need FR suggestions for an old enclosure.

[brookbh]

My buddy's got an old 1977 Bose 601 pair of speakers, the problem is the 8" woofers (a pair in each speaker) have rotted surrounds.

http://rochester.craigslist.org/ele/1120631064.html

http://products.bose.com/pdf/customer_service/owners/601_guide.pdf

Instead of trying to replace the four 8" woofers, I figured i could just seal the enclosure and put some full range speakers in there. There is a front mounted 8" woofer, and an angled top mounted 8" woofer. Then I would add bracing and blocks to get to the desired volume in the cab.

What is was thinking:

Option 1 -- B20 + cheap dayton dome tweet
Option 2 -- mini array with dayton 5" PA 130-8s or pioneer 4" A11s
Option 3 -- Goldwood 8" with whizzer

I know that baffle width and height is not ideal, nor are a lot of other aspects. This is just a low budget project for a buddy who isn't into speakers, he just wants some sound for a dorm room in college.

I'm just looking for ideas, suggestions, comments, alternatives. Anything yall got on this subject. Budget is minimal, he's kind of cheap. Thanks for looking...

 

[Fast1one]

I highly recommend going with the B20s and cheap dome tweeters. That was my previous setup and it was very nice for all kinds of music. Very unfatiguing, smooth and a joy to listen to.

Also I seem to remember there being a comparison between the B20 and the Goldwoods and the Pioneers were superior.

If this is for a dorm setup, I would also advise against doing the mini array simply because for it to work, the listening distance should be far to reduce the path length differences between the drivers and reduce cancellation effects. Unless you do a focus array, but they have tiny sweet spots.

 

[mikejennens]

Have you thought about re-foaming the woofers? It wouldn't be too expensive and it might be less work than reworking the cabinet. Plus, they'd probably sound pretty good.
Mike

 

[brookbh]

I haven't looked into re-foaming the woofer. While the design of the speaker is very interesting, I just assumed that a more conventional setup requiring a full replacement of the drivers used in these speakers would lead to better results. They are 30 year old paper drivers and look to be in rough shape.

I have only removed one woofer, and that was to try and see if a model number or any information was available via the back of the speaker. The position I was taking, was that i could use a B20 and tweeter and later redo the enclosure into a BVR or BIB if an upgrade was called for.

 

[planet10]

I'd close up the hole on the front and mount a B20 on the sloped baffle with a forward firing tweeter. The box volume should work OK, you'll probably need a fair amount of damping.

dave