mordaunt short ms700

[karma67]

does anyone know anything about these speakers,they were local to me and i put in a bid and won them :eek: decca ribbon tweeter i believe?
im expecting 60's warm and cuddly lol

[struth]

Think they were about 1970. Decca ribbons and I think kef drivers. Won't be silly powerful, maybe 40watts. Should sound good.. The covers may need recapped

[karma67]

cheers grant,just the ticket for my idle hands,i love a good recap :)

[struth]

Think some had a peerless bass driver and a kef mid. Made them and the smaller 400's for a few years. Cabs are fairly thin and would benifit from a little work inside too

[Barry]

I believe Audio Al has a pair, so he might be able to comment.

[Lawrence001]

I know he's got a pair of 737s with the bigger London ribbon horns (as seen at Kegworth earlier this year) but I'm not sure about the 700s with the smaller unit.

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[spendorman]

I bought empty MS700 cabinets from the manufacturer, Stevenson Blake in the 70's. Put Tannoy 12" Silvers in one pair of cabinets, result was far better than the Tannoys in their original Corner Chatsworth cabinets. In another pair of 700 cabinets, put EMI 14" x9" bass unit, EMI 5" mid, Celestion HF1300 and Coles 4001G. Recently, a friend bought a pair of 700's, he liked the treble, the mid was not a good as some of his other speakers.

[Audio Al]

I believe Audio Al has a pair, so he might be able to comment.

Mine are 737 with Keff SP1014's

[Pharos]

In about '74, when I had Tannoy Gold 15" Lancs, my neighbour bought a pair of MS which had the London (gold painted) ribbon, and they were IMO better, cleaner smoother top.

That unit is limited to about 25W I believe and the ribbon can easily be destroyed if over driven, but very good for the period.

[spendorman]

I bought empty MS700 cabinets from the manufacturer, Stevenson Blake in the 70's. Put Tannoy 12" Silvers in one pair of cabinets, result was far better than the Tannoys in their original Corner Chatsworth cabinets. In another pair of 700 cabinets, put EMI 14" x9" bass unit, EMI 5" mid, Celestion HF1300 and Coles 4001G. Recently, a friend bought a pair of 700's, he liked the treble, the mid was not a good as some of his other speakers.

Just spoken to the owner of the MS700's, I remembered correctly, weakness was the midrange, not terrible, but not up to the standard of the rest of the range.

He said that the unit line up is Goodmans bass, KEF B110 mid and Decca ribbon treble.

[karma67]

Wow, cheers for the info, the seller has gone quiet since the auction finished so it may not happen

[Lawrence001]

In about '74, when I had Tannoy Gold 15" Lancs, my neighbour bought a pair of MS which had the London (gold painted) ribbon, and they were IMO better, cleaner smoother top.

That unit is limited to about 25W I believe and the ribbon can easily be destroyed if over driven, but very good for the period.I think the larger London ribbon was always black, it was split down the middle by a bar, whereas the smaller, usually gold (silver/grey if made by Romagna reproducers rather than Decca) model was called the Decca Kelly IIRC.

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[karma67]

big buggers! lol
https://i.postimg.cc/wjz5wyfJ/IMG-3555.jpg

[Pharos]

Those I remember, but I can't help but feel that the Kelly should be 90 degrees rotated for dispersion.

[karma67]

just for shit and giggles,if i wanted to use the decca for a super tweeter what capacitor value in series should i try? anyone know?
here's a behind the scenes shot :)
https://i.postimg.cc/SR6X5n9X/IMG-3556.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/gjQMMBvc/IMG-3557.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/Pq0Qn8CK/IMG-3561.jpg

[Lawrence001]

Off hand I'm not sure about the value but it depends on whether you want to "add some air" or increase the treble noticeably. If the former, as it's a first order crossover you're talking about with a shallow roll off, you should aim quite high, at least 16khz I'd say if not even higher. The sensitivity of the Kelly ribbon relative to your speakers is also an important factor, as you won't want it contributing too strongly, but that would involve an L pad or something. Others more technical than me will know more

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[walpurgis]

With a small cap, say 0.1uF the output will be dropping off at 6db/oct below about 18kHz, with full output coming on above that. As that is so high any excess output will be beyond hearing so attenuation shouldn't be necessary.

I have actually done this with the DK30 and know it works, just juggle cap values until the results sound right, 0.1uF being the smallest to try. It may pay to try it connected out of phase too.

[karma67]

been busy today,i got rid of the old ms speaker connectors,they are just pan screw heads that you trap the wires in.ive cleaned and put on some from the ditton 66's.plus ive raided my spares box and actually found a load of new alcaps,enough to re do all the old electrolytic's in the crossovers!they have lost that boxy sound and now are much better intergrated. :)


a bodge but effective!

https://i.postimg.cc/PxmXchkN/thumbnail-IMG-3564.jpg

[Macca]

Has it sorted out the poor midrange performance then?

[karma67]

better id say but that could be down to being better intergrated,im glad ive recapped them but the ns1000's are going back in place in a mo .:D

[Macca]

The Yams are pretty high bar for most other speakers to reach, to be sure. I reckon the MS might have some unexplored potential though.

[karma67]

yes thats the trouble,do tell what your 'unexplored thoughts' are!
i think i'll replace the yellow 1uf caps before i decide their fate.

[Macca]

I was thinking you could fit a better midrange driver.

[karma67]

i thought that too,the trouble is ive already got the corals to sod about with so i might as well sell them on,they are nice speakers with certain types of music actually.just not up to ns1000 standards.

[Macca]

Yes the Corals - are you building a monster cab for them then? It has to be done really.

[karma67]

yep thats the plan stan :)