I acquired a pair of Avance 190 speaker cabinets last the weekend. I believe they date to the 1980s. The cabinets are about 96.5cms (38ins) tall, curved and tapered from bottom to top and with an angled back baffle. I've calculated the internal volume to be about 40 litres (1.4cu ft).
The cabinets are made of a concrete material and are in pretty good condition, though all the original drive units are missing or faulty.
I'm hoping to repurpose them with some full-range drive units in a bass reflex configuration and will be glad to hear recommendations for some suitable units. Not too expensive as the plan is to gift the finished speakers to a family member.
Thanks.

The cabinets are made of a concrete material and are in pretty good condition, though all the original drive units are missing or faulty.
I'm hoping to repurpose them with some full-range drive units in a bass reflex configuration and will be glad to hear recommendations for some suitable units. Not too expensive as the plan is to gift the finished speakers to a family member.
Thanks.
The speakers originally used Vifa M21WG-19 bass drivers and matching Vifa M21 bass radiators, they fit in baffle cutouts 186.5mm diameter.
I'm planning on filling the bass driver holes with a false baffle and really want to try a full-range drive arrangement.
I'm planning on filling the bass driver holes with a false baffle and really want to try a full-range drive arrangement.
Why not a 3-way?
With a US$40.00 woofer, if you can buy it in your country, you can have a superb frequency response in a ported 40 liter speaker tuned at 22Hz.
F3=21Hz @-3dB. See below speaker suggestions.
Crossover at 300Hz / 4000Hz
Woofer (US$40.00)
https://www.parts-express.com/GRS-8...-Excursion-Subwoofer-4-Ohm-292-816?quantity=1
Fullrange (US$16.00) acting as mid-range - or choose on that fits exactly on the wholes already in the box and have a good overlap with woofer/tweeter.
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-PC105-4-4-Full-Range-Poly-Cone-Driver-295-158?quantity=1
Tweeter (US$17.00)
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-TD25F-4-1-Soft-Dome-Tweeter-4-Ohm-275-022?quantity=1
With a US$40.00 woofer, if you can buy it in your country, you can have a superb frequency response in a ported 40 liter speaker tuned at 22Hz.
F3=21Hz @-3dB. See below speaker suggestions.
Crossover at 300Hz / 4000Hz
Woofer (US$40.00)
https://www.parts-express.com/GRS-8...-Excursion-Subwoofer-4-Ohm-292-816?quantity=1
Fullrange (US$16.00) acting as mid-range - or choose on that fits exactly on the wholes already in the box and have a good overlap with woofer/tweeter.
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-PC105-4-4-Full-Range-Poly-Cone-Driver-295-158?quantity=1
Tweeter (US$17.00)
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-TD25F-4-1-Soft-Dome-Tweeter-4-Ohm-275-022?quantity=1
Widerange assisted woofer
or (rather)
Woofer assisted widerange
Those were some pretty FAST responses 🙄.
All kidding aside, with careful selection of wideband and bass drivers, a tweeter might well be redundant?
All kidding aside, with careful selection of wideband and bass drivers, a tweeter might well be redundant?
So, after some further thought I will go with the multi-way approach, instead of a single full-ranger. More research still required and I'll open another thread in the appropriate forum at a later date.
Is it all concrete? or is it what looks like office roofing tiles covered in a thin coat of concrete.
Maybe it is just the pic
Interesting non the less.
Usually Dayton the go too, 3x less expensive and the same or 2x more performance
than the usual marked up stuff.
Look at the datasheets for size and mounting cutouts.
Long learning curve to do sim with the drivers on a baffle for a crossover.
Can be done.
Use all the holes, just a 3 way with a .5 woofer crossover or a low crossover point for the 2x woofer.
Using 2 woofers is fun and good bass.
Some of the cheapo woofers like GRS are high Qts so they need a large box.
The box looks average to small for 2x woofer.
Need something in the .3 to .4 Qts range likely.
Usually the classic series daytons work well in small boxes.
They pack a lot of magnet for the price and have Qts suitable for the box size.
Maybe it is just the pic
Interesting non the less.
Usually Dayton the go too, 3x less expensive and the same or 2x more performance
than the usual marked up stuff.
Look at the datasheets for size and mounting cutouts.
Long learning curve to do sim with the drivers on a baffle for a crossover.
Can be done.
Use all the holes, just a 3 way with a .5 woofer crossover or a low crossover point for the 2x woofer.
Using 2 woofers is fun and good bass.
Some of the cheapo woofers like GRS are high Qts so they need a large box.
The box looks average to small for 2x woofer.
Need something in the .3 to .4 Qts range likely.
Usually the classic series daytons work well in small boxes.
They pack a lot of magnet for the price and have Qts suitable for the box size.
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Yes, it is just the picture. The whole enclosure is a single piece concrete casting, except for the opening at the base, which, in the original, was plugged with a laminated chipboard plinth that housed the crossover. If you consider the process for making the concrete enclosure, leaving the base open was pretty much essential for inserting the mandrel and subsequent demoulding.
The concrete used isn't like you will find being poured in building construction projects. The wall thickness is only around 18mm but it seems incredibly strong.
The exterior currently has a textured finish, but that will be removed.
The concrete used isn't like you will find being poured in building construction projects. The wall thickness is only around 18mm but it seems incredibly strong.
The exterior currently has a textured finish, but that will be removed.

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Be careful if you are sanding the textured paint - in the past those sometimes contained asbestos.The exterior currently has a textured finish, but that will be removed.
You might find warming with a hot air gun will help. I've found that lower temps can be enough to soften textured finishes. It's worked well for me removing textured wall finishes in the past. Too hot can make things worse...Fortunately it seems to be flaking off
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