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Found some old speakers in going through dads attic. As I remembered they never sounded all that great, although the cabinets are very well done, and have a perfect walnut veneer. Upon opening them up I find thy contain a 12 inch driver by Oaktron, 2 ea, 3 inch drivers from the same manufacturer, and a crossover by Aerovox. The dimensions of the cab are 15w, 10d, and 20 tall.They are ported on the front, below the 12" driver. The question I have is, with these cabinets, would it be worthwhile replacing the drivers with something like an Altec 414, or should we just close em up and keep them for sentimental value. I really need a high efficiency speaker, to go with my 8wpc, 2a3 amp, and thought this might be a neat way to enter the DIY arena, and start experimenting.
Follow Ups:
rickyd,Those Oaktron drivers were never state of the art and are well behind now. The 8-inch Oaktron with cloth accordian surround and 6.8 oz alnico magnet needed a cabinet about the size of your cabinets. Very likely, those cabinets are much too small for those 12-inch drivers. Hard to say what kind of alignment and response the combination provides. For a temporary solution, block off the port with open cell foam, add a generous amount of stuffing (do not 'pack') and replace the existing crossover cap with a Solen of the same (within say 10%) value. These changes will most likely improve the bass, and add some detail and sparkle.
You can surely use those cabinets. It will not be possible to get extended bass AND high efficiency from them. They are too small for the Altec 414, which as you surmised, is a truly exceptional driver. I suggest that you consider using a good high efficiency 2-way in them and augmenting with a sub. Lots of possibilities here. Without a fair amount of experience at DIY loudspeaker designing and building, consider some of the simpler alternatives. Look over the full range Fostex drivers (Madisound.com). They are very popular for good reason. Or try a high efficiency, pre-designed 2-way like those available from Pi Speakers or an 8-10 inch coax. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of these approaches, yet all are capable of providing a very high level of performance. Look into these possibilities, search the archives here for experiencies and opinions, then come back with questions.
The start of a new speaker project is a time open to many possibilities. It can be somewhat daunting for someone just getting started. There are really no mistakes, just learning experiencies. Have at it and enjoy!
I think that box is much too small for a 414 unless you seal it and use a sub <100Hz. By itself, IIRC, the 414 likes to see at least 4 cubic feet tuned to ~40Hz.
Start your experimenting by listening to them now, as is, first. To not do so is foolish.
Thanks for the reply. I am familiar with the sound, and have tried them with several amps, both tube and SS, fairly mediocre sound. Has anyone heard of these drivers.
The other question was related to the volume of the cabinet, and suitabilitay for use with high sensitivity, 12" drivers.
I remember having some oaktron woofers. Seems to me they were definitely nothing special.
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