Replacement 15" drivers for Orange.

jmbstudios · #1 12-13-2010, 02:41 PM

Been reading a lot on replacement speakers and the right fit for the cabinet.

So Im gonna throw this line out there for help.

I have an Orange Reflector cab, 2x15. Right now it has some black widows in it. They are blown, but are the ones that you can buy a new basket and bolt it on to the magnet and your back in business. These replacements are around $80 each.

Now.... I would also like some suggestions on replacement speakers. I dont need to make the earth shake, just some reliable speakers. And I dont want to break the bank!

Suggestions?

Here is a pic of a reflector cabinet to give you a visual.

4Mal · #2 12-13-2010, 02:49 PM

lemme get this right... you don't need to make the earth move yet you have a 2x15 folded horn cabinet... doin' my best Columbo head scratch...

I was looking at MojoTone this morning. They have a Celestion 15 under a hun. Eminence Delta 15 seems to be pretty forgiving cab wise. Normally I'd be saying go neo for the weight savings but... with that beast, it's like putting lipstick on a pig (weight wise, I mean) no doubt you have a hand truck and a roadie :-)

I did see the Em 3015 down to $140 this weekend. That driver also seems pretty forgiving to me.

The right way to do this of course is to figure out the chamber volume and porting (if any) and run some numbers in WINIsd.

jmbstudios · #3 12-13-2010, 03:00 PM

OK.. I should have stated that I would like to get this running. ITs not a daily driver.

It's one of those pieces that will sit in a studio and will be ready for battle when needed.

I will rarely use it, but would like to have it running when I need it.

I did look at the EM Kappalites(sp?) 3015. I think 140 is a decent price for some replacements.

Uhhhh run the numbers.... Uhhhh.... what???? I just wanna put something in and make it go..

BassmanPaul · #4 12-13-2010, 03:45 PM

That's the problem, it's not just as simple as putting a couple of 15" drivers into a box. You could be lucky and it will work fine but the most likely outcome is a crapshoot at best. I'd contact Orange and find out what speakers are supposed to be in that box. IMO it's the best way to go.

jmbstudios · #5 12-13-2010, 05:29 PM

Wow. Had no idea. I have replaced bass speakers before, a long time ago, and have always had great results. I must be lucky.

Mr. Foxen · #6 12-13-2010, 05:41 PM

Fairly sure this cab predates being clever with maths and speaker design and won't be designed for anything in particular. Especially of note is that it isn't a direct radiator so WinISD won't apply very well. The horn is too short for proper horn loading in the lows too, so it is probably gonna act like a horn in the mids and like a weird direct radiator lower. It will never have modern engineered cab flat response. The Kappalites will probably sound fine, but be wasted potential. The original speakers probably had specs that would be considered guitar drivers by today's standards.

craig.p · #7 12-13-2010, 06:13 PM

Yeah, this doesn't look like a horn but rather like HVAC duct work. The fifteens are probably crammed back-to-back into a small box and each fires into its own HVAC duct. If you can get the internal measurements of the box the speakers are installed in (and whether or not it's sealed, but I expect it is), then that'd be a good place to start.

greenboy · #8 12-13-2010, 07:07 PM

Too bad you don't have access to original drivers. You could snag the T-S parameters with Woofer Tester 2 off of them and then have a benchmark for future candidates.

4Mal · #9 12-13-2010, 11:58 PM

Josh, is the speaker chamber sealed ? Can you measure thething and get the approximate volume of the chamber ?

4Mal · #10 12-14-2010, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Foxen

Fairly sure this cab predates being clever with maths and speaker design and won't be designed for anything in particular. Especially of note is that it isn't a direct radiator so WinISD won't apply very well. The horn is too short for proper horn loading in the lows too, so it is probably gonna act like a horn in the mids and like a weird direct radiator lower. It will never have modern engineered cab flat response. The Kappalites will probably sound fine, but be wasted potential. The original speakers probably had specs that would be considered guitar drivers by today's standards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by craig.p

Yeah, this doesn't look like a horn but rather like HVAC duct work. The fifteens are probably crammed back-to-back into a small box and each fires into its own HVAC duct. If you can get the internal measurements of the box the speakers are installed in (and whether or not it's sealed, but I expect it is), then that'd be a good place to start.

Many, many F/H cab's were available in the 70's using EV 15's aka SRO drivers. Some of them were actually very well designed and engineered. The original EV Sentry boxes for instance. IIRC EV also punlished their design in the hopes that constructors would be buying their drivers.

There was some swill out there as well.

Orange copped the TL606 as a design for one of their bins, maybe they copped this one as well - kinda why I jumped on the KL 3015 ...

jmbstudios · #11 12-14-2010, 07:05 PM

Well I think I will order from MF when I pull the trigger. That way if they don't work out I can send them back.