Your donations help keep this valuable resource free and growing. Thank you.
|
speakers |
Post Reply | Page <12345> |
Author | |
MattyCoupe
AMC Apprentice Joined: Dec/02/2013 Location: Murphy, NC Status: Offline Points: 41 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Yes, you can have your speakers rebuilt. They're a few places that do it. Orange County Speaker, Speakerlab, and Neil speaker repair are a few. Contact all three before you decide which to use. Make sure you go over your wants/needs with the reps, so they're no surprises on either side. OCS did my JBL concert cabinets and my original set of Kenwoods that my parents bought new before I was born. LOL. They did me good on both.
|
|
71 Javelin AMX O.O.
AMC Addicted Joined: Aug/29/2008 Location: Minnesota Status: Offline Points: 655 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Matty:
Thanks for the recommendation. Were the results better than what you started with? Do you feel for the cost it was worth it?
Steve
|
|
MattyCoupe
AMC Apprentice Joined: Dec/02/2013 Location: Murphy, NC Status: Offline Points: 41 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Steve, With the JBLs, Yes. They sound perfect, nice and crisp. With the Kenwoods, I didn't have anything to compare them to,the surrounds were rotted when I got them. but they sound amazing now! With the JBL, well worth the cost(1/3 the price of new set), with the Kenwoods, it was a sentimental thing.
|
|
71 Javelin AMX O.O.
AMC Addicted Joined: Aug/29/2008 Location: Minnesota Status: Offline Points: 655 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Matty:
One more question. Were the speakers for a vehicle or in home use? The names you stated sound like home speakers. I researched a radio restorers web site, Auto Electric and they state that you can't really re-build car speakers. When they tried the results were not up to the cost or quality expected. Seems like my idea of keeping my mint orignal speakers and getting better sound out of them, is not possible.
Steve
|
|
uncljohn
AMC Addicted Joined: Jan/03/2013 Location: Peoria AZ Status: Offline Points: 5394 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Yes old speakers can be rebuilt and or repaired, it is not rocket
science. But in general for an old car that in and of itself does not
have any increased value due to OEM style speakers being in it, why
bother and incur the expense when you can buy functional replacements.
But it can be done here for one example and I am sure many others. http://www.heavysoundco.com/oldcarradiospeakers.html |
|
70 390 5spd Donohue
74 Hornet In restoration 76 Hornet, 5.7L Mercury Marine Power 80 Fuel Injected I6 Spirit 74 232 I-6, 4bbl, 270HL Isky Cam |
|
71 Javelin AMX O.O.
AMC Addicted Joined: Aug/29/2008 Location: Minnesota Status: Offline Points: 655 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Thanks Uncljohn, I'll give him a call and see what he says. His web site looks like he workes with old car speakers. The other companies were not that specific. Maybe I can get the oriognal sound back. He did state that tempuature can affect speakers and with -20 to +100 deg range here, they have experianced that!
Steve
|
|
george w
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/27/2013 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 2899 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
There are places that can "rebuild" regular car and older radio speakers. Typically this is a "recone" job where the speaker's paper cone and voice coil are replaced with new. Parts are available for most of the popular sized, american made speakers of that era.
In most cases the recone will restore the speaker to a close approximation of it's performance ( or lack thereof ) when new. A rebuild of this nature would not really be considered an upgrade however. There may be rare cases where the recone materials may be better than the OEM materials used, but not usually that much better. More modern "hi-Fi" speakers like the JBL/s and Kenwoods mentioned earlier typically are repaired by "re-foam" kits. This is where the speaker is otherwise OK but the rolled foam rubber outer cone suspension, called the "surround" had deteriorated and is replaced. The remaining critical parts like the speaker's original cone, voice coil and spider are left intact. This is a very common repair procedure for this type of high quality speaker. The smaller sized car speakers, like the 5-1/4" pincushion round speakers that AMC used, can usually be reconed but it's typically not done because it's not cost effective. These speakers used simple, pressed paper cones and were of low quality even by sixties standards. These speakers were nothing more than cheap, table radio grade speakers adapted for automotive use. Keep in mind that up through the mid 70's there still was a domestic table radio and home tv/stereo console manufacturing business that sourced their speakers from a handful of OEM domestic speaker maufactuer's that also supplied product to the auto industry. Jensen was probably the best known as they also succesfully manufactured and marketed upgraded aftermarket speakers in the popular 5-1/4 and 6 x 9 sizes. Everyone knew and wanted to upgrade to Jensen "Coaxials" at the time. Other well known domestic OEM speaker suppliers of the era were Rola, the OEM division of Jensen, CTS of Paduca Ky and Becker. I beleive that most of AMC's 5 1/4" speaker product came from Rola/Jensen. There's typically a 3 digit number stamped on the back of the speaker frames or magnet structures that designated the OEM manufacturer. Currently available aftermarket replacements typically will cost no more and are usually far better in materials and sound performance and are very reasonably priced. |
|
Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new.
|
|
71 Javelin AMX O.O.
AMC Addicted Joined: Aug/29/2008 Location: Minnesota Status: Offline Points: 655 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
George:
I can see what your thought process is. Why spend money to restore when aftermarket replacements will not cost more and give better sound performance. I have to decide what I perfer. Originality and a little better sound, or go with a new speaker that has far better sound performance? I'll have to see what the rebuilder says. I know they want business, but you hope that he's honist.
Steve
|
|
amxdreamer
AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/30/2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 8508 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Steve, I purchased and aftermarket 4x10 for my AMX and covered it with grill cloth like the originals were done. You can't tell the difference from above yet the sound is "decent". This is from someone that competed in IASCA (car audio competitions) at a fairly high level (world finals twice - 7th and 9th). There are a few members here that work in the audio field or own shops, hopefully they can also provide some feedback.
The speaker I installed was a 4ohm model so the factory AM/FM will actually be working a little less to power it. Plenty of volume but I barely turn the stereo on, I prefer to hear the music the car makes :) As you can see in this picture, I used the original wiring harness and installed foam etc. as per the factory and every bracket, screw etc was restored. Edited by amxdreamer - Jan/03/2014 at 12:23pm |
|
Tony
Vancouver, BC 1970 AMX 1972 Badassador AMO#10333 |
|
george w
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/27/2013 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 2899 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Nice job with the new speaker. One note though, if your original speaker was 3.2 ohms then the radio may be working a little less due to the slightly higher rated 4 ohm impedance of the new speaker. On the other hand if the OEM speaker was rated at 8 ohms then your radio could be working a tad harder as the 4 ohm speaker can draw more current from the radio's amp ( though I suspect you know this already with IASCA experience ). Your new speaker is likely to be more efficient than the original as well. Another advantage for the new.
Somewhere in the late 70's to early 80's the speaker/audio industry "rounded up" the impedance ratings so the 3.2 ohm rating kind of went away and 4 ohm became the standard spec. Since the actual working impedance of a speaker varies rather widely one can assume that there's no functional difference between a 3.2 ohm and a 4 ohm speakers. It's kind of like when the auto industry went from gross hp ratings to the net ratings. The 3.2 rating was probably at or near the minimum rating for the speaker and the 4 ohm is likely the nominal rating. DC resistance will always measure a lower figure than the impedance rating. |
|
Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new.
|
|
Post Reply | Page <12345> |
Tweet
|
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |