[E-A-G-L-E-S]

I sneaked out my fathers old loudspeakers today at lunch with the purpose of replacing the drivers and tweeters and refinishing them for his birthday in a little over a month.

I pulled out the old drivers which are 12". I'd like to hook them up to see if both are shot or not, but do not know what ohm they are and whether they will damage my amp.(would just use Yamaha AVR's internal amp)

 

[Kanaris]

Put an ohmmeter across the leads... or a battery to see at least that it's not cooked.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

ohmeter....definitely don't have one of those.

I took my old Aiwa shelf system and hooked it to a speaker out there as I wouldn't mind losing the Aiwa.

They still produce sound but one is pitiful.

Both horns on one are fine, while both horns on the other are shot.

This is going to be a tough, time consuming thing to either find horns or replace with standard tweeters....all the while building my first HT DIY sub.


Busy free times ahead with lots of learning.

By the time I'm done with both projects(hopefully within a month) I will have a good grasp on DIY and can start planning my big build.

 

[AlexE]

Buy a DVM for $12 at home depot

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

Volt meter?

How do I find out ohm with that Alex?

 

[AlexE]

You set the knob to "OHM" and place the leads against whatever you are measuring.

 

[AlexE]

Since we're here, what speakers are they and how do you intend to replace the woofer/tweeter knowing nothing about them or the crossover? Are you making a new network also, ie new speakers in old boxes or?


I say this because it's starting to sound like you were just going to order whatever fits physically and screw it in...

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

I am actively searching for information on the original horns and drivers, but so far am coming up empty.

My intent was to try and replace if possible with the same.

Second choice would be to replace everything with what would work best in the old enclosure and just put a new finish on it too.

Third choice would be to just swap in new parts of any kind that would work, as at least these would then be working and able to be used.


As far as the x-over, I have taken them apart and the only thing besides the horns, drivers, and speaker wire is some sort of small transistor that are on the positive lead from the smaller horn to the drivers.....nothing else at all.

Doesn't make sense?


They are RGX IV models. 12" driver/3"x3"x3" horn/10"x3"x11" horn.(small horn is all plastic, big horn is metal)

Only thing I can come up with through searching are the RGX Yamaha guitars.


I have a digital volt meter from my reefkeeping days, I will get it out and test the drivers.

 

[AlexE]

If the positive leads have capacitors on them and that's the whole crossover, I think you should do both you and your dad a favor and put these in the attic. Have you got any pics? What's the enclosure made of? There are very many threads here of people wanting to either squeeze blood out of a stone or turn water into wine.


If you really want to do your dad a solid, get him some nice bookshelves or DIY a pair. If the old boxes are worth anything, you could follow a recipe that works for that volume and is affordable to you. I would not advise trying to mix and match unless you can actually explain how and why you picked the certain drivers, where you are going to cross each one, what order network and again most importantly - why.


I'm not being mean by the way just trying to save you from 'wasting' a bunch of money on parts that will eventually collect dust after you realize you can't make it work just yet, not at this level of experience, and go for a kit or someone else's proven plans.


Ambition is good, but ambition with some know how is better. Cheaper anyway!


Good luck.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

Lol, I hear ya.

It's very sound, just lacking in finish. .75"

Bookshelves that I can afford can't go loud and low enough for him. When these lost the horns he immediately put them away and has been without since. Forced to listen to 5.1 satelites per my mothers demands.

I don't have the diy skills to make two speakers that must be out in the open 24/7.(finish)

 

[armystud0911]

AV123 has sales on all their X series and Rocket series speakers right now, their towers should offer decent output (more than bookshelves anyway), its just a thought.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

A very good one and thank you. I actually own some x-ls bookshelves and for a short time had the x-sub.

I thought of new floor standers for him, but as much as he'd appreciate them he'd be gonzo about his old babbies reconditioned.

I'll see if it is feasable over the next few weeks of researching. If not I can always ge commercial speakers bought and delivered within a week.

I won't just go order drivers without knowing if it will work.

Still learning how to read the graphs and still learning what some of the thiel small params. actually mean in practical terms.

All in good time and the outcome will be what it will be.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

I looked up some of his other gear today.

He was using a Marantz 2220 receiver and a Sansui SE-7 EQ.

My brother told me that they tried to get the horns fixed about 8 years ago but couldn't find anyone who claimed they could do anything, with most saying they were old german imports and all they could do is put new different horns in.