Speakers

If the bass was lacking, or if there was any cracking from the woofers, that would be a sign that the foam is shot. It could be splitting, however. I have had woofers in here for rebuild that were only just beginning to show signs of cracking, where others were so bad that the foam had hunks missing out of it.

Amplifiers can go bad with age also--the capacitors tend to dry out. In many cases the amplifier just drifts out of spec and doesn't sound all that good (which could be anything from a dull lifeless sound, to hum, to a weakened sound). If caps go completely bad, though, they can short out or drift so far off value that they damage the amplifier. I've only had one amplifier self destruct on me due to old caps, and I ended up selling it as-is to some local guy who was going to fix it for himself. With vintage equipment that is 40 or more years old (primarily tube amps, but it could apply to transistor amps as well) , we would use a rheostat to slowly bring the voltage up to 120V. That gives the caps time to settle in rather than shock them with a full load right up front.

It's gone both ways for me. The aforementioned amp quit on me, but I've had other equipment that still works despite being decades old. I totally recapped a preamp of mine that I built in 1982--easy job, long overdue, and parts did not cost much (even going with a higher-end capacitor).
 
Kind'a forgot to mention how much fun the wiring was to measure & cut for each speaker & when I had enough distance from one end of a room to the end of another room & though a long hallway at my parents' house...

I made an equal amount of wiring for both, and each speaker (as well as my old rig & equipment and newer CD player) still sound good! Even not being as hi-tech or hi-end audio-savvy as some of you...!


-- Dave
 
I used to get the job of running wire for speakers for friends occasionally. Not sure why this fell to me (since it was so long ago that I couldn't have slept at the Holiday Inn Express :D) unless it was because A - my brother was an electrician, B - he repaired TVs and stereos on the side, or C - usually the reason they didn't work was because someone forgot to strip the insulation off the end before putting it in the little clamp or around the screw.
 
I was the go-to in the family also, after a while. And I also ended up as the recipient for the old electronics in the family. The first record player I had, beyond my GE portable, was a VM Triomatic that my aunt gave me after they upgraded to something better. First photo is the color I had, where the second shows the innards (including the vented panel, which was removed to access the tubes). This actually had three speakers in it--two 5x7 ovals (one in front, one on the side), and a 6x9. On the bottom was a jack which you could plug in an external with. It ran on tubes (two 6V6, a 12AX7, and a fourth that was a rectifier tube, can't recall which). A unique feature was the controls on the front--tone and volume knobs, and a clear plastic pushbutton which triggered the changer to start; it also doubled as a power-on indicator. It also came with a set of rickety metal legs.

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The "tour" hasn't made it to town yet. I need to get out and see them if they make it here. Thing is, for the money, I could replace both cars for that much. :laugh:
 
I could have replaced my last 4 cars! And yes they were all new cars (small though). :laugh:
Yeah, the Neolith is a bit "out there". And prior to that, their top model was the cost of maybe 1-1/2 small cars. :D
When I first auditioned their CLS-II model back in 1987, they were $2,350 for the pair. I had a great dealer back then--Absolute Sound, in Royal Oak. Bought a lot there myself, and sent everyone I knew there as well. When my buddy and I stopped in there on our monthly trek up Woodward Ave., the manager was hyped up about this new speaker they had just started carrying. He knew I couldn't afford it, but after we listened for maybe half an hour, he invited me to come back with a handful of favorite recordings just to listen to them. I did that a month or so later. That's what hooked me on them. They can be a difficult load on an amplifier, and they are fussy about room setup, but once they are dialed in, there's nothing quite like them.


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The unusual part is that electrostatic speakers do not use cones--the panels are made up of a very thin sheet of coated Mylar, sandwiched between two perforated metal panels (called "stators"). The Mylar is energized (using about 3,000 volts), and the signal (from the speaker wire) is applied to the stators, which are also energized, and that push/pull of the signal is what moves the Mylar back and forth between the stators. Because the Mylar is so lightweight (they say it's "lighter than air"...and having felt a piece of it, they're not far off!), it moves a lot more easily than cone speakers. No worries about the voltage--unless someone were to open it up and stick their hands into some bare wires, the panels have several coats of a tough enamel finish that protect curious fingers from electric shocks.

The CLS-II (pictured) is a full-range panel. Most of what they make now are hybrids, where the bass is handled by a traditional cone woofer, but the important midrange and highs are handled by the panels. The earlier hybrids weren't so hot, but they've done so much research since the mid 80s that they're pretty much perfected it. Electrostatic speakers I think may even pre-date cone speakers--it's been around for several decades, but only since the late 1960s has it been practical for home use (companies like Quad and Acoustat made them), and only since the 90s since it really has become a practical system that has some of the kinks worked out of it.

There are other planar speakers, like the Magneplanars, which are not electrostatic, but use a flat membrane embedded with a very thin wire, which reacts against tiny magnets in the panels, which creates the sound. They have an entry-level model sold only factory direct that many like, although like anything, most who buy them sell them off, as they are like a "gateway drug" to the bigger, better models. :D
 
I used to have a pair of klipsch bookshelf speakers( until i boo booed having the volume up too high with a microphone on which fried the tweeter on one of them.) However because those particular ones were discontinued i bought a pair of KEF Bookshelf speakers to replace them and the monster cables i had with my klipsch pair were still functional and are still being used and they still sound very good albeit not as good as the klipsch ones ( which are these days way out of my price range.)
 
KEF also has some great speakers. Their higher end models have gotten quite expensive. (Check out the KEF "Blade" speakers. Great line!) An online pal of mine near Toronto has a pair from the 70s or 80s he really likes, and another in the UK found some really ancient KEFs from the 1960s.

Someone locally (in our audio club) was selling a pair of Klipsch Heresy speakers for under $300. The cabinets were a little dinged up, but otherwise were in good condition. Not my type of sound, but they were very efficient and are great with pop/rock music or, alternately, with lower-powered tube amplifiers. I'd love to have a pair in the garage. :D I believe they cost over $1000 apiece now, since that classic Klipsch line is now strictly made-to-order, and they are all handmade.

I have a major speaker refurb project I'm doing in the next week or two, once the crazy holidays pass. I'm documenting it elsewhere as I go, but will post a few pics here out of curiosity. High voltages are involved, so, if I'm not around in a few weeks, assume the worst. :D
 
I have a major speaker refurb project I'm doing in the next week or two, once the crazy holidays pass. I'm documenting it elsewhere as I go, but will post a few pics here out of curiosity. High voltages are involved, so, if I'm not around in a few weeks, assume the worst. :D

Like a friend here at work -- nearly dropped an aluminum ladder into an unshielded 480 connection. Now when he goes to the phone room I say "if the lights dim we know it's you." :wink:
Still working on getting the remainder of my components. Too many things that I want are coming out at once.
 
Like a friend here at work -- nearly dropped an aluminum ladder into an unshielded 480 connection. Now when he goes to the phone room I say "if the lights dim we know it's you." :wink:
Still working on getting the remainder of my components. Too many things that I want are coming out at once.

The only time I really came close to a life-altering voltage was the time I poked around the back of a computer monitor with the case off of it. Funny, but the smell of burnt skin was the same one I'd gotten many times with a hot soldering iron. :D

Beyond the speakers, I have a few improvements left to go. I made up some new interconnects with bulk Silver Sonic cable last year, but am not 100% satisfied with the sound--I'm going to make a set with Cardas wire in Feb or March, once I decide on which wire and RCA connectors to go with. Then, an upgrade in speaker wire and power cables.

I want to try a Cinemag-based step-up transformer for my moving coil cartridge, as the pre-preamp I'm using now isn't quite what I'm after. And then, I am looking at various tube preamps, leaning towards a few like Audio Research, Conrad Johnson and a few others. It's the first time I've really been able to upgrade my system in many years, and there is little left to do now beside what I've listed--the sources (turntable and digital) were the most difficult to decide on and those are done.
 
Now when he goes to the phone room I say "if the lights dim we know it's you." :wink:
Oh, you just reminded me of something. When I lived across town, I was in a neighborhood where the utilities are buried below ground. (And I miss that!) My neighbor across the street was outside digging in the yard, working on some new project. We were standing out front and heard this strange electric sound from the general vicinity of the neighbor's house then, several houses down the street, a very loud hum and pop, followed by a lot of smoke. About three minutes later, the fire truck stops down the street and is soon followed by the utility crews.

He had chopped into his electric service line buried in the yard. He didn't break the line, but shorted it out with the shovel blade, and it blew the transformer down the street, knocking out power on that side. I saw him gingerly look down the street, then he disappeared into the house for the rest of the afternoon. :D It could have killed him, but he had gloves on, and the shovel handle was insulated. I bet it burned a nice gouge out of the shovel though....
 
I used to have a pair of klipsch bookshelf speakers( until i boo booed having the volume up too high with a microphone on which fried the tweeter on one of them.) However because those particular ones were discontinued i bought a pair of KEF Bookshelf speakers to replace them and the monster cables i had with my klipsch pair were still functional and are still being used and they still sound very good albeit not as good as the klipsch ones ( which are these days way out of my price range.)
I missed out on a pair of Klipsch Forte II speakers locally--they were cheap enough that I could have done the upgrades and flipped them, or stored them away. They can often be had for $300-$400/pair but they are definitely not "bookshelf". :D The upgrade involved replacing the mylar tweeter diaphragm with a titanium, and rebuilding the crossover network (replacing and upgrading old capacitors). The big thing is, they are efficient, so can be driven with lower power amplifiers (and especially tubes). The Klipschorns I posted earlier can reach concert levels with only one watts (which would be around 105-108 dB!). That is why they were so well regarded in the 50s and 60s with the tube amps of the day--they could put out a lot of sound with very little power (and therefore, lower distortion). Today's typical speakers put out about 88-90 dB per watt. In amplifier terms, each 3dB of loudness requires a doubling of amplifier wattage; for a 90dB/watt speaker to produce 105dB would take 32 watts. Those old acoustic suspension speakers (Advent, KLH, AR) were often only 83dB per watt, so would need well over 100 watts to produce 105dB!

Klipschorns, incidentally, began production 70 years ago in 1946 and are still available as part of the Heritage series (with the La Scala, Cornwall and Heresy models), made to order in Arkansas.

I am headed to AXPONA (Chicago) in April for two or three days--it is the closest major audio show to me. I'll probably do a few articles on what I find there. :wink: Meeting up with some other audiophile pals from this area and around the country.
 
Here is one that at first glance reminds me of a hillbilly's idea of a good speaker. :laugh:

Ballou Projects (http://danielballou.com/#cinder-speakers)

But actually, the cinder block will have no resonance and will require no internal bracing, so these have the potential to sound quite good. The front and back panels are both insulated with a gasket and clamped to the cinder block with four long bolts. The concave back panel ports the bass from the bottom enclosure to the top (which is actually like a "bandpass" design); hence the port on the top half (above the tweeter).

My AXPONA reservations are all set. I'll have a lot of photos of various goodies from the show. :wink:
 
Yes they are. We just have to get the pickup truck off of them first. :D
 
I finally got ahold of the engineer who designed my speakers I've had since the late 70s. I have a few questions I may send his way, as I'm putting the information on an upcoming site since there is little factual information out there. Interesting stuff though. And part of me wants to reuse the drivers and crossover in a tower style cabinet of the exact same volume.

Those Andrew Jones-designed Pioneer speakers are still available on Amazon. When I visit AXPONA in April, I'm going to check out the ELAC speakers, the company that Jones currently designs for. The Debut series are only a small notch up the ladder price-wise, but he is also going to design a very high-end system in the future. ELAC is a decades old company that is experiencing a rebirth. Jones originally worked for KEF and Infinity, as well as the uber-high-end (and much acclaimed) TAD brand.

Starting over: Legendary designer Andrew Jones set to launch a brand new speaker line »

As I'm shopping for a better LED TV in a few months, I realize I'll need a soundbar for it, as it's too wasteful to run my main audio system all day long on weekends. He designed one for Pioneer and aside from a subwoofer (which I will have no room for), it sounds like it would work nicely. It will be a tight fit--the TV needs to be wall mounted, and my current TV stand/table is going to need to hold a center channel for the audio system.
 
I jumped in and ordered a pair of those Andrew Jones designed Pioneer bookshelf speakers and an Onkyo receiver. Should be here next week. Pretty reasonably priced. I figure that when I'm living in my brother's basement at least I can listen to records.
 
If the ELACs I heard were any indication, those Pioneers will sound very nice also. And they are a bargain, considering who designed them. He developed many of the KEF speakers in the 80s and 90s that were legendary for their time.

If there isn't enough bass (depending on what you like), you can always pair it with the matching subwoofer in the future. I'd thought of grabbing the tower speakers for my living room system, but I'm holding off for now.

A local audio club member is selling some Dahlquist DQ9 speakers that need repair--only $50. They need new foam surrounds on the woofers, and I've already located a set. If I don't like them, I can always flip for a profit once I get them in good shape. I seem to remember the bass has a "chesty" sound to it, but I can't recall if it was the DQM9 or one of the smaller models. (I'm trying to remember what something sounded like 30+ years ago.)
 
Just got the shipping email. Now all I need is a spare stylus and I'm all set. (Not a Goldfinger though. Darn the luck.) :cool:
 
No Goldfinger? How about a Koetsu Jade Platinum?

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Or maybe a Dynavector XV-1S...

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...or Ortofon Anna?

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Or maybe instead of the Clearaudio Goldfinger, what about the Clearaudio Concerto? I won't call it Woodfinger. :laugh:

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Interesting. I picked up a pair of Dahlquist DQM-9 speakers this afternoon, through a connection in our local audio club. (They were "free," with the stipulation I make a small donation to the charity of my choosing. :thumbsup: ) The foam surrounds are shot. If I like how they sound after I refoam the woofers, I might refinish the cabinets. They are quite presentable already but have some smaller issues I could take care of by refinishing.

They look similar to this, but the woofer foam is worse on my set:

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Ordering the foam shortly, and hoping I can get these going by the end of the week.
 
My speakers came in! Had them delivered to work, so I've got to wait a bit to take them home. They were in a HUGE box with the receiver. It's good to know that safe packing is Job 1 with Amazon - there were about 6 strips of duct tape around the box and no packing between the boxes. The corner of the receiver box is squished but I don't think it's enough to have damaged it. Fortunately, they did remember to pack my spool of wire, too!
 
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