Are These Finds Good Deals?

[Pogre]

You'll like this:
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/ele/d/roswell-infinity-rs-7-kappa-3-way/6958735845.html

Man! I thought, based on the first photo, they were bookshelf speakers sitting on a desktop. It wasn't until I looked at the 2nd or 3rd pic that I realized how big they were. We just are not used to seeing big boxes with big woofers anymore!

Okay, these do not appear to be the same Kappas that you found!
These have ribbons and the ones you posted look like dome tweeters.
Generally you can roughly group all speakers of the same series into the same quality category (with reasonable expectation between BS and towers), but hat leads me to wonder how bad the worst model of Kappa is vs how good the best Kappa is.

You're looking now too! Ha ha! I would imagine with the ribbon tweeter the one you found would be a step up? The ones I found do have dome tweeters.

That 5.1 Infinity IL speaker set I found right above, if those towers are IL60s they might be something to get excited about. I guess the good Dr Toole really liked them and said they punched way above their weight class for the day. I doubt they are as the IL50 and IL60 both had powered sub sections. The seller didn't list and there are no pics of the sides...

 

[zieglj01]

You're looking now too! Ha ha! I would imagine with the ribbon tweeter the one you found would be a step up? The ones I found do have dome tweeters.

Not guaranteed that the ribbon would be better overall ... the ribbon ones are before the bookshelf with the domes ... I listened to one older version of bookshelf speakers with an Infinity ribbon tweet, while it was good, it was not head spinning great compared to what Harman/Infinity can do with some good dome speakers .... it is all about the speaker as a whole

 

[KEW]

I would assume the ribbons are a step up, but do not know. Edit - I typed this while Zeig was typing. I definitely defer to his knowledge on this!
I don't know much of anything about the Infinities. In the mid-70's to early 80's, the Infinities I heard had metal domes and at that time (in the price range I had awareness of) the metal domes added an amazing level of extension to the soft dome of the day, but to my ear, they got categorized with Klipsch of the day into the "Harsh category" - I assume it was a breakup frequency in the audible range. I did have friends that either the breakup did not bother or they felt it was worth it to get that extension!

I suspect the Kappa's dome was of a later generation than the ones I heard, but easy enough to test. Find music with a lot of cymbals and see if the cymbals sound clean of have breakup (like bacon sizzling)!
A triangle would likely be more revealing as it is a more pure sound.

 

[baronvonellis]

Hey Porge, I've got 2 pairs of Phase Tech speakers in perfect condition if your interested. One is a 3 way tower 745 ES 6" mid 8" woofer and the other is a big two way 435 ES with a 8" woofer.

 

[Pogre]

Hey Porge, I've got 2 pairs of Phase Tech speakers in perfect condition if your interested. One is a 3 way tower 745 ES 6" mid 8" woofer and the other is a big two way 435 ES with a 8" woofer.

No, but thank you. I'm just hitting Craigslist looking for a unicorn and stumbled across the ones I found for $15. I just couldn't resist for that. I'm gonna get the ones I have now fixed up then figure out where to go from there.

I emailed the seller of that 5 speaker Interlude set. If those towers are IL60s they're asking $750 - $1000 a pair of those all over ebay. Replacement drivers in good condition are $100! If they are the IL60snd in good shape I might have to find a way...

 

[zieglj01]

A triangle would likely be more revealing as it is a more pure sound.

Even YouTube has some triangle demos

 

[Alex2507]

Not in it for the money. If I can break even I'm happy.

My experience with used gear is that I can't even give it away to the people I like enough to give it to.

If I give them speakers, they want to know the price of speaker wire.

Let me know when you want to take a loss. I too love good deals.

 

[TLS Guy]

Here's the pricing for replacement drivers.

View attachment 30985

And info on the trade up program.View attachment 30987

Some pretty deeply discounted stuff there.

Doesn't 70 bucks for a 8" woofer seem a bit pricey? 50 for a tweeter? Sigh.

No, those are midrange to low prices for a decent woofer and tweeter. There are lots of woofers and tweeters that cost a lot more than those. Those prices are very much in the low to mid range for woofers from SEAS, Scanspeak and Morel for instance. You are getting into DIY now and that allows you to design with much higher quality drive units than most commercial speakers for purchase over the NET.

 

[TLS Guy]

I believe it's one of those. It's not straight foam. Kind of like the surrounds on my Hsus. While I had it apart I took a few pics of the crossover inside the cabinet and wasn't overly impressed. I don't know diddley about crossovers tho, so for all I know they're better than they look.
View attachment 31032View attachment 31033View attachment 31034View attachment 31035

I can wiggle my phone in there for some better pics if anyone wants to see them. There's lots of stuffing in these cabinets, that's for sure. The front baffle is 1 3/4" thick, with the woofers recessed into it 3/4". They're very solid speakers. They weigh over 40 lbs apiece.

That is a real amateur job! Those are low quality non polarizing caps. I would replace those with Solen polypropylene caps. Now you are into DIY you have money to spend on decent quality components. DIY is not really about cheap speakers, but mainly far better ones for the money.

 

[TLS Guy]

The tear in the replacement woofer I bought is very tiny, so I think I can fix it with very minimal materials. They're rubber surrounds also, so I should be able to make the seam invisible. My thinking is I don't want to use any heavy materials or globs of caulk for the patch that would change the way the speaker moves. If it was foam I'd consider replacing, but again, I'd have to get surrounds with the exact same qualities for it to sound the same wouldn't I?

*Edit: I just realized you meant filling in the nicks and marks on the cabinets! Lol, duh. That's actually not a bad idea at all.

I think you could use a little rubber cement. You should repair it though.

 

[Pogre]

That is a real amateur job! Those are low quality non polarizing caps. I would replace those with Solen polypropylene caps. Now you are into DIY you have money to spend on decent quality components. DIY is not really about cheap speakers, but mainly far better ones for the money.

Oh no you didn't! Now I want to replace caps and improve on the crossover!

I thought the same thing when I saw what was inside. I've never put a crossover together before but even I can tell that was poor work. I'm in man. I'm all over improving these speakers. I have some small amount of experience with soldering and am not afraid to tackle a project like this. I can take those crossovers out and take better pics of the components. I'm gonna need some help and guidance but I'm kind of excited to do this.

 

[Pogre]

I think you could use a little rubber cement. You should repair it though.

I got the driver yesterday and as shown in the ad, a small tear in the surround. If I were to guess, it looks like it was poked by the screwdriver used to remove it from the cabinet and not due to any kind of rot. Later today I'll put a drop of rubber cement on it and clean the seam with q tips. The glue I'm using is water soluble and dries flexible. I feel like it'll be an easy, indiscernable fix.

Until you showed up and made a post about the crossovers I wasn't even considering doing anything with them. Now that I know there's room for, and that they can be improved I want to give it a try. I'm not that deep into them money-wise at this point so if I royally screw something up its not a big loss. If you don't mind helping me out I'm game. I have no clue where to shop for caps or which ones to get and have never built a crossover before so I'm gonna need the most elementary advice just to get started. I'm confident in my ability to learn tho, and I'm genuinely passionate about the project.

They already sound pretty good (at least the one, I have more parts coming to fix the other). If any major improvements can be made I might even keep them for a 2 ch setup in another room. I already have a spare receiver I can hook them up to. Hell, my wife might even stop thinking I'm an idiot for driving to the next town to buy these ugly ass speakers, lol. Thanks for popping in and offering your observations doc. I'm looking forward to learning some new things.

 

[Pogre]

Operation woofer surround.

I made a patch with a piece of sandwich baggie, put a tiny drop of glue (Aleene's Tacky Glue, dries flexible) on it and stuck that on the backside of the surround with a pair of tweezers. Another drop on the outside of the tear, cleaned it up with q tips and now it's almost invisible. It's right in the center between the scissor blades in the pic above. I know where it is and still have trouble finding it. I'm calling this operation a success!

 

[TLS Guy]

Operation woofer surround.

View attachment 31146View attachment 31147View attachment 31148View attachment 31149View attachment 31150View attachment 31151

I made a patch with a piece of sandwich baggie, put a tiny drop of glue (Aleene's Tacky Glue, dries flexible) on it and stuck that on the backside of the surround. Another drop on the outside of the tear, cleaned it up with q tips and now it's almost invisible. It's right in the center between the scissor blades in the pic above. I know where it is and still have trouble finding it. I'm calling this operation a success!

Well done. Nice job!

 

[TLS Guy]

Oh no you didn't! Now I want to replace caps and improve on the crossover!

I thought the same thing when I saw what was inside. I've never put a crossover together before but even I can tell that was poor work. I'm in man. I'm all over improving these speakers. I have some small amount of experience with soldering and am not afraid to tackle a project like this. I can take those crossovers out and take better pics of the components. I'm gonna need some help and guidance but I'm kind of excited to do this.

Well learning to solder is a must for you. It is easy.

The most important thing is to get an iron that gets hot enough. Usually they are 25 watt. Not enough! I like 60 watts.

You need surfaces to be clean.

You need a good multicore solder.

Now get the iron hot. Now apply solder to the two parts to be soldered. Allow enough time and heat that the solder flows over the parts.

Now put the parts together and allow the solder to flow once more. Now you will have a nice joint.

Alligator clamps can be useful

Errors occur: -
1). The surfaces are not clean

2). Not enough time and heat for the solder to flow.

That is about it for the causes of dry joints.

Don't let this straightforward task intimidate you. Do a few practice runs first.

 

[Pogre]

Alligator clamps can be useful

I've always wanted those little things! There have been so many times they would have come in handy for me. I like to tinker. I'm ordering them as soon as I finish this post.

I'm taking notes and not intimidated. In fact I'm probably more on the Dunning/Kruger side if anything, but already planned on practicing first to get it right. I want to do a nice job. I have a cheap little 30 watt soldering iron so I'll look for a 60 and a good mulitcore solder.

 

[zieglj01]

Operation woofer surround.

I know where it is and still have trouble finding it. I'm calling this operation a success!

That is cool ... good job

 

[Pogre]

Thanks Zieg.

@TLS Guy, I ordered those alligator clips and found this 60 watt soldering iron pretty dirt cheap on Amazon and this 40/60 0.7mm multi core solder. I'm just guessing that stuff will work. If not, let me know. I haven't ordered either yet. They're just hanging out in my cart right now.

I'll get the one crossover out of the cabinet and take some pics for a better look. I still need to know which caps to order to replace the ones on there and those coils (inductors?) look kind of sloppy to me too.

 

[Alex2507]

@TLS Guy, I ordered those alligator clips and found this 60 watt soldering iron pretty dirt cheap on Amazon and this 40/60 0.7mm multi core solder. I'm just guessing that stuff will work. If not, let me know. I haven't ordered either yet. They're just hanging out in my cart right now.

I'll get the one crossover out of the cabinet and take some pics for a better look. I still need to know which caps to order to replace the ones on there and those coils (inductors?) look kind of sloppy to me too.

Cheap soldering irons don't like being left on much more than 10 or 15 minutes at a clip according to my electronics guy.

I found the stand and sponge to be helpful.

EDIT: That solder is too thin.

 

[Alex2507]

here's my go to for caps

https://www.parts-express.com/resources-capacitor-selection-guide