Motorola Stereo Console Speaker repurpose

As the title says I am repurposing a Motorola tube type record player. The record player has a burned out motor and I really don't want to mess with it. I have a good handle on the on the little single ended 6BQ5 amp. My goal was to use the amp and speakers for a small office amp. Like I said i think I have a pretty good handle on the amp but would really like to reuse the speakers.

I said it about the amp amd now I'll say it about the speakers, I have no "Grand Illusion" as to the fidelity of the speakers. I have them and would really like to reuse them.

The question is what size box do I need to house these speakers? I would like to keep them as 2 way, nothing elaborate.

Any help or guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Here are a few pictures of the speakers. I may even try to save the grill cloth.

BL
 

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Well, not hifi/critical but some remarks: the "tweeter" has an open frame, so it's in "contact" with the woofer. If enclosed together in the same box, it will be modified in its motion by the woofer, when playing loud. The capacitor which makes the highpass filter needs to be changed. Check the impedance of the speakers or of the output transformer - they should match- in order to try some modern speakers without power loss or distortion.
I mean, there were rave reviews of some 50$ Schiit (?!) speakers some years ago, which used some 4" woofer similar to Hi-Vi speakers and a cheap tweeter filtered with a single cap, and surely those cheap boxes would outperform the Motorola ones. Not saying to veneer and use tha old grill, but....
 
Thx WOT, the little amp out of the console is probably only 3 or 4 watts at best.

Picowallspeaker, I hear ya. I did some little boxes with the Alpair 10P and they sounded pretty good. Still I have these speakers and instead of throwing them in the trash as “not worthy” why not use them. I’m not really a cone sniffer so with a little help on box size, thought I’d give it a try.

bedrock602, awesome tag! I’ve got about a half a dozen old Bailey users. Would love to find a 51/2 bedrock for a user, I m NOT a collector. Good ideas for shop or home, might not work for the office though.

I guess I could have been a little more specific in my question. Again, low expectations here(?)

What size cabinet/box would you recommend. Reaching for the smaller size.

Thx Gentlemen

BL
 
What size cabinet/box would you recommend. Reaching for the smaller size.

I would say that what looks right in proportion to the drivers themselves would be a good guide to enclosure size in this non-critical application.

A resistive vent formed by drilling an array of small holes (say 1/4" in diameter) in the solid enclosure back would suit these drivers well.

The 'rule' for the total area of the holes is about 10 square inches per cubic foot of enclosure volume.
 
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What they said. Old console drivers mostly are economical in magnets which often correlates with lower damping and so do best in large/open-backed or "aperiodic" enclosures. In the end, you will need to experiment and make your own way. You have some size in mind and it will either work for you or it wont, best to make the changes easy/convenient. Your task will be to decide how best to "throttle" the opening(s) using damping material. People often use gutter-guard mesh as outsides of a sandwich and stuff fiberglass insulation between. You can staple it down for testing or do whatever aids rapid changes. You can make changes while it's running (make sure the wires cannot come loose during your testing). Your ears decide the amount. Lining a couple sides of the cabinet (or more) might help. If you don't have fiberglass, try polyester pillow stuffing, etc. Sometimes layers of fabic are more convenient. Creativity counts 🙂 Good luck and please keep us posted.
 
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... and so do best in large/open-backed or "aperiodic" enclosures.

Just in case Blind Lemon is not aware, my suggestion provides an "aperiodic" enclosure.

The acoustic resistance can be increased by covering the array of holes internally with a layer of thin felt.

I don't think he gave the diameter of the mid/bass driver, which would help in suggesting an enclosure volume.
 
+1... yes, again wise post from Galu.

Drilling holes in a sealed box (or stuffing box and leaving off the back) can be a great "design" even if it frustrates people who feel you're not cookin' unless you can sim it.

I suspect the sound would be so grating to almost any listener that it hardly can be further impaired by any convenient "enclosure".

B.
 
Thx WOT, the little amp out of the console is probably only 3 or 4 watts at best.

Picowallspeaker, I hear ya. I did some little boxes with the Alpair 10P and they sounded pretty good. Still I have these speakers and instead of throwing them in the trash as “not worthy” why not use them. I’m not really a cone sniffer so with a little help on box size, thought I’d give it a try.
I would use those A 10p. I see the woofer has some numbers on the frame and the last one is -8, so they must be 8 Ω.
 
Well hell, all this hand wringing and teeth gnashing for nothing. The 7" woofer paper surround is so brittle its cracked almost all the away around. So to the dumpster they go.

I have been playing the little amp through a pair of JBL 2600 but I'd like to build a pair of good, moderately efficient, near field speakers for it.

And truly thank you for all the input. Maybe the speakers out of the next console will be in better shape. ;^0.

BL