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Just had to post this one....
Couple of my buddies came and helped out unpacking and setting up....Thanks guys!
Just remember you get what you pay for and I paid with beers!.... http://www.hostboard.com/forums/
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2008/04/3.jpg
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Howdy Bfish and Allan! http://www.hostboard.com/forums/Quote:
Cool!
The diaphragm replacement instructions cover cleaning and aligning the coil/gap;
http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/LgDrvrDiaRepl.pdf
If i may be so forward, i believe the concern is this.
He's not installing a "new" phragm and doesn't have a locating shim.
So long as he replaces the diaphragm in the same orientation it was removed, can't he simply skip steps 8 thru 13 in the GPA instructions?
Can the centering shim be purchased seperately from GPA in case of misalignment??
I have no experience with these earlier large format drivers, i'm familiar with the adjustable locating pins, and in the newer drivers you can pull the existing phragm for inspection/cleaning and replace it without the worry of upsetting allignment.
I've done this in the past with 291's with no trouble.
Do the earliest 288's use this same method?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Heh, I was actually thinking about trying to talk you into looking at this one via mail...Feel like giving it a go?Quote:
I have no experience with these earlier large format drivers
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm flattered and i'd gladly help you Allan, but there's nothing i can do, that you cannot do yourself with a steady hand, a careful screwdriver, and a little guidance. If you can successfully mount a cartridge in a headshell and align it, you can handle the inner workings of a compression driver.Quote:
Heh, I was actually thinking about trying to talk you into looking at this one via mail...Feel like giving it a go?
Honestly, if you're going to risk shipping something like that, there's only one place to send it, to GPA.
IMO, you have some very valuable and worthy collectibles, they should only leave your possession for one of two reasons, either to GPA to the most competent professionals to deal with them, or to their next caretakers.
Hmm- interesting- what was known as Simplex "w" bins around here were actually a w-bin, similar to a single 155" version of the Shearer bass horn...Those were known commonly as "RCA" w-bins in these parts.
A while back I pointed out a sey on FleaBay, Steve S. Seemed to think they were made for IPC by Jensen.
I think these came along with Cinemascope installs in sets of 3 with a manual changeover switch to accomodate various sound formats.
House EQ was accomplished by swapping caps in the changeover box instead of the XOs. Similar-sized Altec installs useds A1s.
...well OK, the garage
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2008/04/2.jpg
Finally got my set of 3 Simplex W LF horns with 515's and 3 288B/1005B tar filleds... http://www.hostboard.com/forums/
Pix are here...
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=157376
or here....
http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/s...ead.php?t=9168
I do have one question. Well, one question at the moment. One of the 288's is distorting, and I am wondering how difficult/risky it would be to take the driver apart and see if it is just some dust or grunge in the unit, or a bad 'phragm. I would hate to F it up, and am considering having a more knowledgeable individual actually do this for me. Is it simple enough to handle myself, or should I bow to greater wisdom and experience?
Thanks....
A.A.
Cool!
The diaphragm replacement instructions cover cleaning and aligning the coil/gap;
http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/LgDrvrDiaRepl.pdf
So the thought is that the woofers might be Jensen rather than Altec? Is there any way to tell for sure?
Thanks,
Allan
BTW, the LF horns do have Altec VOTT decals on both sides and the removable rear panel...
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Jensen never made a woofer that looked anything like what you've shown .Quote:
So the thought is that the woofers might be Jensen rather than Altec? Is there any way to tell for sure?
Thanks,
Allan
- The following pic of yours clearly shows an old 515b type woofer .
- The 288s, appear to be the 288b model .
- BTW, nice acquisition .
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2008/04/4.jpg
Thank you Sir. I have looked closely at the woofers, and they have paper surrounds. Is this not the original 515 woofer? Don't mind the footyprints. Glad there was nothing edible on these....
http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachm...8&d=1207186826
IPC sourced from a number of companies- generally with VOT stickers they are Altec loaded- I was referencing a different cabinet.
A note though- those appear to be 288-B's.
Please excuse the shout here- this is important.
I THINK THE 288-B HAS TO BE MACHINED TO ACCEPT NEW DIAPHRAGMS. CONTACT GPA BEFORE ATTEMPTING REPLACEMENT!
The available replacements drop in from "C" models up, not the "B" model.
I am 99% sure it is not a drop in operation.
I do think, BTW, those are original 515's, not B's. Look for numbers on them and post, we'll sort out the dates.
Hmm, at least some of these Simplex FLH systems were made by Altec (Altec had a long history of being an equal opportunity provider), though considering that all I've ever seen 'in the flesh' and ebay, etc., pics were Altec loaded/labeled implies they were the only vendor or at least made by one of the many local shops to Altec specs.
Yes, one piece cones are the original 515 (no suffix) drivers. Very rare since most have been re-coned and the 'surrounds' are probably quite fragile/prone to cracking by now.
GM
The Film-Tech manual library contains a Simplex manual for the XL systems. Not much about your components, mainly on the soundhead, amps, changeover, etc. There's also a bit on Simplex history. Just something you might find interesting.
I guess I'll have to go easy on the woofers, since I have a couple of small cracks in 1 out of 4 that I have carefully examined so far. A note from Bill at GPA follows regarding recones:
Hello,
We do not recone the full paper 515's any longer but we can recone your speaker with the 515B kit the cost is $117.70 each, we also have the diaphragms the cost is $100.00 each.
Looking at the pictures I do not think I would recone the 515's I think you could brush on some adhesive from the back side and they would be fine. You could use some Elmer's glue ( may be thin it with a little water).
Best Regards,
Bill Hanuschak
I think we are of the same mind in that I want to try and keep these as original as possible. So far I have only put 10-12 watts through them, but obviously the woofers bear watching. One of the 288B's is distorting and I have been told that it is quite possible this is due to dirt and grunge inside the gap or against the diaphragm. I would like to clean this out, but am apprehensive in that I don't want to hurt anything.
Before I forget, is there anything that can be done to try and....preserve the paper cone/surround woofers? I suppose anything that adds mass would screw with all sorts of sonic properties, so that is probably out of the question. Ideas?
Thanks,
Allan
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wow, break any windows? That would be some serious SPL's.Quote:
Originally posted by analog addict:
So far I have only put 10-12 watts through them, but obviously the woofers bear watching.
Dave
Heh,
I found the volume a bit much at 50 feet down the driveway, but from the middle of the street about 100 feet away, it sounded great! http://www.hostboard.com/forums/ And that was tube power too...
Unless the cones proper show obvious deterioration or defects, they shouldn't need any additional protection other than to dye them if unevenly faded or just want to make them look fresh from the mold again.
As BH noted, thinned Elmer's glue on the back side of the surrounds will help without adding enough mass to matter, though I'm surprised he didn't suggest the black goop used on the formed surrounds of inexpensive PA drivers, though might want to get his thoughts on it.
Note that if your amp has a high output impedance it will interact with the horn's high impedance such that its 12 W can be more like a 2 - 4x more powerful SS amp depending on frequency.
GM
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ April 03, 2008 03:59 PM: Message edited by: GM ]</font>
Thank you Sir! I'll be pulling at least the damaged 515 out of its home by this weekend for inspection and possible repair, along with additional pix.... http://www.hostboard.com/forums/
Now that I have a new lawnmower battery, I can also pull the mower out of the way, and move things around so I can get to the last W-bin and see what those woofers look like. I'll post further pix if necessary....
Thanks for all the help and advice!
Cheers!
Allan
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">- They do appear to be from that era .Quote:
,,,, are they not original 515s ? ,,, etc.
( Actually, I was more concerned in addressing your speculation that the woofs might be Jensen made / than accurately dating your 515s / others can do that better than I )
- Do your woofs have spiders like what's shown in the pic below ?
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc.../2008/04/5.jpg
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ April 03, 2008 12:31 PM: Message edited by: Earl K ]</font>
I do love the sound of these big speakers. Just so clean.
Got a chance to measure them last night, during all the partying. Below plot will give you an idea. Not the prettiest FR in the world, and they sound about like it looks. But also not the distortion. Very low. And that's obvious when listening. A.A. does use a tweeter array on top of the muilticell horns to fill out the top and and it works well.
http://www.michael.mardis.com/images/simplex-2.png
The rig was being driven by a pair of Cary audio 300B monoblocks.
1st measurement showed a big dip at 500Hz. We reversed polarity of the horn driver and all was well. BTW, these are not the original 288s on the horns, but some newer 902s (I think).
The only think I'd like to see is to bring down the midrange by about 5dB to give them a fuller sound. I don't see any way to get lower than 50Hz, but no big deal. Matching a sub to these would be hard. What would you find that is as clean?
Thanks A.A. for letting me play. :2thumbsup:
tdsl.............Quote:
what would you find that is as clean?
What is that? LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by bowtie427ss
Tom Danley Sound Labs, 2nd to none in the way of reproducing that bottom octave.
One of these, adequately powered, should fill in the bottom for as many large format VOT's as you can fit in a mortal man's home.
DANLEY | TAPPED HORN SUBWOOFER
Cool!
Damn Now I Want One !!! :D You just had to post that Tom right ! ;) 144 Db peak SPL at 22 Hz that ought to shake a few foundations "Now Were Talking" my kind of bass response.