Speaker recommendation...

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T

T^2

Member
2007-12-27 8:55 pm
  • #1
    My girlfriend got me a heritage/vintage/antique radio/stereo for X-mas. The specific one she bought was the Emerson NR303TT. She thought it would look good in my kitchen. I can't argue with her there. It does look nice in the kitchen.

    My only gripe with the thing is that the sound quality leaves a little to be desired. I opened the thing up - and as expected - it's built as cheaply as possible. The speakers in it are WEI ZHI Y102W-20Q8 4" 8 Ohm speakers. To add to the problem there is no tone control.

    It's a present from the girlfriend, so I'm stuck with it. So, I've been thinking about the possibility of improving the sound out of the thing. Even minor improvements would be welcome. I'm not looking to make it super Hi-Fi. I would just like a little more bass/fuller sound out of the thing.

    I thought it might improve things a bit if the stock speakers were replaced with something else. Any opinions on that are welcome...

    So that brings me to my question...

    Can anybody recommend a replacement speaker for this application?

    The stock speaker dimensions:

    Overall diameter: 102 mm.
    Diagonal distance/diameter between mounting holes: 115 mm.

    So far the Fostex FE103E looks like it might fit perfectly. Radio Shack's 40-1197 also seem like it might do (if a pair could be found).

    A pair of Fostex FE103SE at Madisound.com might cost as much as the radio itself.

    Along with a recommend speaker, where is a good place to buy?

    Thanks,

    T^2
     
    R

    ronc

    Member
    2003-03-08 2:22 pm
  • #2
    I truly hope you didnt expect to have any kind of quality sound from that unit.

    OK! heres my suggestion, gut the entire unit,replace with something (amp,tuner,ect ect) worth the investment. Replacing the drivers with 103s in that unit is like having a set of 1500$ wheels /tires on a 300$ car.

    Or just let her listen to it and build a decent system.

    ron
     
    T

    T^2

    Member
    2007-12-27 8:55 pm
  • #4
    ronc said:
    I truly hope you didnt expect to have any kind of quality sound from that unit.

    OK! heres my suggestion, gut the entire unit,replace with something (amp,tuner,ect ect) worth the investment. Replacing the drivers with 103s in that unit is like having a set of 1500$ wheels /tires on a 300$ car.

    Or just let her listen to it and build a decent system.

    ron
    Click to expand...

    No, I didn't expect to get really great sound out of it. I was just interested in making a modest improvement in that area. It appears that speaker drivers are a lot harder to come by these days. I seem to remember them being more readily available years ago. When I first pondered this idea, I thought that 4" full range speakers ought to be readily available and inexpensive. I guess not - at least I haven't found any yet.

    Yes your “$1500 wheels on a $300 car” seems like an apt analogy. The cost of the 103's alone would likely equal the cost of the radio. The cost and unknown outcome in terms of sound quality make it a hard pill to swallow. However, listening to this thing may drive me over the deep end one of these days…
     
    R

    ronc

    Member
    2003-03-08 2:22 pm
  • #6
    OK, i am going to get crude here. Please dont be offended.

    Theres an old Texas saying, " you cant polish a turd", (sorry Mr. Modirator ,but there it is) slap my hand if you must.

    Any sound system is a chain. It will only perform to the weakest link in the chain. The entire Emerson product line is a weak link.
    They use the cheapest components,the worst designs, the cheapest Mfg methods and ppl they can find.I have quit buying Chinese products ,at work, just due to the extreemly poor quality. I have a 120K US$ CNC plasma cutting machine that i will sell just because it takes up room and dosent perform (Chinese made).

    Quality cost more. But its all about what you are willing to pay for the quality/performance that you want.

    ron
     
    MJL21193

    MJL21193

    Disabled Account
    2007-03-10 1:20 am
  • #7
    ronc said:
    OK, i am going to get crude here. Please dont be offended.

    Theres an old Texas saying, " you cant polish a turd",
    Click to expand...


    There's an old Chinese saying (or is it Japanese): "everything that has been made can be improved". Turd polishing is a valid exercise.

    Surely, you can see the value in some of the tricks I've mentioned above? Especially Enabl.
     
    Nanook

    Nanook

    Member
    2004-02-13 7:13 am
    Chinook Country.Alberta
  • #11
    Ok, here's to polishing a terd...

    Sony "greystation", T amp, FE103s....

    squeeze er all in there and lose the contents of the box, or say something like this... "I had my heart set on a Jensen or Tivoli, (actually Teac has a nice little radio out ...). Maybe she'll be understanding and let you return it for refund or exchange.....

    Hope she didn't spend too much...

    stew
     
    BudP

    BudP

    Member
    2007-02-21 3:52 am
    upper left crust, united snakes
  • #12
    I must admit I am surprised to see John typing that five letter word...

    If you want to spend $30 and a couple of hours of your time, then EnABLing those 4" will actually be beneficial. Since the cones stop ringing and the energy gets off of them in one pass the back EMF is seriously reduced. That is the real problem with these cheap amps, they just go to pieces with back EMF from a poorly terminated speaker. I have treated quite a number of boom boxes, table radios etc. with the EnABL foolishness and they come out sounding far better than they have any right to.

    I would go so far as to say you will actually rather like the performance when done, 6 weeks later and all the way to the end of it's 21/2 year lifespan..... If you like, after you have removed one speaker, take a picture of it, post it here and I will photo shop the picture to show you where to put the dots of paint. And, this will be really excellent training for treating all of the other offensive sounding drivers in your life. The cheaper the speaker, the bigger the % of improvement.

    Bud
     
    J

    jnb

    Member
    2006-12-30 11:55 pm
  • #15
    Re: Re: Speaker recommendation...

    Cal Weldon said:
    I have an idea. Go buy her a pair of off-colour shoes and see if she is as charitable with your feelings. If she is, you're stuck with the radio. If not, bye bye Emerson. :wave:
    Click to expand...

    Words of wisdom? ;)

    If you can plot the response of these drivers using a test CD, you may be able to bring the treble down to the level of whatever bass (mid-bass) is present, as well as finding the peaks.
     
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