Rebuilding SpeakerLab System7

[Timn8ter]

My buddy BJ (Premier Cabinets) was looking for something to do so he pulled out his slowing decaying SpeakerLab System 7 speakers that have been sitting idle for years and decided to rebuild them. He' not an avid speaker builder but is pretty good building cabinets. Below is a link to some pictures I took of the dismantled speakers. If anyone has any tips or comments please feel free. Thanks.
http://www.alegriaaudio.com/BJ's%20System7_Rebuild.htm

[Timn8ter]

Well, that didn't work very well. I'll try again. Looks like I've got some web problems.

[Timn8ter]

It should be OK now.



System7 link

[sreten]

Hmmm.......

With new cabinets seems fairly obvious to me, just rebuild
as a proper vertical array with the mid horn horizontal.

Rebuild the crossover with new capacitors but keep the inductors.

sreten.

[Timn8ter]

sreten-
Ok, to make sure I understand, you're saying the drivers should all be on the same vertical axis?

Another interesting problem is that the motor on the tweeter has a larger diameter than the horn. The previous solution was to cut a large enough hole for the motor to pass through, then use popsicle sticks to fill the gap around the horn. Nobody cared because there was always a grill cover on it. Is there a better solution?
Also, BJ accidently poked a hole in the mid-woofer with a nail when he was taking the speaker apart. What's the easiest way to repair this? The hole is very small.

[sreten]

Yes they should be vertically aligned, at least the T,M and
10", the midrange obviously turned through 90 degrees.

The tweeter :

I think you mean the motor diameter is wider than the horn width.
It may go in the normal hole if you remove the motor, fit the horn
by angling it through the hole and refitting the motor.

I've been thinking about time alignment issues, as the crossover
looks fairly simple. I'd be tempted to fit the tweeter into a small
box that sits on the top, allowing alignment with the midrange.

The hole :

A drop of PVA and push it back into shape from the back.

sreten.

[Timn8ter]

The mid horn has a removable motor as is typical for compression horns but the tweeter is one piece. I like the idea of putting the tweeter on top. That may solve two challenges.

[Bill Fitzpatrick]

Rotating the mid horn will change is dispersion characteristics.

[sreten]

Originally posted by Bill Fitzpatrick
Rotating the mid horn will change is dispersion characteristics.

Indeed it will, whoever put it vertical didn't know what they were doing.

There's no sensible reason for it at all, other than it fits all drivers on the baffle.

sreten.

[Timn8ter]

These kit speakers were very popular among the SPL loving hard rock crowd of the seventies. It's interesting looking at them again after all these years. The baffle layout was part of the kit.