So I got these speakers for free ( sony ss510), because I like the look of hifi from this era (70s?) basically anything that is chipboard or plywood with brown veneer or woodgrain vinyl with glass, aluminium and light globes.
probably the best feature of the speakers is the "sony" rotates for bookshelf mode, wonder if this is where they got the idea to do it on the early PS2s?
looks like the baffles are removable, so replacing them shouldn't be a huge problem
this raised trim is probably terrible for diffraction, but I'm just not going to worry about it.
anyway I plugged these in and had a bit of a listen and they sound, well... bad. not really surprising, but I like how they look so have been thinking about putting new bits in them.
one option is using one (or two?) of these in each box which get good reviews
Peerless by Tymphany TC9FD18-08 3-1/2" Full Range Paper Cone Woofer
my only experience with full range speakers is a pair of cheap 8" with whizzer cones, they are a bit tiring to listen to for want of a better term, i'd say this is because of their lack of high frequency reproduction so hopefully the peerless 3.5" speakers will work better up high.
straying into multi-way territory the other option (which is more likely) is to gut some harman kardon satellite speakers I have and stuff the innards inside the wooden boxes.
for either case I would plan to build two subwoofers too (FAST), but constructing them and crossing between the two is a topic for other forum sections.
mostly hypothetical for now, don't really need any more speakers and shouldn't be wasting money on them.
I guess my question is whether it is worth worrying about box volume for a given driver (internal volume of these is about 12.2 litres) i've done some winISD work with the peerless drivers, it suggested a ported box which gave a really weird response curve, a sealed box looked much nicer but there is probably more to it than that.
On the other end of the scale is putting the drivers out of tiny speakers into a much bigger box, but I could always just build an equivalent volume enclosure onto the back of the baffle, and leave the rest of the box empty.
probably the best feature of the speakers is the "sony" rotates for bookshelf mode, wonder if this is where they got the idea to do it on the early PS2s?
looks like the baffles are removable, so replacing them shouldn't be a huge problem
this raised trim is probably terrible for diffraction, but I'm just not going to worry about it.
anyway I plugged these in and had a bit of a listen and they sound, well... bad. not really surprising, but I like how they look so have been thinking about putting new bits in them.
one option is using one (or two?) of these in each box which get good reviews
Peerless by Tymphany TC9FD18-08 3-1/2" Full Range Paper Cone Woofer
my only experience with full range speakers is a pair of cheap 8" with whizzer cones, they are a bit tiring to listen to for want of a better term, i'd say this is because of their lack of high frequency reproduction so hopefully the peerless 3.5" speakers will work better up high.
straying into multi-way territory the other option (which is more likely) is to gut some harman kardon satellite speakers I have and stuff the innards inside the wooden boxes.
for either case I would plan to build two subwoofers too (FAST), but constructing them and crossing between the two is a topic for other forum sections.
mostly hypothetical for now, don't really need any more speakers and shouldn't be wasting money on them.
I guess my question is whether it is worth worrying about box volume for a given driver (internal volume of these is about 12.2 litres) i've done some winISD work with the peerless drivers, it suggested a ported box which gave a really weird response curve, a sealed box looked much nicer but there is probably more to it than that.
On the other end of the scale is putting the drivers out of tiny speakers into a much bigger box, but I could always just build an equivalent volume enclosure onto the back of the baffle, and leave the rest of the box empty.
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This can give you an idea of a driver appropriate for the box:
Resources - Woofer Selection Guide
You can always add mass, such as more wood or dense Styrofoam, to the inside of the box if you find a speaker that you like but needs less volume. You can probably find a decent full-range driver that might sound quite good in your box. If venting is required, vent out the back to keep the look of the box as it is. Some internal bracing might be a good idea as well.
This driver:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...arkaudio-pluvia-seven-gold-cone-4-full-range/
with a 1.5 X 4" vent should give you an F3 of 46 Hz, according to the web page.
Mike
Resources - Woofer Selection Guide
You can always add mass, such as more wood or dense Styrofoam, to the inside of the box if you find a speaker that you like but needs less volume. You can probably find a decent full-range driver that might sound quite good in your box. If venting is required, vent out the back to keep the look of the box as it is. Some internal bracing might be a good idea as well.
This driver:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...arkaudio-pluvia-seven-gold-cone-4-full-range/
with a 1.5 X 4" vent should give you an F3 of 46 Hz, according to the web page.
Mike
cheers Mike, I've used that list before to look for subs, didn't think of using it for other drivers.
here are some screenshots from winISD for the peerless 3.5 inch drivers, I ran it for ported with the program chosen box volume of 16.8 litres, ported with the measured box volume and sealed with the measured box volume.
SPL
Phase
group delay
On screen the sealed box looks way better for phase and group delay (though the ported design might be fine) but for SPL I don't really know what i'm looking at as I have no experience with ported designs, I suppose the ported design is much more efficient compared to sealed (even if I put in two drivers) but is the steep slope a good thing? is the peak and trough/dip a problem?
here are some screenshots from winISD for the peerless 3.5 inch drivers, I ran it for ported with the program chosen box volume of 16.8 litres, ported with the measured box volume and sealed with the measured box volume.
SPL
Phase
group delay
On screen the sealed box looks way better for phase and group delay (though the ported design might be fine) but for SPL I don't really know what i'm looking at as I have no experience with ported designs, I suppose the ported design is much more efficient compared to sealed (even if I put in two drivers) but is the steep slope a good thing? is the peak and trough/dip a problem?
I put some different drivers in some Sony SS-70s. The crucial thing for the new driver is the mounting hole positions. Because of the grill I could not get to the front of the baffle, so you need to be able to drop the new speaker over the bolts that you should leave in place. The nuts on mine were secured with some red paint (?) that I removed with paint stripper on a cotton bud. The Monacor sp 135tc fitted exactly, and the closed box size is a very good match for the Monacor specs. It is a vast improvement on the original driver.
I haven't tried to remove the baffles yet, but if they won't come out easy I'll probably make an adapter plate that will fit in the ~6 inch speaker hole, that way I can flush mount a 3.5 or maybe 4 inch driver and still install it from behind.
If they come out I'll just make new baffles.
Yes. If you are fitting a smaller driver an adaptor plate will work very well. I used the Monacors because I happened to have them. Couldn't believe my luck that they slotted straight in, after I had battled with the nuts holding in the old drive units. I also like the look of these old speakers, particularly compared with the botchiness of any boxes I make.
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