INTERACT FORUM

Devices => Sound Cards, DAC's, Receivers, Speakers, and Headphones => Topic started by: bob on May 01, 2010, 09:42:18 pm

Title: A night hacking my speakers
Post by: bob on May 01, 2010, 09:42:18 pm
I've got a sound system in my computer room. The amp is one I built in high school from a Radio Electronics project. It's nothing fancy but very clean with regards to THD and noise floor. It's got a Toshiba preamp purchased from Sound of Music (what Best Buy was before they changed their name).

Tonight, I was listening to some music in MC (in a virtualbox container in linux) and the sound from the right speaker was weird. The speakers are 1970's vintage Knight Kit 12" 3 ways I bought from a friend in high school. I popped open the back and lo and behold, the midrange horn was shot and I found a bad cap in the crossover that was preventing the tweeter from working (jeez, I thought only the Chinese could make bad caps! I replaced yet another one on my video card last week!).

Anyway, I found a replacement cap in the junk box, that took care of the tweeter but the midrange horn was unfixable and it was too late to get another. Glancing around the room I discovered a couple of stock 4" Swedish Luxors I'd pulled from my car when I upgraded the sound system. (a Saab of course or they wouldn't be Swedish speakers, right?). I made an adapter to mount the 4" speaker in place of the horn, popped it back together and it sounded great! Intrigued I took the other speaker apart and disconnected the woofer and tweeter and did some sound comparisons between the horn and the other Luxor. The horn was a bit sharper but I feared the frequency range was too limited to cover the space between the woofer and the tweeter so I put the other Luxor in that speaker.

So now I'm listening to "The Best of Blood, Sweat and Tears". There are a boatload of horns in there and it sounds great! I'm good for another 35 years :)
Title: Re: A night hacking my speakers
Post by: jmone on May 01, 2010, 10:02:18 pm
Between you and Matt....
Title: Re: A night hacking my speakers
Post by: gappie on May 02, 2010, 06:19:11 am
im happy too that not all hardware is as perishable as computer hardware.