Hi All.
I acquired a pair of AKAI SW-130 Loudspeakers the other week.
They feature Japanese 12" Woofers, 3 1/2" Tweeters, iron core Inductors, & 4μF omats branded electrolytic capacitors.
These speakers have a reasonable sound.
I haven't removed to test the caps, but they are more than 50 years old.
Polypropylene would be nice, but is there a recommended electrolytic capacitor which could do the job at an economical price?
Also the fabric covering the baffles is marked and appearing a little tired.
Is there a fabric cleaner which is recommended?
I acquired a pair of AKAI SW-130 Loudspeakers the other week.
They feature Japanese 12" Woofers, 3 1/2" Tweeters, iron core Inductors, & 4μF omats branded electrolytic capacitors.
These speakers have a reasonable sound.
I haven't removed to test the caps, but they are more than 50 years old.
Polypropylene would be nice, but is there a recommended electrolytic capacitor which could do the job at an economical price?
Also the fabric covering the baffles is marked and appearing a little tired.
Is there a fabric cleaner which is recommended?
Attachments
Woofer looks like it has potential. Given the nominal 5kHz XO and only a cap, the woofer probably rolls off slowly.
So you can go as wild as you;d like. I’d pop a 4" pipe out the back and use a 3” FR as a midTweeter with say a 500 Hz XO.
dave
So you can go as wild as you;d like. I’d pop a 4" pipe out the back and use a 3” FR as a midTweeter with say a 500 Hz XO.
dave
"The first step is to wipe the fabric cover down with a damp, soapy cloth. You want to make sure that it’s not too wet or too dry. A wet cloth will take off dirt and grime, but it could also cause some water damage if it’s too wet. You want the cloth to be damp enough so that it picks up the dirt on your cover, but not so damp that it leaves water spots behind when you’re done wiping. The same thing goes for dryness – you want your fabric cover to be just damp enough, not too dry or soaked in any way."
https://artisticamplification.com/how-to-clean-fabric-speaker-covers/
I would start by vacuuming the fabric.
Are you sure Dave?
At a quick glance I thought it was shunted to ground using that small inductor.
I saw that Galu, but freshen up can have several meanings depending on your ability, knowledge and depth of pockets.
I have a couple of ceramic magnet variations on this woofer, 10s and 8s one better than other, bass isn't great but they have good midrange
I have a couple of ceramic magnet variations on this woofer, 10s and 8s one better than other, bass isn't great but they have good midrange
Last edited by a moderator:
No.
Now I'm intrigued.
Are they anything like mine? Where I'll spend weeks shining pigs ears?
I'd be going with Dave on this one tho, but then I have all those old HTiaB 80mm drivers sitting around
Now I'm intrigued.
Are they anything like mine? Where I'll spend weeks shining pigs ears?
I'd be going with Dave on this one tho, but then I have all those old HTiaB 80mm drivers sitting around
Totally missed the inductor, looks like secound order HP, the seconf element will move the XO somewhat.
dave
Pictures? You might be able to get away with a 3” pipe if the 80 means what i think.
dave
A wee bit like that, but with appreciably less technical knowledge (I hope you don't mind me saying, Cliff 😍).
These will be offered for sale.
I'm mindful not over capitalizing.
Just best bang for buck given their $50 - $150 market value???
Any substantial upgrades will all be limited by the original design.
Unless it's economical, given the Akai's built in limitations of the original design & hardware, I'd rather throw the kitchen sink into a full DIY, designed from the ground up.
I'm learning from the master. 😉
I think you know the ones I'm talking about Dave, little shielded full range drivers sold in small plastic boxes, usually 75 to 80mm and with a 50V 100uF cap in front of them. Often found on the roadside in a cardboard box. like coathangers they seem to multiply in the dark.
Given the current state of the S/H market I'd say that $50- was closer to the mark unfortunately.
That said if you want a pair of these little woofers Cliff I could sent you in a satchel, free if you can cover postage but the XO would need to be worked out and probably cost more than the sale price, because you'd need a reasonably large inductor on the woofer and two elelments on the fullrange driver crossing at around Daves 400/500Hz
Last edited:
I'll try to source an Australian outlet.
I can source Jantzen Poly Caps (Standard or Cross Cap) for a little less that the Mundorf Electrolytics shipped from Willys.
In this case which way would you go?
Cliff I just googled the speaker, being the 300mm woofer my comments about good midrange are probably off the mark, my experience is with the smaller iterations.
Cliff, I wouldn't be too fussed about the choice of capacitor in relation to this budget level speaker.
A film cap may make the tweeter too bright unless you add some series resistance to compensate for the higher esr of the original electrolytic.
A film cap may make the tweeter too bright unless you add some series resistance to compensate for the higher esr of the original electrolytic.
Work out what you need to do before buying anything but I use Speakerbug for most of my components and for this the Crosscaps would be more than good enough
Budget end are Jaycar but I wouldn't for these values unless you use greencaps, Jaycar are running down stocks of crossover value greencaps and if you can find any [ you have to personal shop] they are now only fifty cents each.
I should get up out of my deathbed and go get some, I have walking pneumonia and still can't do much but at least the antibiotics are working
https://www.jaycar.com.au/4-7uf-470...a387465a0041b4434c6afcf6e578d6&sort=relevance
I should get up out of my deathbed and go get some, I have walking pneumonia and still can't do much but at least the antibiotics are working
https://www.jaycar.com.au/4-7uf-470...a387465a0041b4434c6afcf6e578d6&sort=relevance