acousticraft folded horn jbl speaker scroe

madwing

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well, i found something cool on craigslist, and picked it up this weekend.

it's a scott 299c/350b amp/tuner, a garrard type a turntable, and a sony sterecorder 300 in an acousticraft console with separate speakers, in the chinese moderne style (walnut, too).

but the speaker forum is for speakers, and it turns out they're my first folded horn pair. they're jbl d130s, no crossover, just an angled baffle behind them and a slot at the top of that, with the return path down to a 14"ishx8"ish port in the bottom of the speaker box. the internal volume without the baffle would be about 4 cubic feet.

i've not seen anything quite like it in a console speaker, though there was the same cabinet with a d131/175 load on ebay that's ended. makes me wonder if i should try and pick up some 075 bullet tweeters and n2600 crossovers :scratch2:

i can't wait to hook them up! :banana::banana:
 

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well, i found something cool on craigslist, and picked it up this weekend.

it's a scott 299c/350b amp/tuner, a garrard type a turntable, and a sony sterecorder 300 in an acousticraft console with separate speakers, in the chinese moderne style (walnut, too).

but the speaker forum is for speakers, and it turns out they're my first folded horn pair. they're jbl d130s, no crossover, just an angled baffle behind them and a slot at the top of that, with the return path down to a 14"ishx8"ish port in the bottom of the speaker box. the internal volume without the baffle would be about 4 cubic feet.

i've not seen anything quite like it in a console speaker, though there was the same cabinet with a d131/175 load on ebay that's ended. makes me wonder if i should try and pick up some 075 bullet tweeters and n2600 crossovers :scratch2:

i can't wait to hook them up! :banana::banana:

Nice, glad you got it. Those Scotts looked in very nice shape. Let us know how the JBLs sound.
 
cheers, kid. they're coming in to my office after work today, and i'm going to hook them up instead of my altec malibus. i'll be curious to hear the difference, and will post here how they sound tomorrow after a day's listening. i am curious to see if there's any fatigue factor with the jbl's, and also how wide a range they're covering compared to the altecs. they're not particularly bassy, have great mid and decent high ranges, and get fatiguing after five or six hours listening.

charles (agent for the seller) was very clear that i got the console because (a) i was first in line, (b) i'd left my phone number, and (c) i was very easy to communicate with. he let me know he'd had "numerous, very many" calls after mine, but because we'd started dealing he was honorable and carried it through with me. needless to say, i was pleased, and thankful that such honor still shows up in craigslist sales now and again.
 
well, altecs they're not. initial listening to "calling all angels" by jane siberry/kd lang was underimpressive; sounded like it was coming out of a tin can, and very furry, at that.

i don't know if they will improve with listening, though, so i am trying to stay open. listening to "home at last" from aja right now and it doesn't quite swing as much as even my 2ax's, but the sound is getting clearer. very laid back, lots of space. not as much punch. i can see why people would want do put a tweeter with these.
 
not yet. these were in the console untouched for 50 years, and i am loathe to mess with them.

i just listened to "aja", after listening to my cd copy of the newly remastered LZII. the alternate take of "flamenco sketches" from the remastered "kob" is playing now, and it's fabulous. in fact, its getting better and better throughout the playing. coltrane's horn is very beautiful.

the bass is still shy, but adequate, and john paul jones sounded very musical on LZII. cannonball sounds like liquid mercury...

i'll report back in a week, when i've had to test them a/b against the malibus.
 
kid, I just put the malibus onto the 299c, and they do sound great. the jbls are missing higher highs and lower lows, but what they do they do so well. the altecs are better rounded, and fuller at either end. I will be listening most of the next two work days...
 
Cool. That is some fun gear to play with. Altec Malibu and a Scott 299C, that sounds like a very nice pairing. The JBLs might be fun to mod like you mentioned. I have a 299 and and 350 tuner. The 299 is waiting for restoration.

I think you can receive KPIG where you are, that is a worthwhile station for the Type 350 tuner if you are into Americana. I love my 350. My 299 is waiting restoration. Someday.
 
I'll give the pig a try online; I work in a basement, and the tuner isn't picking anything up. I've got to figure out an antenna...
 
I agree with your review of the D130's madwing-I'll take my current JBL setup any day. But I'm still quite proud of my find and enjoying tinkering and showing them off, as I'm sure you are too!
 
Welcome to the club. Picked up what appears to be the exact same Acousticraft cabinets loaded with JbL D130s a few months ago at the local flea market. Cabinets are currently housing my sub-woofers. The D130s are going to go in my Altec 828 cabinets for a test run here shortly. The vent at the bottom is adjustable for speaker tuning. Nicely built cabinets, definitely vintage styling, and could use some structural reinforcing , but I like them also.
 

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Nice score, but I don't think those cabinets are true folded horns ala Klipschorns.
 
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Nice score, but I don't think those cabinets aren't true folded horns ala Klipschorns.
I would opine that there are several other examples of folded horns besides the K-horn. Although, the K-horn may well represent the pinnacle of folded horn design.

They really exceed the limits of being any kind of horn at all, very nice cabinets nonetheless. When i re-purposed them, i'd add a couple of braces and close them up into very workable and predictable bass reflex systems, as they have a good deal of volume, living room friendly aspect ratio, and a baffle with enough area for bass response well into the lower octaves before there's any step response to mitigate.

Just my .02 of course.......................................
 
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