Gale GS401 Re-foam Project

[MartinT]

I am now the very pleased owner of a pair of classic Gale GS401 speakers in wood finish. I bought them on eBay as 'for parts or not working' for the princely sum of £38.69. I intend to fully refurbish them by re-foaming the four woofers, checking/testing the other drivers (the tweeters have the correct resistance across them and the domes are intact), and rebuilding the crossovers. I'll give the baffles a lick of paint and do what I can to restore the wood finish to its former glory (although I'm no woodworker).

I'll report back occasionally on progress. The re-foam kit is on order from here.

First question: does anyone have a circuit diagram and/or parts description for the crossovers?

[MartinT]

Interestingly, mine are made in the USA which makes them relatively rare and late models.

[Alex_UK]

Nice one Martin - I reckon they will be well worth the effort.

[istari_knight]

Lovely jubbly

Everything you need to know: http://0339436.netsolhost.com/WordPress/gs401-speaker/



Another well documented refurb: http://www.funkygibbins.me.uk/?page_id=5306

[Mothman]

They look interesting Martin. Given their vintage I expect the veneer on the cabinets will be of a reasonable thickness and with a bit of effort should come up nicely, should be great project

[MartinT]

Thanks for the crossover circuit and links, James

[MartinT]

Given their vintage I expect the veneer on the cabinets will be of a reasonable thickness

The veneer's good, Rich, except for the bottom-left corner on the r/h speaker in the photo. I'll take some advice from a woodworker friend on how to repair that, or else just disguise it.

[walpurgis]

Don't forget to check that the crossover values shown are for that issue of the speaker. i.e., take into account any model/component variations.

Also, the HF2000 tweeters are missing their perforated dome covers. They do come up for sale second hand now and then and I believe they can still be sourced new (LS3/5a uses them too).

If you choose to use contact adhesive for the bass surrounds let me know, I can provide something ideally suited.

[MartinT]

Thanks Geoff, I'll be careful to check. I haven't opened them up yet but it looks like my crossovers may be point-to-point rather than the UK made PCBs. Do the HF2000 tweeters need their dome covers for sound quality or just to protect them?

The correct adhesive comes with the re-foam kit, as do all the magnetic gap shims etc. I've done a re-foam before with JBL bass drivers.

[walpurgis]

Do the HF2000 tweeters need their dome covers for sound quality or just to protect them?

Both!