The magnificent Zenith 49cz852's

Would love to buy a pair of these. OP if you would be willing to sell a pair in the future let me know.
I kinda want to. I would be willing to sell the pair that I had used in my first application. One of them has one small hole in the cone which was repaired with CA glue. The hole was super tiny and there is a small speck on it and it did not affect the sound. There is also a small amount of CA glue on the square magnet housing that was used to glue it to the wooden stand. Other than that they are in fantastic condition and work just fine. Ill also throw in some alligator clip wires so you can easily connect everything. I would sell them for $200 and free shipping. Let me know if you are interested.
-Nick
 
Its just what i paid for them. Plus the demand has gone up so much. They are the nicest sound speakers Ive ever heard and they best speakers costing many times the price. They really are a true gem
 
Then you paid too much.

A less expensive source would be buying a Zenith console. I found one at a thrift store for $35 sold it's tube amp and TT for a nice profit and kept the 49CZ's.

Many tube organs contained very similar ribbed cone 12" alnico drivers which probably sound much the same. You can readily find brands like Conn, Wurlitzer, Baldwin, Hammond etc. The big Magnavox alnico's are fairly common on the bay. Guitar speaker guys have been using these type speakers for years. That's why you often see just one for sale.
 
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Mr. "Glow in the Dark" is spot on with his review of the Zeniths.

http://glowinthedarkaudio.com/zenith-49cz852.html

PG - you posted this a while ago in some forum I happened to be reading and I found a pair on Ebay that I purchased about a month after that. They unfortunately still sit in the box because i don't know what to do with them - :dunno: - I was hoping to try an OB application but really don't know where to start. Any links/info I could start on that would point me in the right direction?
 
PG - you posted this a while ago in some forum I happened to be reading and I found a pair on Ebay that I purchased about a month after that. They unfortunately still sit in the box because i don't know what to do with them - :dunno: - I was hoping to try an OB application but really don't know where to start. Any links/info I could start on that would point me in the right direction?

Just duplicate my OB's with the Zeniths over H-frame Alphas. The Eminence Alpha 15A woofers are mounted to a baffle centered in an open ended cube with all inside dimensions approx. 17.5". The Zeniths are located on an inverted T 18.5" wide and 24" high atop the H-frames. The inverted T base should use the same dimensions as the top of the H-frames. The Zenith's center is located 7.5" from the short side and 9.5" from the top. The Eminence ASD-1000 tweeter centers are about 5" diagonally from the corner. I power the Zeniths and tweets from the same SET tube amp with a 1.5uF cap on the tweets +. The rear firing Realistic super tweeters add a bit of sparkle but are optional. I use a $10 TPA3116 to power the woofers with a $75 Behringer CX2310 active handling the LF crossover only. You can use most any amp to drive the efficient Alphas ( 25/30 watts is sufficient ). I run the Zeniths full range straight off the amp with nothing in the signal path to mar their lovely sound. The dimensions I've given are not critical and can vary as long as the H-frame center baffle is large enough to accommodate the 15" Alphas. I'd construct the H-frames first and build off them.

P1010019 2.jpg
 
OP, I'll pass on your offer but thanks. I found some locally.

Poultrygeist, can you explain why the tweeter needs to be 10db higher than the woofer? I've never read that before but am interested.
 
You should choose a tweeter with a higher sensitivity otherwise you won't get a decent output match with the full range driver.
 
I'm not sure I understand. In my mind a matching sensitivity would be the most ideal scenario. Are you possibly meaning that the normal output of a "HiFi" tweeter simply isn't enough to match the large driver's output capabilities? I don't see how having a tweeter that is playing 10db higher than the woofer at all times blends well. But then again this is new to me.

I've built quite a few speakers and the output of multiple drivers are always consistently matching.
 
You can pad a higher sensitivity tweeter down but you can't increase it's output if it's too low. A 10 dbs difference is the number you'll find most often in OB circles.
 
What tweeter sensitivity you choose depends on your goals and methods.

E.G.: I built a pair of speakers using Foster FF225wk (sens 93dB) in and expanding transmission line. The FF225wk need a supplemental tweeter. I chose Eminence APT-80 w/ sens of 106dB. The APT-80 are XO'd using a 1 uF cap and pointed into the front corners, NOT at the listener. (If pointed at the listener, phase relationship between the 225 and the APT-80 would be untenable.) The goal is to get the tweeter crossed in at the proper level at 8kHz where the 225 fades away. If you wanted to, you could take an entirely different approach using a XO on the 225 and an XO on the APT-80, but I see no reason to bother.

Cheers, Jim
 
Are you powering the Goldwood tweeters with a separate amp? They're 90 dbs while the Zeniths are at least 96 dbs.
Nope, they sound perfect and balanced. The zenith are running full range, and the gold woods have a 1uf cap, giving it a first order crossover at around 15,000 hz. This allows them to sound very realistic with no extra sparkle to the vocals or instruments.
 
Here's a link to a comparable build - Eminence Beta 12LTA ( 97 dbs ) using the Eminence ASD 1001 tweeter ( 104 db ) with a first order 1.3uF cap. Not as smooth or rich sounding as the Zeniths the Betas have a grand sense of scale which is hard to achieve with smaller FR drivers. I passed my Betas on to a friend once I discovered the Zeniths which now occupy the same baffle.

https://speakerprojects.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/eminence-beta-12lta-on-open-baffle/
 
This is way beyond me. I so want to get into OB and the OP's setup. Looks so interesting.

Just see what other people are doing and go along. There are a few rules fo thumb

The wider baffle the better the frequency response will be, however if its too big then the soundstage will collapse. My friend tried 4 foot by 7 foot baffles and didn't like them. 24 inches by 48 inched seems to work, you can buy 2 Foot X 4 Foot baltic birch plywood at home depot.

With the Baffle situation figured out, you just need a great driver. The zenith is fantastic, however theres a pair on eBay right now for $350...ouch

Try the Tang Band w8-1808 8" full range.

Then you need a large 15" woofer.
The eminence alpha 15"

Just buy the Tang bands and the eminence and mount the eminence on center on the baffle, and offset the tang band. Round the edges of your baffle and you're good to go, just experiment with room placement
 
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