Members Zeromus-X Posted June 17, 2006 Members Share Posted June 17, 2006 I've got a Meyer USW-1 that has a bad driver... looking for a replacement... can't find any online. Can't afford a new one (this is just a drum monitor, I can't justify spending $500 when that's more than the "PA" that we're using costs, I'm sure... just a speakers-on-sticks situation). I haven't had any luck with Google or with eBay, so I figure maybe some of the newer people here might have a lead on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brad Harris Posted June 17, 2006 Members Share Posted June 17, 2006 Why not look up the US distributer off Meyers website? If not purchase a new driver from them, they would know who has those boxes, and possibly may be selling as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 17, 2006 I called Meyer and they don't have used speakers, of course, only new ones, and they're around the $500 mark. I've seen them on eBay in the past for under a hundred bucks "in working condition", so I'm figuring maybe someone's got one somewhere, maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Get me exact dimensions including ports and I will look to see if I have something that will make a suitable replacement. I've got shelves full of drivers here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 19, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 19, 2006 Last time I posted a link to the CAD file, straight from Meyer, I don't know if you caught it or not. Here it is again in DMG format if you can read it. If not, the spec sheet lists it as 5 cu.ft., 31 x 21.5 x 21.5 in. The speakers are MS-15 8-ohm drivers, though I'm sure they're all custom by Meyer. Speakers are front mounted. Two ports. I don't know their exact dimensions; I can reply with them when I get home. The metal grille is a beast to remove, so I'm hoping you can read the CAD file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 19, 2006 Members Share Posted June 19, 2006 I was able to read the DXF file and extract the dimensions. I will see what I get for tunings. JBL 2225 is a poor choice unless you use 4 x 4" ports only 3/4" thick (depth of baffle board). JBL 2226 is about the same, just a shade better performance w/ the ports as above. I have found a good choice though, and it's easily available and will give reasonable performance... Eminence Delta 15LF. Even better and almost ideal is the Kappa 15LF which performs better than the "pro" version. The Ohmega PRO-15 is also a good choice. In all these drivers, you need to be sure to use an HPF of 40Hz at 18-24dB/octave) to prevent vent huffing as the box is compact by design and generally uses a controller to obtain such performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 19, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 19, 2006 Yeah, I don't have a controller for it... got beat to it unfortunately, and they tend to sell for a bit more than I care to spend! I don't have any kind of HPF on it right now, but it's just being used with a sampler and a bass guitar tuned standard... I'm sure there are some stray frequencies, but my kick sample is passed at 60 Hz in the sampler, and the bass guitar shouldn't be putting anything weird out below 45 Hz or so I wouldn't think (it's a DI, not a mic... there are no mics going into it at all actually). Ultimately I'll stick an EQ on there with a HPF, but that'll come later. I'm also certain I'm nowhere near approaching the limits of the cabinet, since the bass amp is doing most of his work... I'm just using it for monitoring. Two questions -- 1. I assume the Kappa is going to be better than the Omega. Either way, I'd like to just replace the bad speaker for now. I know, bad juju, should do 'em both... but money is a factor still. I can do the work myself, just need to buy the speakers. But will it make a big difference if I replace both of 'em instead of just the one that's dead? I'd like to only take this beast apart once. It's heavy. 2. If I go with the new speakers, should I still spring for the processor eventually, or is that designed specifically for the MS-15 drivers? I'll still look for a used MS-15 for the next few days, but if I don't turn one up, I'll probably just go ahead and order whatever you're saying is going to work out best for me. I'm sure the price isn't vastly different between the Delta and the Kappa and the Omega, so whichever one is my best bet will be what I go with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 20, 2006 Members Share Posted June 20, 2006 Don't mix the speakers... the Meyer original is pretty heavy moving mass and that allows for the beneficial tuning. If I were designing a custom driver for this, I would increase then cone mass and probably increase the compliance. "Modern" speakers are designed for a different tuning which is why the Meyer sounds like it does BUT it needs to be HPF'd if driven hard. Processor isn't absolutely necessary BUT you do need the HPF's which any modern digital speaker processor/controller has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 20, 2006 Any leads on where I can get a deal on a Kappa or Omega then (whichever one you think would put out the best)? I'm guessing a pair of them is gonna sound better than using the single MS-15, which is what I'm using now... hell of a box to only be using one speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 20, 2006 Members Share Posted June 20, 2006 Originally posted by Zeromus-X Any leads on where I can get a deal on a Kappa or Omega then (whichever one you think would put out the best)? I'm guessing a pair of them is gonna sound better than using the single MS-15, which is what I'm using now... hell of a box to only be using one speaker. The difference will be tremendous... the box is "underperforming" at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J the D Posted June 20, 2006 Members Share Posted June 20, 2006 Looking at the relative prices two Deltas instead of one Kappa or Omega might make better sense. You'd be using two of the same speakers instead of mixing and would sound better with less power. I'd also look for a cheap, used DJ crossover, something like a DOD or Pyle, and use it to limit the bottom until you can get a processor for the Meyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 20, 2006 A quick Google search puts the Delta 15LF at about $99, the Kappa 15LF at about $139, and the Omega Pro 15 at about $189. Given that I'll need a pair of them, that's $200 Delta, $280 Kappa, and $380 Omega. The Meyer replacement is about $450, and that's just for one, so any of these options is definitely "better". But are the pair of Kappas going to be $80 better, or the Omegas $180 better? I'd hate to skimp on it when it's not much more to move to the next level, but at the same time need to conserve the $$. I'll be able to sell the MS-15 that's in there now to recoup a bit of money at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 20, 2006 Members Share Posted June 20, 2006 IF the other MS-15 is in good shape, you may be able to re-coup a large part of the cost of the new drivers. I would suggest the Kappas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 20, 2006 The other driver appears to be in good shape to me. There's no visible damage, and it makes no noise if it's moving (no grinding noise or anything like on a blown driver). It's old and it's dusty, but it pumps out quite a bit of sound on its own. I just hope this is as good an upgrade as you seem to think it'll be. I'll order the Kappas tomorrow, just sold a laptop that got me a bit of extra $$. The last MS-15 sold on eBay for about a hundred bucks, so hopefully that'll happen again. I'll probably have to come back here again for help wiring it up -- right now it was wired for a 4-wire connector with each speaker on its own pair, which meant using up my entire poweramp in order to make it work... I'd love to chain 'em both together so that I can run my other cabinets off the other side of the amp. We'll see how that works out when they get here though. Know of anywhere I might be able to find a deal on the Kappas other than just a few random Google searches? I know Full Compass is typically pretty inexpensive on pro audio stuff but I don't even know if they sell raw speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigmike216 Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 BLT sound has some of the best prices on eminence. Kapps15LF's are $107.50 when you buy 2, or 111.50 when you buy 1. http://www.bltsound.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Excellent. Looks like the winner so far, as long as shipping isn't too bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Oddly enough, the Pro version of the Kappa seems a little cheaper than the regular one, even though it's got a larger magnet. But if you say it'll outperform it in this box, I'll go with that then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 From a purely performance standpoint, the standard outperforms the pro in YOUR box. The cast frame isn't that big of a deal if you don't make a habit of dropping your boxes off stages. Aren't the stock drivers 3" VC stamped frame? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 Ordered! Hope these things are good. Thanks for the advice guys. I don't know what the original speaker specs were, whether they're cast or not, size of VC, etc. If it says on the back of the speaker I'll mention it when I rip the cabinet apart when the new ones come in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted June 27, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 27, 2006 Got the speakers in today. UPS guy left the box out in the rain all day, but it doesn't appear to have gotten the inner boxes too wet, so I'm hoping everything's okay with them. I'll be installing them tomorrow and trying them out at the show tomorrow night if it doesn't rain too hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 3, 2006 Members Share Posted July 3, 2006 Originally posted by Zeromus-X Got the speakers in today. UPS guy left the box out in the rain all day, but it doesn't appear to have gotten the inner boxes too wet, so I'm hoping everything's okay with them. I'll be installing them tomorrow and trying them out at the show tomorrow night if it doesn't rain too hard. Well, how did they work out??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted July 6, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 6, 2006 We haven't had a single show come up that has needed it, so I've been pushing the project back and back and back. The last 4-5 shows were festivals where we didn't provide any PA at all, so I didn't really have the time to put into this thing. We do, however, have a show at the end of next week that I'll have to haul it to. Which means this weekend is as good as any. The cabinet has an NL4 jack. I'm going to be re-wiring it, since right now it's all {censored}ed up. I'd like to use only one channel of my poweramp. It's a Yamaha CP2000. At 4 ohms, that's 650WPC. Is that going to be enough to drive the pair of Eminences, or am I going to have to get creative somewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 6, 2006 Members Share Posted July 6, 2006 That's ok, and should be plenty-fat but the box tuning (w/ high pass filter @ 35Hz) will allow you to go as high as 700 watts @ 4 ohms if you would like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted July 6, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 6, 2006 Well, there shouldn't be too much difference between 650W @ 4 and 700W @ 4, I'm thinking, so I guess we'll see what happens. I was more worried that these drivers wanted a kilowatt apiece or something, and that I'd have to either bridge the amp or run 'em parallel at 450W each, which would be at least a little more than the 375W each they'll be getting now... but I guess that's not much different either. Really can't wait to get this thing going! Come on, weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 6, 2006 Members Share Posted July 6, 2006 Sorry I read that as 350 watts into 4 ohms... brain fart. Should be a good match and the speakers will last a very long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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