Need Help Choosing 4" Full Range Speaker Driver

[supersimon]

Hey,

Basically I have these 2 old speakers speakers that are spherical and about 8" in diameter. You can see them here: Atomic space age record player, radio and 8 track | Your Ottoman Empire

The drivers of these speakers are shredded and i am looking to rewire them and replace the drivers. (maybe use cotton stuffing?)
The boxes are sealed, and thin metal.

I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on what would be the optimal 12cm driver for these, as well, if it is worth doing at all or if the box design would just make it sound horrible.

- I would be using these as rears with entry level B&W's in the front/centre and a Marantz receiver. Possibility of sound staging?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Cal Weldon]

You might want to show pics and actual measurements of the drivers.

 

[supersimon]

Thanks for your reply, i attached a picture of the driver and box (with old stuffing from the 60's). The dimensions of the current driver are 120mm (diameter across screw holes) and depth 68mm. The box is approximately 230mmX230mm Sphere.

 

[planet10]

I have 1 of those (used to have 3). I put Radio Shack 40-1179 in them. Best to look for something that works fine sealed in that volume unless you are going to use woofers.

If 8" is correct, and we (mostly) ignore the truncation at the front, we have about 4 litre.

Attached is a sim with drivers i had readily at hand. I think the big bezeled CSS/MA drivers would fit IIRC. You might find a candidate that will get a bit more LF extension, but most drivers are designed for BR.

dave

 

[planet10]

Thanks for your reply, i attached a picture of the driver and box (with old stuffing from the 60's).

I have a set of those drivers (these were not always what you got with these)... currently out getting refoamed.

dave

 

[PJN]

supersimon,

The spider and cone look like their in good condition, try refoaming them first, it couldn't hurt and it's cheaper than new drivers.

PJN

 

[supersimon]

Hey, Thanks for all the replies.
I am open to refoaming it, but seeing as how i am going to be using them all the time as rears in my set up, shouldn't i get something a bit newer? will there be a significant difference?
I am really new to this and don't completely understand the graph dave posted. I was looking at getting something similar to the Mark Audio Chr-70's what do you guys think?

 

[planet10]

The graph is the simulated response of the drivers in a 4 litre sealed box. If the Mark Audios fit, it would be a toss-up between the EL70 & the CHR. My preference would be EL70, i find the CHR (particularily the latest one) a bit hard on the top.

They both use the same basket, 1st thing you need to check is whether the bezel fits inside the flat part... i can check that, if i can quickly find my orphan sphere,

dave

 

[supersimon]

It's great that you have the same speakers as me, what a lucky coincidence. After checking out the CSS EL70's they look like they would be a great fit, i just had a couple of questions.
Should i re-use the old stuffing thats already in the speaker, replace it, or just take it out?
Would sound staging be possible with this set up?
Will there be enough highs in the audio or will i feel like there is something missing?

 

[Rullknufs]

The EL70 is a very nice speaker. If you'll miss something in the top end I can't tell. I wouldn't say that I miss anything though.

 

[Cal Weldon]

Should i re-use the old stuffing thats already in the speaker, replace it, or just take it out?

If you happen to have new stuffing on hand then use it otherwise I recommend you cover over it with a piece of cotton rag like old pillow case material. Old fiberglass tends to get 'dusty' over time.

Would sound staging be possible with this set up?

I don't understand the question.

Will there be enough highs in the audio or will i feel like there is something missing?

Purely subjective but you are using them for rear speakers so I wouldn't worry about it.