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DIY In-Wall speaker upgrade

post #1 of 14
1/10/13 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Guys-

These speakers are built into my walls and they're at least 25 years old. I have no idea what the specs are. I'm considering upgrading them, but I have no clue where to start. I'd just replace them altogether, but if I remove these I'll have six 12"x20" holes in my walls, so I want to explore what I can do with the existing boxes.

The tweeters have R. O. C. MK4 8 Ohm stamped on the back. The woofers have DT-D012018; C16EU20-52D 6 Ohm. I can't see the crossover very well but the wires are hooked to 2.5K.

The speakers are sealed, with interior dimensions 10.5" W x 16.25" H x 4.75" D, about .47 CF.

If I can't improve sound quality much it won't be worth the hassle/cost. Your thoughts?



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post #2 of 14
1/12/13 at 7:24am
Of the in-walls I've looked at, I would get the JBL P941. Which is a 3-way with a 1" tweeter, 4" mid, 9" bass.
You can find them on various E-tailers and different prices.
They are slightly bigger so you would need to cut the hole out just a bit bigger.
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post #3 of 14
1/12/13 at 8:19am
Thread Starter 
Unfortunately, the openings are framed with 2x4's, so I'm stuck with the cases I have. My first post was incorrect on the rough opening size, it's 12" x 17.75". I'm thinking about adding a sub to these rooms; that would probably do more for me than modifying the speakers.
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post #4 of 14
1/12/13 at 8:35am
Most certainly adding a sub is needed. But going from a 6" to 9" mid-bass is a big improvement also.
But you may also find on-wall speakers of sufficient size that will completely cover those openings. Just a matter of cutting a small piece of sheetrock to fill in and place the on-wall over it.

Its also not that big of a project to remove a 2x4 in an opening either. Either the top one or bottom one and then reattach it to create the needed size opening.
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post #5 of 14
1/12/13 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
I want to avoid the drywall mess. If I have to do any, I'll close the hole entirely and get something completely different. Some of the speakers aren't located in the best locations for our living arrangement. But I'll live with this to avoid the sheetrock work.
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post #6 of 14
1/12/13 at 10:29am
Axiom makes a very nice in/on wall speaker that is limited depth and would make for a very nice replacement.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/in-wall-on-wall-speakers
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post #7 of 14
1/12/13 at 1:21pm
Might be a bit big at around 12 x 17", but I can't help myself.

http://www.diysoundgroup.com/forum/index.php?topic=127.0
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post #8 of 14
1/12/13 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsab View Post

I want to avoid the drywall mess. If I have to do any, I'll close the hole entirely and get something completely different. Some of the speakers aren't located in the best locations for our living arrangement. But I'll live with this to avoid the sheetrock work.

Then leave those old in-walls in place, thus avoiding any remodel at all. And place on-walls where you want them, running new wire.
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post #9 of 14
1/13/13 at 9:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4DHD View Post

Then leave those old in-walls in place, thus avoiding any remodel at all. And place on-walls where you want them, running new wire.

I think what I'm going to do is add a sub and see what it sounds like. If that doesn't cut it, I'll buy new on-walls.

But, how to do that? I have an amp with a 4 zone speaker selector. Three of the zones would get subs. The only place to access the speaker wiring is at the source. Is there some sort of external sub crossover that can be installed on each of the three zones to pull the low frequencies off and send the signal to the subs? Preferably just a single wire to the sub LFE.
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post #10 of 14
1/13/13 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 
Is this a dumb idea? Buy a powered sub, and remove the plate. Make a blank plate to cover the opening. Install the sub's plate in an enclosure inside the cabinet where the stereo amp/speaker selector is kept, run speaker in/out on the plate. Run one Monster Cable from the plate to the (now passive) sub. In two of the zones I can use sub amplifiers/passive in-wall subs. But the main zone's best location for a sub is along a brick wall, so an in-wall isn't an option, and there aren't nearly as many choices for passive subs as powered ones.
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post #11 of 14
1/17/13 at 9:19am
Maybe your anxiety can be lessend by what I did for my front wide speakers, Not that big a deal.
Lesson learned:
Making the speaker box outside of the wall and then "plugging it in" was much faster on the LH side than building it "in wall" as I did on the RH side, a small lesson learned.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1435778/moving-past-7-1-5-1-into-9-1-11-2-upgrading-your-ht-room-via-audyssey-dsx-or-dolby-pl-iiz/60#post_22779542
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtbdudex View Post

Some progress on integrating the wides into the walls, RH side, It's been 5 years since I saw these guts.. Determine studs, wires, etc. cut.
.


Ready for drywall, a pocket in the wall, it will be lined with acoustic absorption material.
Bottom will be pine shelf to support the bookshelf speaker, goal is speaker to be flush with the side acoustic panels.
Here is RH side, primed shows some spots I'll add more spackle and re-do, hey I'm not the best at mudding rolleyes.gif
. photo%25203.JPG


My LH wall is outside foundation wall, it is engineered concrete with concrete studs that are 9 1/2" deep and 24" center, so I built a box to insert into the cavity as shown.
Leftover 3/4" thick OSB works nice, it takes drywall screws pretty good.
For the back I had 1/2" birch ply, so used that, since I did not have a 21" x 12" piece of OSB, wood scraps always come in handy.
Glue and screwed, box 100% sealed.
photo%25201.JPG . photo%25202.JPG

I had to contend with HVAC 8" dia pipe, so the box "wrapped" around that for maximum position ability - angle wise - of the speaker
Used pressure treated 2 x 4 for top/bottom support, as they contact the concrete studs, and then able to also screw into the RH side concrete stud, it is faced with 1" thick wood strip for drywall attaching.
Box is very sturdy in there.

Lesson learned:
Honestly, making the speaker box outside of the wall and then "plugging it in" was much faster on the LH side than building it "in wall" as I did on the RH side, a small lesson learned.
With MLK day Jan 21st (next weekend is 3 day break) hopefully I'll have this done Tues Jan-22nd.
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post #12 of 14
1/17/13 at 5:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4DHD View Post

Of the in-walls I've looked at, I would get the JBL P941. Which is a 3-way with a 1" tweeter, 4" mid, 9" bass.
You can find them on various E-tailers and different prices.
They are slightly bigger so you would need to cut the hole out just a bit bigger.

Maybe the deal of the century on ebay at $369, normally over $1500 each!
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post #13 of 14
1/18/13 at 8:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradsab View Post

Hi Guys-

These speakers are built into my walls and they're at least 25 years old. I have no idea what the specs are. I'm considering upgrading them, but I have no clue where to start....
That looks like a ribbon tweeter, not that common even today. These may be far better than you think... May I suggest starting with a sound quality comparison between these and what you think you like? I'd also suggest asking the question on one of the more speaker-centric forums like HTGuide or PE's Tech Talk. Lots of knowledgable folks out there, but each forum has a different focus, and AVS's is more on subwoofage than older driver speakers.

HAve fun,
Frank
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post #14 of 14
1/20/13 at 1:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fbov View Post

That looks like a ribbon tweeter, not that common even today. These may be far better than you think... May I suggest starting with a sound quality comparison between these and what you think you like? I'd also suggest asking the question on one of the more speaker-centric forums like HTGuide or PE's Tech Talk. Lots of knowledgable folks out there, but each forum has a different focus, and AVS's is more on subwoofage than older driver speakers.

HAve fun,
Frank

They sound ok on the high end, but lack in the lower frequencies. I'm going to let the speakers alone, and try adding subs. The problem is, there isn't a good place to locate a sub in the two main rooms. The only option I have is on the opposite side of the room from where the speakers are located; one is 15', another is 22' away. Not sure how that will sound.
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