Speakers for Console Record Player

[DrewsBrews]

Not that I want to derail things.. But another option to consider..

For tunes in my kitchen I took my old computer 2.1 speaker system (Logitech Z3), and hooked it up to a Logitech bluetooth dongle. The volume knob is on a separate wired controller so I can have the speakers up on top of the fridge and still have the bluetooth sync button and volume control down on the counter. Gets plenty loud enough for me before it starts to sound strained in my 15'x13' kitchen. Though I don't listen at party levels.

Something like that might work as a minimal-modification retrofit to throw down in the bottom compartment, covered by a tight fitting frame with vintage looking speaker cloth.

I wouldn't be surprised if you can find reasonable performing pc speakers cheap/free on the classified ad sites.

[Billet]

Seems like a workable combination to me, I expect it would sound very good.

[Billet]

I listen to the 820H without a tweeter, but I'm also not a fan of bright speakers. The highs are rolled off, but for my musical tastes they work great.

[ameuba10]

How do these parts seem to pair up? If I go this route, it will obviously be mono. Still not opposed to something else in stereo, like the Isetta or Overnight Sensations.

https://www.parts-express.com/Eminence-Beta-12CX-12-Coaxial-Driver-290-504?quantity=1

https://www.parts-express.com/JBL-Selenium-D220Ti-1-Titanium-Horn-Driver-8-Ohm-1-3-8-18-264-270?quantity=1

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-2k-HPF-8-High-Pass-Speaker-Crossover-2-000-Hz-12-dB-Octave-260-1858?quantity=1

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-2k-LPF-8-Low-Pass-Speaker-Crossover-2-000-Hz-12-dB-Octave-260-1860?quantity=1

https://www.parts-express.com/L-Pad-100W-Mono-1-Shaft-8-Ohm-260-265

[ameuba10]

Staying with a more vintage Americana theme, I would use a small paper cone guitar speaker in mono or stereo. I have a pair of Eminence 820H and they sound really good. They are very efficient and draw minimal power and don't need a crossover. You could build a small thin baffle, open or closed, and mount the speakers towards the rear of the main compartment.

For these speakers, it is very important to keep the maximum amplifier power within the power rating of the speaker. A small and simple low powered amp such as the Dayton DA30 would be a good fit.

Possible options (depending on stock and your time frame):

A single Eminence Copperhead or 1058 10" driver with a Dayton DA30 amplifier bridged to mono.
A pair of Eminence 820H drivers with a Dayton DA30 or DTA-1 amplifier in stereo.

Thanks for the input. The 820H may be the simplest to use. It looks like all would need a tweeter or horn for HF duties though. They all seem to dip pretty heavily by 5khz. I have done another console retrofits similar to this one using Dayton PA225 and Selenium D220Ti using a Dayton 2K prefab X-over. The Horn had an L-pad. I know a prefab X-over is not ideal, but it got the job done. I may look into something similar for this one.

[ameuba10]

dj - no electronics ...

Does that thing have a platter motor - or a crank! ?

Crank!

[Billet]

Staying with a more vintage Americana theme, I would use a small paper cone guitar speaker in mono or stereo. I have a pair of Eminence 820H and they sound really good. They are very efficient and draw minimal power and don't need a crossover. You could build a small thin baffle, open or closed, and mount the speakers towards the rear of the main compartment.

For these speakers, it is very important to keep the maximum amplifier power within the power rating of the speaker. A small and simple low powered amp such as the Dayton DA30 would be a good fit.

Possible options (depending on stock and your time frame):

A single Eminence Copperhead or 1058 10" driver with a Dayton DA30 amplifier bridged to mono.
A pair of Eminence 820H drivers with a Dayton DA30 or DTA-1 amplifier in stereo.

[Chris Roemer]

dj - no electronics ...

Does that thing have a platter motor - or a crank! ?

[djg]

What I would do, remove the side compartment doors and replace with vintage grill cloth (available on Ebay), put a pair of say OSMTMS in there. Put a modest down firing sub in the middle. Power with a 2.1 chipamp with bluetooth. You'll need a phono preamp if your turntable doesn't have one. I think a big sub would cause vibration problems. Like an 8" GRS, super cheap. That's what i would do.

[Chris Roemer]

You know what though? Stereo is just the simplest (signal processing & whatnot) making it the quickest and least expensive.
Also, you DO get a sense of spaciousness, even with very little separation.

[buggers]

With a compartment that small, you are not going to get any type of good stereo imaging, so I would recommend a single coax type of driver.

[ameuba10]

That exact design has crossed my mind. Would be great dual purpose to if I would like to use it elsewhere.

[unclejunebug]

Listening expectations are not high. This will not be a critical listening setup by no means. More of a conversation piece for dinner party background music.

Have you thought about building a portable/boombox style speaker to fit in that space? Something like Paul C's Isetta design would fit and it wouldn't be a mono setup.

[ameuba10]

OK, with that ^ said you will need to consider utilizing the side storage doors as speaker cabinets.
You will need to give us the dimensions of those enclosures with the doors opened and post some more pics of those (internal construction) spaces.

An MT arrangement could work using smaller drivers although lacking deep bass but a small remote sub could be added once we have more information.

I would suggest you taking a lot of photos of the side compartments, back of the unit and any other pics that can help us with idea formulation.

Additionally, what size is the listening room and what are your expectations concerning SPL volume and depth of bass?

Good luck - looks like an interesting project.

I can try to get some more pics tomorrow. It took me a while to get those resized to upload tonight. If possible, I would like to keep the speakers isolated to the middle compartment. I know I am planning on a good deal of work to this thing, but I would like to keep most of its character and originality in place.

It is currently inbetween my living/dining/kitchen areas. It is one large open area of about 22’X35’ or so. Listening expectations are not high. This will not be a critical listening setup by no means. More of a conversation piece for dinner party background music.

[Steve Lee]

OK, with that ^ said you will need to consider utilizing the side storage doors as speaker cabinets.
You will need to give us the dimensions of those enclosures with the doors opened and post some more pics of those (internal construction) spaces.

An MT arrangement could work using smaller drivers although lacking deep bass but a small remote sub could be added once we have more information.

I would suggest you taking a lot of photos of the side compartments, back of the unit and any other pics that can help us with idea formulation.

Additionally, what size is the listening room and what are your expectations concerning SPL volume and depth of bass?

Good luck - looks like an interesting project.