Speaker Mods

[audiobliss]

Hey all. I just got some new speakers from my friend. Considering my current financial situation (broke!!), I'm actually quite happy with them. I was wonderin' if anybody would recognize them, as they have no badging or anything.

I'm also thinking about replacing the drivers with some from Radio-Shack. I know they don't have anything that's good, but won't it be better than what is already in there? Where else could I go to get drivers? Another thought: couldn't I put car speakers in them? They ought to be of better quality than Radio-Shack's stuff. I know they'd be less impedance, but couldn't my Yamaha RX-V1400 handle it?

Let me know what you think about the speakers and the drivers.

Thanks.

P.S. What kind of ware should I look for on these kinds of drivers? I don't see any signs of ware.

[audiobliss]

another pic

[Willow]

your pics will give all of us pain in the neck !!

[audiobliss]

Here's the board with the speakers out of the other speaker.

[audiobliss]

Here's a close-up of the woofer....

[audiobliss]

and tweeter; kinda large for a tweeter, though, huh?

[audiobliss]

Here's the back of the drivers...

[audiobliss]

and then the tweeter.....

[audiobliss]

Originally posted by Willow
your pics will give all of us pain in the neck !!

How else could I do it?

[audiobliss]

So, do y'all think these look any good? I'm not asking if these are great audiophile speakers; I bet not. I'm just wonderin' if they are ok, or could I get some from Radio-Shack or some car speakers to plug in here that could take more power and sound better.

Any and every comment is much appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!

[tonyv1]

Go to Parts Express for speaker components they've got a large selection.

[audiobliss]

Thanks. I'll check it out to get a feel for what's out there; however, I don't buy online. So, that won't actually help me that much.

Thanks.

[Willow]

there is nothing anywhere stampedor etched with the name of the company ?? or serial number??

[audiobliss]

Nope. There is absolutely no markings. I'll check again to make sure, but I haven't seen anything. Just the numbers on the back of the drivers. Those pics are posted above

Thanks.

[Willow]

it's gonna be touhg unless some one has them or has seen them in the past...good luck !!

[steveinaz]

Go ahead and try some RS drivers, what have you got to lose? Them damn things sure are sturdy! They look like vintage Fisher speakers.

[audiobliss]

Y'all don't think these things are any good and would be better off being left alone, do ya? Don't see any reason to leave 'em be?

[steveinaz]

I wouldn't sink more than $50 in them, but its your dime brother.

[RuSsMaN]

I'll buy the old drivers from you. Email me a pic of the woof once you pull it. If you can bolt them face to face, and pack a decent box - I'll buy them.

Email : ranchodeaudio@comcast.net

Measure the cutouts also, I may have some new or NOS drivers you can use.

Cheers,
Russ

[radkrisdoc]

Heyyy! The tweeter's from Foster, a Japanese OEM speaker manufacturer. They make pretty good speakers. Apart from that I would suggest these things:
1. Replace the baffle with a thicker MDF board. Inspect the cabinet and add reinforcements all around. Glue and wood screws are a must.
2. Measure the insides of the cabinet and calculate the volume (W by D by H) and subtract the volume of the reinforcements. Thats the final volume of the cabinet.
3. Choose an appropriate mid-bass driver or bass driver and matching mids/tweets. There's a whole lotta things you can do.
4. Obtain or design a macthing crossover
5. Buy some acoustic filling material; some wood working glue also. Inspect the box for leaks and either fill them with glue or a saw dust and glue mixture (kinda like putty). After the glue dries, you can fill the insides with acoustic dampening material and install the drivers and crossover network.

Since choosing the drivers would be a hard thing to do esp if u have not done it before, I would suggest that you look at kits available from parts express. Choose a kit that has an almost equivalent volume; make sure it is a closed box (acoustic suspension) design. That way minor differences wont show up. Tuned ports in the design will require strict adherence to specified cabinet volume.
Keep us all posted....and have fun!

[audiobliss]

Whoa!! That's a lot of info. A lot of things to do, too. I'm not sure I'm willing to put that much effort into 'em, though I certainly appreciate the detailed info, radkrisdoc.

What I want to know is how in the world did you come up with Foster? How did you know that's the company?! Sounds like a great resource there, somewhere...

I'll find a tape measure some time this evening and measure the openings; what are NOS drivers?

I'm currently trying to set-up a system in my first car, so I'm not going to be able to put a lot of time or money into it. I was just wonderin' if anybody knew these were good stuff and that I shouldn't worry with them.

About the speakers; they have no bottom!! So, would you recommend I screw a bottom onto them?

Russman: j/c, why do you want the drivers? I was planning on havin' some LOUD fun 'fore I replaced 'em; I bet it'd be more fun to blow these than the ol' Sony's I did a while back. :D :D

Thanks all!!

[audiobliss]

Also, how hard is it to make a crossover? How expensive are they?

Thanks.

[RuSsMaN]

Foster is written on the back of the tweeter. For what it's worth, they do look like old Fisher or Jensen's from the early 60's.

If you do decide to blow them, please don't tell me about it.

Alnico magnets are the cat's meow to me and a lot of other guys. I'd probably implement them in a open-baffle design to run on a small tube amp.

Let me know if you'd like a little cash, vs just destroying some decent vintage drivers.

Crossovers can be as simple or complex as you want (or need) them to be. With the right set of drivers, a simple 6db Cap on the tweeter may be enough for your use.

Cheers,
Russ

[audiobliss]

Well, you've convinced me; I won't blow 'em. Just thought it might be a little fun...

Man!! I guess I don't have any senses about me; it says fisher plain as day!! :(

Alnico magnets? 6db cap? I'm really showing my ignorance here....fill me in, please.

Did Fisher/Jensen make some decent stuff back then?

Thanks.

[radkrisdoc]

Russman meant a 6 db per octave high pass filter, which in plain words is just a capacitor in series to the tweeter. Well, there are different kinds of crossovers ya know....and they can go from simple to real complex, cheap to real expensive.
Alnico magnet motors do not exhibit high efficiency cos their magnetic "power" vs weight ratio is bad, as compared to ferrite/neodymium which is getting commoner these days.

And yeah, Jensen used to make great stuff. Wireless World used to be one of the "in" journals back then and if u browse thru the 50's to 60's u'll see articles written by audio engineers of the day.....lots of em from Jensen, Acoustic Research (they brought "acoustic suspension" designs in) and even Paul Klipsch.
Interesting stuff. :)

[steveinaz]

Fisher was pretty high-end given the equipment available back then. My very first system was a used fisher receiver/turntable combo (one chasis) a neighbor sold me for 50 bucks that was pretty good sounding. It had speakers that look similar to yours, minus the fancy pedastals. They weighed a ton. I believe it was 35 watts/rms if memory serves me, and the turntable was surprisingly sofisticated, with a tonearm height adjustment.

[audiobliss]

I wonder how many watts these'll handle...

Can I figure how many watts my receiver's sending to 'em? I have an RX-V1400 hooked up to 'em and only them. Listening to music I've had the receiver turned up to -10. Is there any special significance of '-10'?

Thanks.

[steveinaz]

Most likely rated at about 15-25 watts/rms, of course with good/clean power speakers can be pushed beyond their rating, provided you don't go beyond their maximum SPL capability.

The "10" is meaningless. Just used as an increment mark.

[audiobliss]

Well, thanks for all the info, y'all!! It's really appreciated. I guess I'll listen to these for a little longer and see what I think. If I decide to replace 'em, I'll let ya know, Russman.

Thanks for all the info!!

[RuSsMaN]

That's a one-watt tweeter, go easy, I'm not interested in buying blown drivers. ;)

Cheers,
Russ