[2litre]

Hi all,

Here are some pics of my latest garage system. All drivers are console pulls.
The CTS 6.5" mids and the tweeters were paired in the below console. The 15" woofers are also CTS, from a Magnavox console.
I've got them hooked up through a 75w, -18db plate amp. The RCA source is a wimp, but free is free, right?
Baffles are 18"x29.5".
Eventually they'll have small side wings (mainly for baffle stiffening) along with top and bottom panels and a cloth covering.
I'm also going to forgo a bit of bass weight and extension by putting them on some stands. Easier to move and also protects the 15's a bit. Garages aren't the friendliest places for drivers placed too close to the floor 
Cost so far is $50 including RCA, wood, amp and 2.7uf caps.

Sound- well, you know they sound good Not great mind you, but 100% good in a 400sqft garage
I found that they sound better with the MT's run through the 125Hz high pass off the amp. Less 100Hz bloat, more range for the 15's which are set at about 100Hz.
I've also settled on a 2.7uf cap for the tweets vice the 5.0uf cap that was on them when they were in the console. Waaayy to bright with the 5.0uf.
So far I've been listening to music friendly to this set up; Chet Atkins/Mark Knopfler, Steely Dan, Santana, Dire Straits, Diana Krall.



and from the back



R/

Jim

http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e167/2litre/

[Bob in St. Louis]

Fifty bucks for a three way....Not too shabby, that'll work nicely!
So, how's it sound?

I especially like the feet. My first baffles had the exact same "clamp" feet. 

Bob

[2litre]

Hi Bob,

They sound pretty nice.
Yeah, 36" clamps allow for a nice tilt with decent stability.

Given that "no bass" has been an expression often associated with OB, they have decent bass. I just got a WT3 and those 15's were the first item I tested.
Q of 1.6 and a free air Fs of 55Hz.

Mids sound sweet too, and once I upped the XO point for the tweets (5.1 ohms X 2.7uf = @11400Hz) it all became much more listenable. Tried a 2.2uf and a 3.3uf but the 2.7uf seemed to be the nicest. I guess those 6.5" mids carry aways.

I've got to install the baffle stiffening panels before I do anything else with them. First I'll try a small coil on the mids.

R/
Jim

[ttan98]

Hi 2litre,

Looks like you have busy building so many systems with different drivers and system configurations. A suggestion is that you may like to summarise the systems you like best and the reasons why. Also as important, the drivers combo and configurations to avoid and those you would recommend.

Personnally I have tried  a few combinations/configurations myself and there are those I liked and those I don't like I dismantled(not enough space to store them) so no photos.

cheers...

[panomaniac]

Very cool!  Looks like great fun and you can't complain about the price. =)

My 1st OB rig was with CTS 12s pulled from a Maggy console.  No bass at all, but they didn't have the high Qts that your 15s do.

[2litre]

ttan98

I've been tinkering for about 4yrs now I guess. You must have checked out my photobucket.
As soon as I made my first open baffle set up, I was hooked. After I cut down the 4'x4' baffles into a Visiton NoBox knock off my then current Boston Acoustics CR-8 speakers went back in their original box and have been there ever since. I'll sell them eventually I guess.

Currently I have Hawthorne Audio Duo's (DIY Duets), the venerable Minimus-7's (Boston PV400 sub optional) and these new / old 3-ways.
So, 2 OB's and 1 sealed.

I love the old console driver thing because they can be had dirt cheap (that console cost me $5, the console that I got the 15's from was free) and they sound great in OB, at normal listening levels, with 1st order XO components. What can be easier

I regret selling the FR125S's and RS225-8's because I never really gave them a fair shake. I asked them to fill too much space to loudly. If I had them now I would do an FR/Helper set up for my small computer room, either OB or sealed.

If I had to pick one thing I'm trying to get away from or avoid it's multiple driver set ups, like 2xRS225-8's over one 15" or 2xFR125S's in 1.5 over say a Hawthorne 10SI or [insert favorite large FR here].

R/
Jim

[hurdy_gurdyman]

I love playing with old console speakers on an OB. I started listening to this type of speaker in the consoles back in the late 60's/early 70's as a teen (guess that dates me somewhat). I always fondly remembered the sound of my old consoles. When I read on the Fullrange Drivers Forum back in late 2003 or early 2004 about someone trying some of these kinds of drivers on an open baffle, I had to try it. I went through several pair that I found over the next year (really liked some 10" Jensen's with small paper coned tweeters). Went upscale after that with EV LS12's and also some LS8's (both have great potential with helper tweeters and bass augmenters). Have my SSI 10's and 15's now (with attic OB's) and love them. I'll probably never leave OB's. Still, the biggest thrill was discovering the huge potential of those old console speakers on a baffle at just a few dollars cost. It'd be easy to get a collection of these and change drivers (maybe using adapter plates for different sizes) every month for a new "speaker of the month" effect. Could be very cool and satisfy the need for change we all seem to get from time to time.

Dave

[mcgsxr]

I currently use an old Telefunken (mid 60's, solid state) console in my basement, next to the pool table.

Other than a desire to wire it for use with my Squeezebox, I am very happy with what it puts out.  The perfect tool for classic rock, and totally impervious to damage - when something is worth so little, I can be very cavalier about what happens to it - the kids ride their bikes around down here in the winter, drinks get left on the top if it etc.

Long live the console!

[hurdy_gurdyman]

The perfect tool for classic rock,

I agree completely with this, and maybe its for a good reason. The console probably was the most common type of quality HiFi from the late 50's, through the 60's, and into the early 70's when much of the classic rock was recorded. Perhaps the engineers of the time mixed/mastered the recordings with this in mind? I know that much classic rock sounds better on old consoles and many open backed speakers than much of the high-end speakers today, which tend to be harsh sounding on much of the classic rock recordings.

Dave

[mike j]

Cool Stuff!!!!
How did you decide the size of baffle to use? I have some old console speakers and would love to do something like this. There are so many suggestions out there, and many of them are above my fledgling knowledge/experience. 
Is there a rule of thumb or some other starting point that's good to use? I don't have a WT3 (yet) so I don't know the specs of the speakers. Maybe I need to get the WT3 sooner rather than later???

[2litre]

mike j,

Took me a year of saying I was going to get a WT3 before I got mine. I understand.

In general, the higher the Qts of the bass driver the smaller the baffle you can use...to a point. I read a lot of what the more experienced builders were saying about baffle size vs Q and followed their lead. Many use flat baffles in the 18-24"W range. Depending on the driver, adding more width doesn't necessarily give more bass, so why build speakers that consume all the extra floor space when you don't have to. As for the mids and tweets I just stacked them close above the bass driver leaving room for some 3/4" edging all around the baffle.

The good thing about most old console drivers is they usually have a higher Qts than 90% of the drivers currently available today. You almost can't go wrong.
Not knowing what size drivers you have, I recommend that you scroung up some scrap 3/8" or thicker plywood and make a 24"x36" baffle for your drivers. Some cheap stamped steel shelf brackets make good baffle stands for the beginner should you want to keep them on the floor for added bass reinforcement.

These sounded surprisingly good, I kept them around for about 6mo....before I punched a hole in one of the 12's  . It was inevitable. Made with scrap pressboard, M/T were Fosters from an old Packard Bell, woofers were old Maggy 12's. All passive, IIRC 8 or 9mH inductor on the 12's, corresponding cap for the mids and the original value cap for the tweets.


Play!

R/
Jim

[planet10]

I currently use an old Telefunken (mid 60's, solid state) console in my basement, next to the pool table.

Sp,epne gave me one of those... his had a tube based R-R as well as the SS amp.

dave