binman Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I've recently purchased an early 80's Ampeg 810 and discovered two speakers are distorting, feels like scratchy voice coils. Having trouble deciding on speaker replacements for them. I think the cab has a 5K rolloff and it could do with a very slight increase in the top end. Looking at 32ohm 80w 70Hz-7kHz Trace Elliot speakers, would they be ok? or would the lower power and frequency response make that much of a difference? before I have to stump up big bucks for the more expensive original replacements. I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks in advance Stuart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS73 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I did use an Ampeg 810 from about 72, it had all the original Jenson drivers and was superb for a couple of years then i had to replace a few and opted for the trace 32 ohm 80w, it just never sounded the same after. Now i see the original Jensons fetch serious money, ironically i have an 810 trace cab now, loved that SVT 810. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='SS73' post='548355' date='Jul 22 2009, 05:38 PM']I did use an Ampeg 810 from about 72, it had all the original Jenson drivers and was superb for a couple of years then i had to replace a few and opted for the trace 32 ohm 80w, it just never sounded the same after. Now i see the original Jensons fetch serious money, ironically i have an 810 trace cab now, loved that SVT 810.[/quote] SVTs never used Jensens. The first models were loaded with CTS. In the early 70's an engineer from CTS started Eminence, and one of his first projects was to clone the CTS driver and get the Ampeg contract. Over the decades the Eminence driver has gone through a number of changes, morphing from what was originally a guitar driver to one designed for bass, which explains the changes in tone over the last 40 years. There are a few sources for replacements, including Ampeg, Weber, Jensen and Electro-Harmonix. The problem lies in knowing which will come closest to the tone of any particular vintage SVT, so most owners choose to do a recone rather than replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 It is going to be a tough choice as you could spend £500 on new chassis... I don't think the the speakers in Ampegs have ever been that good..in terms of poewr handling ..but then there are 8 of them.. I would pursue the recone option ..all things considered, ie tone and expense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS73 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='548538' date='Jul 23 2009, 03:35 AM']SVTs never used Jensens. The first models were loaded with CTS. In the early 70's an engineer from CTS started Eminence, and one of his first projects was to clone the CTS driver and get the Ampeg contract. Over the decades the Eminence driver has gone through a number of changes, morphing from what was originally a guitar driver to one designed for bass, which explains the changes in tone over the last 40 years. There are a few sources for replacements, including Ampeg, Weber, Jensen and Electro-Harmonix. The problem lies in knowing which will come closest to the tone of any particular vintage SVT, so most owners choose to do a recone rather than replacement.[/quote] oops, well it was a long time ago, or perhaps my 810 had 8 replacement Jensons in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraktal Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Just like Bill said, it might be very hard to find a suitable replacement. What about wiring the other 6 speakers with a usable impedance? You wont notice much difference in volume, and you only need to leave the broken speakers unplugged. Cheap, fast, easy and tone-matching solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binman Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 Thanks guys for your suggestions. I think I will go down the recone route and use Wembley Loudspeakers in London. Cheers Stuart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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