VERY good sounding **Musical Instrument** Yamaha speaker.
Used in many of their organ speakers.
Styrofoam cone.
Only problem is they are from the 70s and power handling, around 60W, was fine way back then, today they are easy to burn and of course unrepairable so don´t overpower them.
Used in many of their organ speakers.
Styrofoam cone.
Only problem is they are from the 70s and power handling, around 60W, was fine way back then, today they are easy to burn and of course unrepairable so don´t overpower them.
They're known as Yamaha Ear Speakers due to their shape. They date from the late 1960s.
They were used for hi-fi in an open baffle format combined with an aluminium tweeter.
JMF is correct in that they were previously used in Yamaha electric pianos.
They were used for hi-fi in an open baffle format combined with an aluminium tweeter.
JMF is correct in that they were previously used in Yamaha electric pianos.
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The irregular shape was adopted to help prevent standing wave resonances in the cone.
Your image looks like the JA-6001 elephant ear speaker which was huge (34.6" x 25.2" x 7.1")!
That model was used in Yamaha bass guitar amplifiers.
Here you can see the JA-6001 dwarfing a 12" and a 15" driver:
Elephant ear-shaped loudspeaker JA-6001 Speaker-P Yamaha Co.
That model was used in Yamaha bass guitar amplifiers.
Here you can see the JA-6001 dwarfing a 12" and a 15" driver:
Elephant ear-shaped loudspeaker JA-6001 Speaker-P Yamaha Co.
Yes, a short-lived consumer-hyped design naturally made to seduce the uneducated crowd.
still more hip (and pricey) than the Polyplanar with its tizzy foil cap I bought in the 1960's.
these IIRC were about $16 retail in those days - a lot of money back then for what one got
these IIRC were about $16 retail in those days - a lot of money back then for what one got
The Polyplanar is similar to a Distributed Mode Loudspeaker (DML) which relies on the free vibration of a stiff, light panel rather than on pistonic motion.
The Yamaha Ear Speaker would appear to have relied on a combination of both!
The Yamaha Ear Speaker would appear to have relied on a combination of both!
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I somehow recall seeing an ad for that which said that the closer to the human ear the speaker shape is, the more likely it will sound right. Hooda thunk?
Thanks guys, very interesting also as there's no surround which could actually benefit from much lower distortion. Might be great to build a modern OB out of it. Lol
Cheers
Cheers
Ive repaired them! The magnet actually unscrews from the rear. From there, you can see the coil very easily. If it's nothing but a burned out husk, then no! But if it's something where simply the magnet wire came loose, or overheated, you can carefully remove the coil, and replace it. You can even get it slightly tighter fitting coil in there if you're good! Which would give you a little more performance?And a bit more articulation in the sound. And actually a bit more wattage, since the original formers used for the coils were paper! Kapton or other similar formers and proper ribboned aluminum magnet wire could make these pretty spunky. Also, you can carefully remove the front cap from the structure... and insert shims while you place the coil. When you're done, you can replace that if it's intact, or you can just use a aluminum cap, which would probably give you a little bit more high end in the end. I got one of these from a yamaha organ just the other day that had a significant rub. Likely from sitting in an organ for 50 years plus... i was thinking the same thing until I took the screws off the magnet, and it popped right off. The most important thing of course is to preserve the cone. But the coil is definitely replaceable.
There's actually an audiophile following for these speakers. The imaging isn't bad at all! And with the current trend of open baffle speakers, they could arguably be called the original trend-setters! Yamaha has never been a slouch when it came to new technologies. There were 2 and three-way designed loudspeakers for instruments and also for hifi systems. Typically, they had a larger foam transducer like this and then smaller cone style speakers for highs and mids. The japanese still love them. And select groups of audiophiles also. Granted it is an older technology, but the sound is very smooth, the imaging is quite nice and not so directional. Depending on the cabinets and depending on the design overall, a lot of people swear by them!
Those were something else! Wasn't the object that you could put some artwork in there as a frame? I have a hard time believing that they really wanted you to put those ugly things on the wall!still more hip (and pricey) than the Polyplanar with its tizzy foil cap I bought in the 1960's.
these IIRC were about $16 retail in those days - a lot of money back then for what one got
I have one of those elephant ears right now that I just mounted into an old Traynor cab. Pretty much, the only cab that it would fit in! A 6x10" cab originally. And even then at an angle! I'm going to see how it sounds for guitar! I think the overall eq should be interesting!
Remember that the fender bantam bass amp used a trapezoidal foam cone like these, and also made by yamaha, and though not well received, there were fans of that as well. And when you see one of those original amps, now, nine times out of ten, the original trapezoidal, yamaha foam driver is still in there! So they obviously had some staying power. Note that the driver in that amp used a thinner more pliable foam membrane, both thinner and more flexible to give a more bassy response. I remember playing through one a few times. Not even knowing that that was in there, and thinking that the sound was the very quick reacting. One thing about the foam, is that as long as it is a unique shape, that shuns resonance frequencies, it should be the best speaker AFA Dampening goes. I would say it's all dampener! Lol.
Remember that the fender bantam bass amp used a trapezoidal foam cone like these, and also made by yamaha, and though not well received, there were fans of that as well. And when you see one of those original amps, now, nine times out of ten, the original trapezoidal, yamaha foam driver is still in there! So they obviously had some staying power. Note that the driver in that amp used a thinner more pliable foam membrane, both thinner and more flexible to give a more bassy response. I remember playing through one a few times. Not even knowing that that was in there, and thinking that the sound was the very quick reacting. One thing about the foam, is that as long as it is a unique shape, that shuns resonance frequencies, it should be the best speaker AFA Dampening goes. I would say it's all dampener! Lol.