Hi,
I have a few vintage and plain old speakers kicking around and I want to make something better either using what the boxes have in them already or upgrading some components in the ones that I don't think make the cut. The reason being that the boxes are still good, some components might be okay, but the sound coming form them might be either dull or flat.
Oh yeah, to quantify my skills, I am not too good with wood as I have some bad gravity that seems to follow me. Cutting and sawing is not a problem; gluing is though (lack of any clamps and knowledge), and finishing just turns out to be a dusty and sticky mess with me getting stuck somehow to the drop cloth. It ain't pretty and I am envious of those who can do such an amazing job here. I'd love to build a couple of single driver full range speakers using Fostex or the Elsinore Project, but only after a lot of practice and if I can get my three amp projects off the ground.
I just want to hear what your thoughts are in terms of am I approaching this right. And am I asking in the right forum?
I have a pair of Dynaco A25 with a tweeter and a woofer (free from a friend) which after much reading about will need to be re-capped or a new crossover put in. One sounds a little dull while the other sounds nicer and I have read that these can be "refreshed" and will sound "brighter" with re-capping. The boxes are excellent, but the cloth needs replacement. Simply re-cap or go all the way and "econowave" them?
I have a pair of Yamaha NS-15 "ear speakers" with a tweeter and an "ear" (free from my parent's friend) which are built as solid as a brick house. These sound alright but don't have the same level of bass as even the Dynaco speakers. Vocals and classical sounds okay from them, but John Coltrane doesn't. There seems to be two camps -- either trash them or use them as is (a minority). I haven't seen much on the internet about these being modified much.
A really nice pair of Realistic Minimum-5 which were thrown in when I bought a an AM FM receiver at a garage sale (I missed the amp by 10 minutes apparently). Surprisingly, they sound not too bad for the size... just a little tinny and can't handle much power. Keep these and upgrade the fake horn/tweeter behind the diffuser and drop-in in a new low pried woofer? Or is this truly trashable?
A pair of Paradigm 5se mkii. These speakers I bought when I was in university. They sound pretty good for a 20 year old speaker and still reach those highs and lows without much trouble. These still can fill the room with some pretty good and lively sound. Unless there is some modification that will make these really sing, then I might leave these alone.
A pair of Paradigm Atom bookshelf speakers with a tweeter and woofer (a wedding gift). Just because I had the 5se speakers, my furutre brother in-laws thought this would be a good speaker to buy as a wedding gift. They still work and I can't get rid of them just because... but if there is a modification that makes these better, then sure.
And a pair of Technics SB 2660 speakers (tweeter, mid, and woofer). Nothing special about them and they do sound a little tired and the bass is probably half as much as the 5se speakers, but they look pretty nice in that 80's way. The sound out of them is unremarkable. These were my in-law's old speakers and are sitting in their basement idle. These speakers are wide open to suggestions as there is no real opinion on what to do with this vintage of speaker and I am clueless.
So I am speaker rich (with the whole cross section of good and bad) and amplifier poor (well, I have four 70's and 80's style stereo amplifiers, but nothing diy).
Thoughts or suggestions? Any previous experiences?
I have a few vintage and plain old speakers kicking around and I want to make something better either using what the boxes have in them already or upgrading some components in the ones that I don't think make the cut. The reason being that the boxes are still good, some components might be okay, but the sound coming form them might be either dull or flat.
Oh yeah, to quantify my skills, I am not too good with wood as I have some bad gravity that seems to follow me. Cutting and sawing is not a problem; gluing is though (lack of any clamps and knowledge), and finishing just turns out to be a dusty and sticky mess with me getting stuck somehow to the drop cloth. It ain't pretty and I am envious of those who can do such an amazing job here. I'd love to build a couple of single driver full range speakers using Fostex or the Elsinore Project, but only after a lot of practice and if I can get my three amp projects off the ground.
I just want to hear what your thoughts are in terms of am I approaching this right. And am I asking in the right forum?
I have a pair of Dynaco A25 with a tweeter and a woofer (free from a friend) which after much reading about will need to be re-capped or a new crossover put in. One sounds a little dull while the other sounds nicer and I have read that these can be "refreshed" and will sound "brighter" with re-capping. The boxes are excellent, but the cloth needs replacement. Simply re-cap or go all the way and "econowave" them?
I have a pair of Yamaha NS-15 "ear speakers" with a tweeter and an "ear" (free from my parent's friend) which are built as solid as a brick house. These sound alright but don't have the same level of bass as even the Dynaco speakers. Vocals and classical sounds okay from them, but John Coltrane doesn't. There seems to be two camps -- either trash them or use them as is (a minority). I haven't seen much on the internet about these being modified much.
A really nice pair of Realistic Minimum-5 which were thrown in when I bought a an AM FM receiver at a garage sale (I missed the amp by 10 minutes apparently). Surprisingly, they sound not too bad for the size... just a little tinny and can't handle much power. Keep these and upgrade the fake horn/tweeter behind the diffuser and drop-in in a new low pried woofer? Or is this truly trashable?
A pair of Paradigm 5se mkii. These speakers I bought when I was in university. They sound pretty good for a 20 year old speaker and still reach those highs and lows without much trouble. These still can fill the room with some pretty good and lively sound. Unless there is some modification that will make these really sing, then I might leave these alone.
A pair of Paradigm Atom bookshelf speakers with a tweeter and woofer (a wedding gift). Just because I had the 5se speakers, my furutre brother in-laws thought this would be a good speaker to buy as a wedding gift. They still work and I can't get rid of them just because... but if there is a modification that makes these better, then sure.
And a pair of Technics SB 2660 speakers (tweeter, mid, and woofer). Nothing special about them and they do sound a little tired and the bass is probably half as much as the 5se speakers, but they look pretty nice in that 80's way. The sound out of them is unremarkable. These were my in-law's old speakers and are sitting in their basement idle. These speakers are wide open to suggestions as there is no real opinion on what to do with this vintage of speaker and I am clueless.
So I am speaker rich (with the whole cross section of good and bad) and amplifier poor (well, I have four 70's and 80's style stereo amplifiers, but nothing diy).
Thoughts or suggestions? Any previous experiences?
I've read that the bullet tweeters in the Yamahas are good . Do you confirm ?
Also , searching for 'Technics SB 2660' , I found a page showing that it uses only a
capacitor for HP , and nothing else , for a 3 way 😱
Maybe you can elaborate a little 🙄 the crossover ,
or turn it into a two way , with a cheap dome tweeter -but good
🙂
Also , searching for 'Technics SB 2660' , I found a page showing that it uses only a
capacitor for HP , and nothing else , for a 3 way 😱
Maybe you can elaborate a little 🙄 the crossover ,
or turn it into a two way , with a cheap dome tweeter -but good
🙂
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Refreshing the A25 crossover is a whopping 1 cap per speaker, so that's easy. The A25 does many things right -- it's worth the time.
Looking at your list of speakers the best thing you could do is build a good subwoofer. Practically any of the readily available 12" kits will make a huge difference in the sound of your system. You will probably like it best with your Paradigms (as they are the best speaker in your list) and the bottom end that they don't have will be pleasantly filled by a good sub.
Looking at your list of speakers the best thing you could do is build a good subwoofer. Practically any of the readily available 12" kits will make a huge difference in the sound of your system. You will probably like it best with your Paradigms (as they are the best speaker in your list) and the bottom end that they don't have will be pleasantly filled by a good sub.
In the Yamaha, the tweeters are nice enough and very clear, I'd have to check on mine as I can't recall them being anything but that, but maybe that is why the bass sounds weak in comparison. I can say that the frame that all this sits on is massive and the speakers are really picky. The mids and bass change a lot depending on how you place and point them from the wall and where you are sitting.
The Technics, I'd have to open them up to confirm the single crossover, but they do sound half decent as I had mentioned. So I suppose that might be a good project. It would be easy enough to swap the smallest dome tweeter and place a plastic tube. The boxes are very clean and with the covers on, no one would notice it was modded.
A lot of these are personal choices but some of these units are getting to the point where you should consider "historical value". I wouldn't econowave the Dynacos for that reason. Mods that didn't show on the outside would be fine but I would like to preserve the look.
Likewise, although the Yamahas weren't highly regarded in their day, they are an oddity and are getting to the point where they should have some collector value. I would preserve them as is.
Most of the others are unlikely to have much collector value in future and might be good fodder for heavy mods, if that is your interest.
David S.
Likewise, although the Yamahas weren't highly regarded in their day, they are an oddity and are getting to the point where they should have some collector value. I would preserve them as is.
Most of the others are unlikely to have much collector value in future and might be good fodder for heavy mods, if that is your interest.
David S.
I think you have too many options. Decide what you want as the outcome, pick the speakers that most closely match what you want then look at the options for improving them.
If you try to do all of these at once you will probably get disheartened.
Regards,
Andrew
If you try to do all of these at once you will probably get disheartened.
Regards,
Andrew
A single cap? That is it? Well, alrighty then... I am going to look into this more seriously. I am hoping it will even out the sound from the both of them. The funny thing is that these are the most plain speakers around as there is nothing to indicate that these are a brand. Just blank and a MADE IN DENMARK on the back beside the knob. If it does everything that I have read and what you have said, then I might just have to have these as the new go to speaker for my first project of a KT88 SET amp.
I like the thought of a good sub-woofer, but in my current 70's and 80's amps, I don't have a sub-woofer output and neither do the three projects (KT88 SE amp, LM1875 chipamp, and a mini-A SS amp) I am planning on doing. So I might wait until I get another amp that has a sub out for that.
With the Dynaco speakers, I am pretty sure that they will remain the same but with some new capacitors to clean up the sound. I do like their look and the sound I am getting out of the one of them.
The Yamahas are interesting, but talk about picky placement. They might be the most difficult to mod also just because of the nature of the speaker. They are almost open baffle like and high. But for the age, they are still very clear.
The Technics and the Realistic speakers look like they are going to be the easiest to modify as those are pretty straightforward.
So far, these comments are making it easier to decide what to do. With all the "noise" out there, it is nice to come to a place I can trust the opinions of the posters.
The mod is the speaker?
I am not getting it. I thought that one wanted the speaker to be the clearest most balanced of all components so what you put in is what you get out. Or am I missing something here... please enlighten.
Yeah, the A25 has a single capacitor on the tweeter and a switched variable l-pad to adjust the tweeter sensitivity and that's it. You could probably rebuild both crossovers with hotsnot parts for a 10 spot.
Attachments
You were talking about putting the grill ...
It always puts a little veil , depending on the fabric and the frame ( which causes diffraction ).
So in a SOA or wannabe SOA it's hardly admitted .
Unless you live with cats & curious boys around .
My statement also was to testify that if the mod was done right and
it would bring a betterment , also by using modern speakers such
some nice domes , you shouldn't cover them or..
there's no nudity to cover !
🙂
Okay, that could be my first ting I can cross off. That is awesome. And out of curiosity, I don't need to change resistors? The values don't drift on those (or do they)?
I think I had better keep the grill cloth on. Velco, staples, and wood for the Dynaco speakers, the Yamaha grill seem to be welded on, plastic for the Paradigms... And the Technics, I can't recall, but they look very 70's without the grill on (good for Disco and polyester jumpsuits).
You could also consider upgrading the old A25 tweeter for Seas 27TFFC. Its the Seas recommended drop-in replacement and is better than the Morel MDT20 that is often used as an upgrade to the original.
Just make sure you keep and re-install the old tweeters in case you decide to sell the speakers - they are worth more with original units.
Just make sure you keep and re-install the old tweeters in case you decide to sell the speakers - they are worth more with original units.
The consensus seems to be re-cap the Dynacos, leave the Paradigms alone, stare at the Yamahas and keep thinking why the ear shape, and no one wants to say a thing about the Realistic speakers (which probably means, use either in the garage or put in the garbage).
And speakers like women should be naked (but when you have ugly speakers, better to keep the clothing on or listen in the dark with sunglasses on).
And speakers like women should be naked (but when you have ugly speakers, better to keep the clothing on or listen in the dark with sunglasses on).
to the best of y understanding, alot of speaker engineers in the 70's hadnt the brains and ears to figure out that there fat grills with thick messy fabric, all lumped out any old how and then glued in a heap over the drivers... completely messed with the sound.
i HATE speaker grills, i ALWAYS have, and unless i get clumsy oaf friends, or a dog or a baby i will NEVER ever use them again
that said thin fabric is probubly ok. but they used to really bung the sound up
now unlike 24 carrot gold terminals and a meter thick oxygen free cable... removing grills does make a difference you can atually hear.
i would say make them removable and if there covered in a plastic mess like most 70's speakers, replace them with a thinner veil
i HATE speaker grills, i ALWAYS have, and unless i get clumsy oaf friends, or a dog or a baby i will NEVER ever use them again
that said thin fabric is probubly ok. but they used to really bung the sound up
now unlike 24 carrot gold terminals and a meter thick oxygen free cable... removing grills does make a difference you can atually hear.
i would say make them removable and if there covered in a plastic mess like most 70's speakers, replace them with a thinner veil
Hmmmmm... there's an idea. An easy modification and doesn't require a soldering iron. My two little kids are smarter than the average kid, but they are kids. The lumpy cloth on the Dynacos are a little stained with age and I'll just make some new wooden frames and thin mesh like cloth.
I'll just have to see if I can blowtorch/chainsaw off the cloth off the Yamahas. Or maybe I ought to let my kids have a go at it...
I'll just have to see if I can blowtorch/chainsaw off the cloth off the Yamahas. Or maybe I ought to let my kids have a go at it...
I would humbly suggest AR3a's or 2AX's.
Cabinets worth working on and great possibility for internal improvements that leave the vintage look intact.
Cabinets worth working on and great possibility for internal improvements that leave the vintage look intact.
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