Akai SS-110 coaxial

Status
Not open for further replies.
I picked up an Akai M8 reel 2 reel a while ago and it came with a pair of SS-110 cabinets. Looking at them, the drivers are 2-way coaxial 10" with Alnico magnets.
Anyone have any specs on these (T/S would be great)? I've seen the overall cabinet specs: 50-17000Hz, 10W, 8 ohms.
Are they worth pulling out of their cabinets and doing something with?

TIA
Gary
 
Are they worth pulling out of their cabinets and doing something with?

Old speakers generally are not as advanced as newer speakers, and Akai is hardly a famous name in speakers. Nevertheless, old stuff sometimes can surprise!

You might consider what I did for a friend-shoved some cross-bracing into his cabinets, coated the insides with goop, stuffed with fiberglass. ASTOUNDING bass transformation, and just an afternoon's work including the trip to Home Depot.

Listen to them and see what you think. If you really like how they sound, then do a project. If you're underwhelmed, use them as-is.
 
I picked up an Akai M8 reel 2 reel a while ago and it came with a pair of SS-110 cabinets. Looking at them, the drivers are 2-way coaxial 10" with Alnico magnets.
Anyone have any specs on these (T/S would be great)? I've seen the overall cabinet specs: 50-17000Hz, 10W, 8 ohms.
Are they worth pulling out of their cabinets and doing something with?

TIA
Gary



well, it's probably fair to say that the "cabinet specs" could be taken with a grain of salt, but neither those or T/S parameters, which due to age would have to be measured for the exact pair, could tell you how they'd sound in an "optimized" enclosure


Old speakers generally are not as advanced as newer speakers, and Akai is hardly a famous name in speakers. Nevertheless, old stuff sometimes can surprise!

You might consider what I did for a friend-shoved some cross-bracing into his cabinets, coated the insides with goop, stuffed with fiberglass. ASTOUNDING bass transformation, and just an afternoon's work including the trip to Home Depot.

Listen to them and see what you think. If you really like how they sound, then do a project. If you're underwhelmed, use them as-is.

cranky ole man time:

I'll be polite and suggest that many folks here would disagree with your first 2 points, (i.e. a lot of newer speakers are simply nothing special at all in terms of "engineering" or even production "quality control" ), and that an undisciplined approach to enclosure / driver modification will not always be as efficacious as the example you "described"

But yes, definitely try the drivers out - either in their existing "enclosure" or at modest levels in a simple OB. If they're intriguing enough to entertain a new project, you can depend on your friends and family here for lots of helpful advice. 😉
 
I've uploaded some pics.
I wasn't going to use them as is, I was thinking of their possible use in a modern cabinet design. However after listening to them, they are very directional at the HF end so maybe not a good candidate.

I only bought the stuff for the tubes in the R2R
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2122.JPG
    IMG_2122.JPG
    944.2 KB · Views: 394
  • IMG_2123.jpg
    IMG_2123.jpg
    355.2 KB · Views: 376
  • IMG_2124.JPG
    IMG_2124.JPG
    630.6 KB · Views: 425
This could be an interesting speaker from (guess) 100-150 Hz up. Can you pull the driver and take a pic of the backside?

I'vr had FRs with that shape cone do quite nice things... don't know how much the tweeter placement is going to perturb things. I'd guess a 4-5k 1st order XO (if 8 ohm, look for a 4-5 uF cap)

dave

Nice looking set of Pro9TL in the background.
 
I picked up a pair with my M8 (whose chassis and iron are now the basis for my main amp!). You might touch the surrounds to see if they are still pliable. One of mine must have been in the sun, as the surround was cracked nearly all the way around. If yours are stiff, you can expect an unreasonably high Fs. I hooked the other one up with high hopes, but was pretty disappointed. However, with a decent crossover (at least something better than an old 'lytic) and a better box, who knows? I've tried to sell my single for something like $7, but no takers. If anybody needs a single, the driver is yours for the price of shipping.

Enjoy the amps! I first recapped the stock circuit. I don't think it is worth the trouble. I ultimately stripped them and rebuilt the chassis and iron with an RH84 (SS rectified to hit the operating points) preceded by a 12B4 preamp (the later made necessary by my biamped system). For those that don't need a line pre, there is plenty of room and capability to put in a phono stage. Many possibilities given the decent iron (chokes in the PS!) and space.

Have fun,

Paul
Wild Burro Audio Labs - DIY Full Range Speakers
 
Status
Not open for further replies.