the difference of something like this, I decided to have these done professionally by his shop. Paul has been incredibly responsive and helpful to both phone and email inquiries leading up to this, I feel good giving him some business. His prices have gone up a little since those discussed in the past but I think it is still reasonable for our times. It's a drive for me but I can work it into some other plans this spring.

I intend to replace all the capacitors, remove the notch filter, and install the tweeter upgrade with a 2 ohm resistor add as recommended by Paul. There is also a resistor bypass in his instructions (5 ohm resistor before the 2uF cap). I am on the fence about the 0.1uF capacitor add for the woofer as this is not in his instructions. I will ask him about this when I drop off the drivers. I think I also found the binding posts he uses for upgrades and have them on order.

My only other challenge is the tweeters on my pair are recessed in the baffle unlike most pictures I have seen with them mounted against. The replacement tweeter circumference is slightly larger and will not fit so I will have to do some yet to be determined modification here. Action shot of the woofer removed with the tweeter in frame attached.

Parts Express no longer has the upgrade tweeter. I found DigiKey currently has some inventory and ordered mine from there. Part number BC25TG15-04-ND

Attaching a picture of one of my crossovers for reference. Looks to be the same overall as both the one posted in this thread and the one in Paul's instructions.

I will post my results with any other significant changes or lessons learned. Thank you AK!

My crossover.JPG
 

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DogOfTheHair said:
Hi folks! I recently picked up a pair of these and am going through the process of restoring. Just dropping in here to share a couple of things that might benefit others. Massive thanks to @sbcrockett for this post and everyone that has contributed.
Click to expand...
glad to see another pair of Thirtys getting some love in the PNW :)

not surprised to hear Parts Express not carrying the tweeters but glad you sourced some from Digikey. regardless, I'm sure Paul would have eventually found a suitable alternative to get the better sound he was after. Paul's a great guy, so knowledgeable and kind. he'll do great work on your surrounds.

good luck with the resto and looking forward to your updates after you've listened to them :)

-Steve
 
Looks like Madisound has the tweeters as well.
www.madisoundspeakerstore.com

Vifa BC25TG15-04 1" Textile Dome Tweeter

Peerless BC25TG15-04 1" Textile Dome Tweeter Pre-coated textile diaphragm for improved consistency Damped cavity in pole for lower resonance frequency and reduced distortion Ferrofluid cooled voice coil for improved power handling Optimized face plate for linear response 104mm diameter face...
www.madisoundspeakerstore.com www.madisoundspeakerstore.com
 
It took me awhile but this resto is complete. These things really thump holy cow! I’m very pleased with the all around sound in my smallish living room. I think a bigger space could be even better. Currently running a NAD C 3050 and they suck up all 100 wpc with ease it seems. Looking forward to trying out some other gear with them down the road. Thanks again for all the previous content and discussions on these.
IMG_0320.jpeg
 
DogOfTheHair said:
It took me awhile but this resto is complete. These things really thump holy cow! I’m very pleased with the all around sound in my smallish living room. I think a bigger space could be even better. Currently running a NAD C 3050 and they suck up all 100 wpc with ease it seems. Looking forward to trying out some other gear with them down the road. Thanks again for all the previous content and discussions on these.
View attachment 3205686
Click to expand...
Nice work!
 
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