is it worth replacing my tweeters?

[money4nothing]

hi guys, so recently the tweeters in my JVC SP-X440 speakers have started sounding pretty crackly.

could anyone tell me how i would go about replacing them (and with what), or if its even worth it?

cheers

[The Grand Wazoo]

Stupid question - do you know for sure that it's the tweeters & not something further upstream?

[money4nothing]

well, im certain its not the amp (pioneer SA-410 btw) as ive tried it with a friends speakers, and ive replaced all the speaker wire. not sure what else to check... (sorry, im not great with this sort of thing)

[Stratmangler]

These the £20 wonders you bought off Ebay?
If I were you I'd go and acquaint myself with the folks who work at the local dump ;)

[istari_knight]

I would suggest writing them off & looking for some local JPW / Mordaunt-Short / Wharfedale speakers. mostly good stuff & plenty available for £20.

[julesd68]

I would suggest writing them off & looking for some local JPW / Mordaunt-Short / Wharfedale speakers. mostly good stuff & plenty available for £20.

Hmmm ... There's a bit of déjà vu about this ...

[The Grand Wazoo]

What would you change the tweeters for? Do you know of a source for the correct unit?
It would probably cost you more than you paid for the speakers in the first place.

Far better, I think to find something different and better - not too tricky...or expensive.

[money4nothing]

thanks guys, and yeah they are the ones i got off ebay a while back.

just so people know, i didnt just ignore the advice i got back then, i was just either too slow, or too broke to grab the other ones people showed me, and i needed something quickly to take back to uni, and the guy selling was 10 mins down the road from me. the problem is finding ones that arn't pickup only.

no idea what i would change them for, thats why im here. like i said, im a massive noob when it comes to hi-fi.

at least now i know theres no point in sticking with them. ill get hunting for something better.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Why not put a wanted ad in 'Private Exhibitions' - see what the AoS members have got?

[money4nothing]

i might just do that, but the problem is (and this will probably make me look a bit silly) that i dont really know what im looking for... thats probably where i went wrong before. i dont know which speakers are best suited to my amp, and im not great at spotting quality.

not wanting to sound like a complete yob, but i kinda need volume aswell as sound quality. can someone steer me in the right direction?

[Macca]

You probably blew the tweets running them too hard. It happens. If you want volume with quality you really need big speakers and a powerful amplifier. There are not really any shortcuts so that does mean spending a little bit of money, although not necessarily a fortune. If sticking with the same amp for now I would look at some used JBL, prices tend to be low as no-one rates them in the UK.

[money4nothing]

ok thanks man, will do

[money4nothing]

ok, probably another noob suggestion, but ebay decided to suggest these to me. u guys recon theyre any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321075996824?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

also, people said Mordaunt Short were good, so i had a look around and spotted these, any idea how high theyre likely to go price wise?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321074938651?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[istari_knight]

ok, probably another noob suggestion, but ebay decided to suggest these to me. u guys recon theyre any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321075996824?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

also, people said Mordaunt Short were good, so i had a look around and spotted these, any idea how high theyre likely to go price wise?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321074938651?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Those Pioneers are trash to be blunt :) The Mordaunts should go for less than £50 & are a good quality speaker but wont go loud for long periods of time with lots of bass.

I've been scratching my head thinking of half decent speakers that will do the whole volume/bass thing I think your after. I remembered my brother has a pair of Eltax floorstanders that go loud, have good bass & generally sound far better than they have any right to, they are Eltax symphony 6.

Found some for sale in Essex: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eltax-Symphony-6-2-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/150999937577?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item23284c3229 They sell for around £30 IIRC

Other candidates would be anything from the JBL TLX series, TDL RTL series or indeed anything made by Cerwin-Vega :D

[money4nothing]

[QUOTE=istari_knight;415548]Those Pioneers are trash to be blunt :) [/QUOTE

yeah thought they might be :) worth a try tho

those eltax ones look great, and theyre really near me! will definatley keep an eye on them. will also keep an eye on the modaunts.

just to clarify, when i say i need volume, i dont mean i plan to wake up everyone in China. id just need it to go slightly above casual listening level.

thanks for the help man

[walpurgis]

I'd steer clear of the Eltax speakers, they're not great. If you fancy a pair of very good 'Classic' Mordaunt Short short speakers on the cheap, have a look here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mordaunt-Short-Pageant-Series-2-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/281066472770?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item4170de0542

These Pageant 2 speakers may not look much, being old and scruffy, but they were the compact speaker to have in their day and as long as the drive units are good they'll sound excellent and will go loud enough for any sane purposes. They would be easy to tidy up with a bit of wood polish and a clean of the grilles. There are several AOS members who own these and would be happy to give a positive opinion (ask Shane, 'southall1998'). I've owned them myself and they are very good indeed.

[istari_knight]

I'd steer clear of the Eltax speakers, they're not great. If you fancy a pair of very good 'Classic' Mordaunt Short short speakers on the cheap, have a look here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mordaunt-Short-Pageant-Series-2-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/281066472770?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item4170de0542

These Pageant 2 speakers may not look much, being old and scruffy, but they were the compact speaker to have in their day and as long as the drive units are good they'll sound excellent and will go loud enough for any sane purposes. They would be easy to tidy up with a bit of wood polish and a clean of the grilles. There are several AOS members who own these and would be happy to give a positive opinion (ask Shane, 'southall1998'). I've owned them myself and they are very good indeed.

I would hazard a guess that they will be perfectly adequate.... Not for the discerning enthusiast but they will blast out tunes without exposing weaknesses further up the chain ;)

[money4nothing]

i did a bit more research into the pageants and they look pretty damn good. only thing putting me off is the state of them. i know theyre pretty old, so what are the chances of the cones and what-not being buggered?

thanks again guys, i appreciate the help

[walpurgis]

Ask the seller about the drivers, he may be able to add photos to the ebay listing too.

The drivers are very high quality, the 8" Mordaunt Short DSB208 bass/mid was a doped paper coned equivalent to the well known KEF B200, but rather better in my opinion and the tweeter was a German Isophon KK7 if I remember correctly and a superb unit.

Don't be put off by cabinets that look shabby. Real wood cases like these are surprisingly easy to smarten up. I've done loads and the grilles probably just need a light sponging.

The Pageant 2 is a very detailed and sweet sounding speaker capable of real Hi-Fi quality. I reckon they are going to sell for peanuts, as most people won't know what they are.

[money4nothing]

ok, ive sent the guy a message asking for more info on the condition of the cones and drivers, and if he can put up a pic of them with out the covers. lets see if he gets back to me

[Roy S]

Had a couple of pairs of Eltax and they really haven't been that bad, not 'Hifi' :D but they make a good noise. They were my main speakers till I joined this forum & got led astray...

[synsei]

http://www.hi-fi.com.pl/images/testy/eltax_liberty3.jpghttp://img.over-blog.com/300x190/5/19/44/88/VA100EV2.jpg

I used to own a pair of Eltax Liberty 3+'s (above) and they were stonkingly good when driven by an Aura Evolution VA100 mkII. Here is an Eltax surround sound speaker system (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eltax-5pc-liberty-surround-sound-system-/160975860999?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item257ae8b507) (minus the sub) in Northolt currently sitting at 17 quid with just over a day to go. The 5+'s are the bigger brothers of the 3's and offer better bass and the same exceptional build quality. You could either flog the rest of the speakers and the stands to recoup some of your costs, or do what I would do, keep the centre speaker for spares. There are two spare bass/mids and a tweeter in that cab which are identical to those in the 5+'s IIRC ;)

[money4nothing]

that suround system looks pretty sweet. only problem is its collection only, and its a bit far from me. well, its pretty far from my home in essex, and far from my uni digs in coventry.

thats why im probably going to go with the mordaunts. the seller says i can have them shipped. btw, he replied and said they are in fully working order, and he will put up pics without the cover on tomorow (well, acctually today... damn student lifestyle, messes with your body clock) :D

[synsei]

No worries Chris. You stated earlier in the thread that you like to thrash your speakers from time to time. I'm not sure whether the venerable old Pageants would take a severe thrashing at their age, bless' em :lol:

[money4nothing]

lol, dont worry, when i say i like volume i mean just a little bit of volume. nothing stupid :D. id be very gentle with them in general.

[money4nothing]

so ive just logged into ebay to put a bid on the pageants, and the seller has taken the listing down because they are "no longer available" :( . ticked off to say the least... ah well, there will be others.

[money4nothing]

just come across these, are they the same as the other mordaunts? the tweeters look different on these, as in they have a grate over them.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MORDAUNT-SHORT-PAGEANT-SERIES-2-CLASSIC-VINTAGE-1970s-HIFI-SPEAKERS-50w-/221192498130?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item338019abd2

[walpurgis]

just come across these, are they the same as the other mordaunts? the tweeters look different on these, as in they have a grate over them.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MORDAUNT-SHORT-PAGEANT-SERIES-2-CLASSIC-VINTAGE-1970s-HIFI-SPEAKERS-50w-/221192498130?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item338019abd2

Looks like a decent enough pair and yes they are the correct Isophon tweeters (I believe there were variations in the KK7 tweeters, some with grilles and some not) and don't worry about power handling and volume levels. High temperature voicecoils were used in these and you can achieve very satisfactory output (look at the quoted spec, 96db sensitivity @ 50w = over 112db not including peaks up to 100w)! The only thing you may want to do if you get these is upgrade the cable terminals, an easy little job.

[money4nothing]

great! thanks man, ill be sure to keep my eye on them ;)

[Macca]

I know from personal experience that these KEFs will do a good job and likely to go very cheap, incl shipping:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-KEF-CODA-3-Stereo-Speakers-50W-Watts-/121066273162?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item1c301cb98a

[money4nothing]

awesome, thanks man.

so which would people suggest? the mordaunts, or the KEFs?

[walpurgis]

Ask AOS members who still own a pair of Pageant 2 speakers, there are some. You could start a thread.

I had a pair, these days they are a little known speaker and don't fetch big money, but they are excellent. I doubt anybody could name a competing speaker of their day that was significantly better. They sound very good by modern standards.