Hi guys,
I'm working my way through the search results now, but wanted to start a quick thread to see if you could provide some help.
My wife found this cool little cabinet, and we've been interested in building a vinyl hi-fi setup for a while now.
The bad news is that it's mostly stripped, which is kind of good news, because it gives me the freedom to create my own design in a lot of areas.
My plan is to go modern in some areas, like with a U-Turn turntable, but keep some cool vintage touches, like with a Marantz 1030 amplifier.
My question is regarding the speakers. The wiring is stripped, and one of the speakers is trashed, so it looks like I am going to have to rebuild everything. I'd like your input on replacement parts to rebuild the speaker baffles. I can build a new one to fit different components if that's a requirement, i'm fairly handy.
But things like brands, sizes, compatibility and crossovers are currently above my pay grade.
pics:
Cabinet:
Gutted insides and speakers:
I'm working my way through the search results now, but wanted to start a quick thread to see if you could provide some help.
My wife found this cool little cabinet, and we've been interested in building a vinyl hi-fi setup for a while now.
The bad news is that it's mostly stripped, which is kind of good news, because it gives me the freedom to create my own design in a lot of areas.
My plan is to go modern in some areas, like with a U-Turn turntable, but keep some cool vintage touches, like with a Marantz 1030 amplifier.
My question is regarding the speakers. The wiring is stripped, and one of the speakers is trashed, so it looks like I am going to have to rebuild everything. I'd like your input on replacement parts to rebuild the speaker baffles. I can build a new one to fit different components if that's a requirement, i'm fairly handy.
But things like brands, sizes, compatibility and crossovers are currently above my pay grade.
pics:
Cabinet:
Gutted insides and speakers:
A simple solution, which is often employed in such renovations, is to build a pair of kit speakers which can simply be inserted into the Zenith console so that they fire out through its speaker grilles (with baffles opened up to suit).
The kit speaker enclosures could be a simple construction in unfinished chipboard as they will not be seen in this application.
P.S. If you include your country of location in your profile, it will be easier for members to suggest brands of, and sources for, replacement speakers.
Awesome, thanks. That's actually a great idea. Are there specific kits that are recommended around here? I will go do some research on my own on the forum as well, but just curious.
Adding location now, but it's US. New Jersey, specifically.
For mid-fi results on my HDTV tuner, I've gotten quite decent results with 6.5" coaxial speakers found in projection TV's sitting on the curb on garbage day. 8 ohms, typically 8 to 13 watts. Toshiba is the one I use the most. I put them in a cardboard box 8"x10"x14", with the end cut out to clear the diaphragm and a bass reflex port 3/4"x 3/4" (knife blade width) in the back end. Tape the top shut. Cost - zero. Maybe $1 for the 16 ga zip cord wire, $.50 for the 4 #6 screws, elastic stop nuts, 8 washers from mcmaster.com
Carry a 6 way screwdriver and a cutters to cut the wire. Kick the bottom front panel off, 8 screws, snip snip, gone in 10 minutes. Take the power cord too.
By contrast a 6.5" coaxial driver at 40 watts from parts-express.com cost $19 + $7 freight. The higher wattage is justified for church PA where ladies talk in the kitchen during the sermon before dinners. Visiton BG17-8
I'm using a 140 w/ch PV-4c amp on the 13 watt speakers and a 200 w/ch QSC 1350 on the 40 w speakers.
Carry a 6 way screwdriver and a cutters to cut the wire. Kick the bottom front panel off, 8 screws, snip snip, gone in 10 minutes. Take the power cord too.
By contrast a 6.5" coaxial driver at 40 watts from parts-express.com cost $19 + $7 freight. The higher wattage is justified for church PA where ladies talk in the kitchen during the sermon before dinners. Visiton BG17-8
I'm using a 140 w/ch PV-4c amp on the 13 watt speakers and a 200 w/ch QSC 1350 on the 40 w speakers.
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Another advantage of the idea is that the kit speakers are a tried and self-contained design - you don't have to figure out which individual speaker driver(s) would acoustically match the existing volume and conditions within the console.
I'm obviously on the opposite side of the pond, but Parts Express do a range of speaker kits and a look at those would provide a reference point:
Speaker & Subwoofer Kits - Parts Express