Rare Snell Type 1 - Broken Tweeter

[lt_texan]

I have a pair of these excellent speakers.

After years of enjoyment, the right tweeter gave up.

Wire from the voice coil to the negative post is broken, but I also cannot get continuity across the voice coil. Damn!

There are no markings to identify this tweeter (just like the 10" woofer).

The front plate is 90 x 110mm and the voice coil is about 1.25"

The mounting holes are 9cm x 7cm.

Any recommendations on a repair service?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[phivates]

Too bad Speakerdoctor has left us. The clips on the woofer look like Peerless. You might inquire over at the Classic Speaker site. Maybe Audax with a rectangular face rather than round? Madisound could maybe help. Or Meniscus. Another thread brought these to mind just in the last week or so. A very original take on how to make music happen in an ordinary room. Do they have a little ramp that goes to the floor in front of the dome?

 

[lt_texan]

Do they have a little ramp that goes to the floor in front of the dome?

Yes they do. And thanks for the suggestions.

Dan

 

[phivates]

I see you are well aware of classicspeakerpages. Is the tweeter pole vented and damped with felt? Ferrofluid?
The ramp is not so little but I only ever read about these, maybe in Audio magazine

 

[lt_texan]

There's an article in High Fidelity magazine (these were on the cover Oct 1981)

https://members.rennlist.com/lt_texan/Snell1p1.pdf

https://members.rennlist.com/lt_texan/Snell1p2.pdf

These are damped with felt backing and ferrofluid.

 

[phivates]

Sounds like Dynaudio/Morel with a custom face plate

 

[lt_texan]

Speaker Exchange in Tampa ( Speaker Exchange - Speaker repair, replacement, recone, refoam, parts and diy kits. ) said the tweeters look like Peerless or Polydax.

I'll send them both down and report back on results.

 

[planet10]

The tweeters look alot like late 70s, early 80s Audax tweeters (polydax in the US). I might still have some of these, but there were a large number of variations with different characteristics. Without an actual number trying to find a substitute will be a crapshoot.

You have a working one you can get clues from?

dave

 

[lt_texan]

The tweeters look alot like late 70s, early 80s Audax tweeters (polydax in the US). I might still have some of these, but there were a large number of variations with different characteristics. Without an actual number trying to find a substitute will be a crapshoot.

You have a working one you can get clues from?

dave

One is working. It has dc resistance of 5.8 ohms.

These are hand marked 13E and 13P on the back of the magnets on masking tape if that is any secret speaker builder code.

The woofer is 10 inch in this 2 way speaker.

Would the High Fidelity article give any clues?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[planet10]

You are looking for a nominal 8 ohm tweeter. There were also variations in the number of voice coil layers, and dome material.

Likely best to find a pair of something close and then tweak the XO if needed.

dave

 

[phivates]

The Audax domes were either 1" (25mm) or 1.34" which is why I guessed Dynaudio - but those have three not four fasteners holder them together. Certainly Audax was everywhere back then. Models on the larger ones were HD13D34E or H. Your face plate looks like the 12x9 version of the ubiquitous HD100D25.

 

[planet10]

Your face plate looks like the 12x9 version of the ubiquitous HD100D25.

My thots exactly.

dave

 

[Boden]

Does not look like Audax HD12x9, which tweeter did have 45 degree corners, not rounded like the picture shows. Polepiece also looks very different. I put my money on Peerless.

 

[phivates]

Like a SK010 without the recess...well, it is what it is, which is broken.

 

[lt_texan]

So, maybe best to box 'em up and ship 'em out for repair.

 

[phivates]

Yep...or sort through a thousand choices of current offerings

 

[lt_texan]

Well....

Speaker Exchange delivered my tweeters back to me.

Basically, I understood that they were going to use the Snell tweeters faceplate and mount new tweeters on them.

What they did was make a new plastic faceplate with a hole in it and mounted a Morel MDT12 on top of the faceplate.

This doesn't really work because the ramp on the speakers fit right up the to faceplate with a notch cut out to clear the dome.

I thought about asking for a refund and returning the tweeters, but I really couldn't find any tweeter to use as a replacement. The 1 1/8" tweeters I could find had larger magnets that would not fit in the opening.

So, I thought, what the heck, what can I do.

So I removed the glued in Morel and cut out a tapered rectangular hole in the new faceplate. I tapered the Morel mounting plate, dropped it in and glued it flush.

The ramps fit now.

So far, the tweeters sound a bit harsh. Hopefully they will break in. The sound level seems fine - a bit on the bright side (it's a Snell - duh!)

These will do for now.

If I must make a change, I'll toy with an Audax TW025A1-12X9. It's a 1" and probably won't be great with the 10" woofer, but the magnet is a good fit.

 

[lt_texan]

Okay, that Morel was pretty harsh. More like a thing made for custom car audio. So, I ordered a pair of Morel MDT 29's from Parts Express and crossed my fingers that I could fit my Snell tweeter faceplates.

These have replaceable diaphragms, so I figured I'd be lucky. And it wasn't hard at all.

The Morel magnets were a bit smaller, so fitting in the odd location didn't cause a problem with the cabinet.

I had to drill the faceplate for the 3 mounting screws on the Morel.

But it all went off without a hitch.

And, as the tweeters burn in, they are definitely more more refined and more detailed.

 

[lt_texan]

some pictures.

 

[lt_texan]

And some more....