I've got some old 5" drivers that came from a pair of JPW sonata 2-way bookshelf speakers (not the mini moniotors). I think the drivers were made by ELAC. They were not expensive even then, but the speakers got good reviews many years ago, so I'm half wondering if the drivers are worth re-using as mid-ranges in my 3-way project..
But without buying some new mid/mid-bass drivers to compare on sound quality, I don't actually know how well they'd stack up against modern mid-priced (say £50-£70) offerings. Does anyone happen to know if they're any good by todays standards?
Thanks
Kev
But without buying some new mid/mid-bass drivers to compare on sound quality, I don't actually know how well they'd stack up against modern mid-priced (say £50-£70) offerings. Does anyone happen to know if they're any good by todays standards?
Thanks
Kev
Got to be worth a try. Lots of old speakers sound great (plus i'm a fan of paper cones - They are paper cones aren't they?)
Thanks, they may be worth further investigation, then.
They look like paper cones - certainly porous paper or textile type stuff anyway.
Its a bit odd to see them being described as vintage though... I bought the speakers new, they were my first properly good ones, so 'vintage' makes me feel old :-/
Cheers
kev
They look like paper cones - certainly porous paper or textile type stuff anyway.
Its a bit odd to see them being described as vintage though... I bought the speakers new, they were my first properly good ones, so 'vintage' makes me feel old :-/
Cheers
kev
Aha! I've found some new old stock of the drivers on UK ebay (item 330543704727). They look identical and are described as ELAC drivers so I think these are indeed they; I guess mine may have changed over the years but the T/S paramaters are quoted as:
Resonance: 50hz
Sensitivity: 89db 1w@1M
Impedance: 6 ohms
Power: 60 watts nominal
Frequency range: 46-6000 hz
Qms: 1.48
Qes: 0.57
Qts: 0.41
Vas: 29.5 litres
I've also seen it suggested that the tweeters were the audax TW010, which with a 1st order high pass need to be crossed over at 6khz or above. IIRC the crossover was 1st order so that suggests the 5" drivers probably were used to around 6khz.
I always liked the sonatas (except for the higher frequencies, which were a bit bright/harsh), so it seems that the main driver performs quite well across a pretty wide range. If I were to help them along by moving to a 3-way with a low bass driver and a better (or perhaps better matched) tweeter, probably they'd sound even better.
Cheers
Kev
Resonance: 50hz
Sensitivity: 89db 1w@1M
Impedance: 6 ohms
Power: 60 watts nominal
Frequency range: 46-6000 hz
Qms: 1.48
Qes: 0.57
Qts: 0.41
Vas: 29.5 litres
I've also seen it suggested that the tweeters were the audax TW010, which with a 1st order high pass need to be crossed over at 6khz or above. IIRC the crossover was 1st order so that suggests the 5" drivers probably were used to around 6khz.
I always liked the sonatas (except for the higher frequencies, which were a bit bright/harsh), so it seems that the main driver performs quite well across a pretty wide range. If I were to help them along by moving to a 3-way with a low bass driver and a better (or perhaps better matched) tweeter, probably they'd sound even better.
Cheers
Kev
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I was going to say that they probably have a smooth frequency response because JPW crossovers are usually simple.
Are you going passive or active?
Are you going passive or active?
Yes, that makes sense; from what I recall the JPW crossover was indeed a simple (probably 1st order) one.
I want to have a go at some tri-amped active speakers, so I'm intending to use active crossovers in my 3-ways. I haven't really got that far yet but I was vaguely 'thinking' of the phase-coherent 24db/octave linkwitz-riley jobbies.
This seems quite different to the JPW approach then, so maybe I should look at something lower order. But perhaps the driver's smooth response range could still be useful in a higher order crossover by letting me set the crossover point as high as i'd like.
Cheers
kevin
I want to have a go at some tri-amped active speakers, so I'm intending to use active crossovers in my 3-ways. I haven't really got that far yet but I was vaguely 'thinking' of the phase-coherent 24db/octave linkwitz-riley jobbies.
This seems quite different to the JPW approach then, so maybe I should look at something lower order. But perhaps the driver's smooth response range could still be useful in a higher order crossover by letting me set the crossover point as high as i'd like.
Cheers
kevin
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