Members coyote-1 Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 I am surprised it lasted this long lol. Anyway, has anyone here ever tried to replace the part? There is no real help out there. It is threaded onto a horn, but no one seems to know the official size and pitch. Model is PFW12. I want to get a better driver to replace it, one that can handle more power and is thread-compatible with the existing horn. If anyone out there knows the spec and can provide that info I would be thankful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 It's probably something like this:http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=270-069It's a piezo according to an ad for one and all the cheaper screw on drivers have the same thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 Don't know about the powered version but the passive used a piezo where an actual x-over wasn't needed. Be careful you don't have the same. A compression HFD would not work well in that situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 I am surprised it lasted this long lol. Anyway, has anyone here ever tried to replace the part? There is no real help out there. It is threaded onto a horn, but no one seems to know the official size and pitch. Model is PFW12.I want to get a better driver to replace it, one that can handle more power and is thread-compatible with the existing horn. If anyone out there knows the spec and can provide that info I would be thankful.can you actually screw the driver off? I've seen their other models and they super-glued the driver to the horn. If you get it off, I'm pretty sure it is standard 1 3/8 x 18 threads. Those drivers are dirt cheap and not very robust. If you go with an actual compression driver, realize that you will need a crossover or at least a hi-pass filter as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rezrover Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 Might be better off just getting a stock replacement and selling the thing. Money spent trying to "upgrade" the horn might be better spent getting a better monitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 the cabs I've seen had this driver http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=270-082 but that was on a 5x15" horn. PTS515 model cab, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 It's probably something like this:http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=270-069It's a piezo according to an ad for one and all the cheaper screw on drivers have the same thread... Yeah it is a piezo. I don't want a direct replacement, I want a significantly better driver. The cab does contain a crossover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 Yeah it is a piezo. I don't want a direct replacement, I want a significantly better driver.The cab does contain a crossover. Are you certain it's an actual crossover and just not a connection plate? In cheaper speakers, piezo's are often used as a cost-saving measure as they do not require a true crossover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 Yeah it is a piezo. I don't want a direct replacement, I want a significantly better driver.The cab does contain a crossover.are you certain? I would be willing to bet no on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 are you certain? I would be willing to bet no on this one. You are both right. Thanx 4 the heads up. Gonna order eminence drivers and xovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 Check the specs on both drivers before ordering the X-over. They make a 1600hz and 3500hz 2-way. Don't get the wrong one. They also use a fuse for HFD protection, probably a good idea to have a couple of spares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 Probably not worth doing. If the flare is just being held to the cabinet by the screws in the front then you're going to have to reinforce the flare connection to the cabinet or you'll end up snapping off the flare because a compression driver will weigh a few lbs versus a few ounces for a piezo. Yet another reason the cabinet was so cheap. I tried a similar upgrade back in the day with some piezo cabs and made this mistake. You will also likely find there will be an imbalance between the horn and woofer so you'll also need a pad so you can adjust the output of the compression driver. Put your $$$ towards a better cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dedmeet Posted February 25, 2012 Members Share Posted February 25, 2012 are you certain? I would be willing to bet no on this one. Just about a month ago, I put some drivers in a pair of Yorkville Y110M wedges that I bought empty at a yard sale for $4. One of the bands I am in needed some inexpensive and small wedges. Oddly, the cabs had a true crossover in them with about 5dB of attenuation for the old piezo driver. With some slight tweaking, the boxes accommodated a upgraded 10" and an inexpensive compression driver and are working well. Old Peavey cabs with the CDH piezos in them had no crossover typically, just a 16ohm resistor pack to help keep from frying the delicate drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted February 26, 2012 Members Share Posted February 26, 2012 A new piezo would only be a few bucks. Motorola/CTS can still be found around $30.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 26, 2012 The horn would then pull out the bottom two screws. A strip of oak, wider than the horn cutout, glued underneath that line along with longer screws for those two holes ought be sufficient reinforcement. As these monitors are only for the rehearsal space and therefore don't get moved around much, that ought suffice. Probably not worth doing. If the flare is just being held to the cabinet by the screws in the front then you're going to have to reinforce the flare connection to the cabinet or you'll end up snapping off the flare because a compression driver will weigh a few lbs versus a few ounces for a piezo. Yet another reason the cabinet was so cheap. I tried a similar upgrade back in the day with some piezo cabs and made this mistake. You will also likely find there will be an imbalance between the horn and woofer so you'll also need a pad so you can adjust the output of the compression driver. Put your $$$ towards a better cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted February 26, 2012 Members Share Posted February 26, 2012 The horn would then pull out the bottom two screws. A strip of oak, wider than the horn cutout, glued underneath that line along with longer screws for those two holes ought be sufficient reinforcement. As these monitors are only for the rehearsal space and therefore don't get moved around much, that ought suffice. The risk isn't so much the horn pulling out out the screws. The main risk is the horn snapping off inside the box. You need a bracket to support the weight of the compression driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 26, 2012 The risk isn't so much the horn pulling out out the screws. The main risk is the horn snapping off inside the box. You need a bracket to support the weight of the compression driver. Highly unlikely. But also easy enough to manage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted February 26, 2012 Members Share Posted February 26, 2012 Those horn flares do not use a metal insert. Another potential problem that I've actually seen happen, is the weight of a compression driver will crack the threaded collar. this then allows the driver to come flying out of the horn if the cabinet gets dropped. Poor mans fix was to first epoxy the crack and then reinforce the collar section with a small hose clamp as used in automotive repairs. About a $1.00 answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted February 26, 2012 Members Share Posted February 26, 2012 Probably not worth doing. If the flare is just being held to the cabinet by the screws in the front then you're going to have to reinforce the flare connection to the cabinet or you'll end up snapping off the flare because a compression driver will weigh a few lbs versus a few ounces for a piezo. Yet another reason the cabinet was so cheap. I tried a similar upgrade back in the day with some piezo cabs and made this mistake. You will also likely find there will be an imbalance between the horn and woofer so you'll also need a pad so you can adjust the output of the compression driver. Put your $$$ towards a better cabinet. ^This I did the same thing a long time ago so I could get the DIY upgrading out of my system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 Crossover? Would that consist of a capacitor in-line with the piezo driver? If so then forget about using anything but the piezo. And if you do buy a compression driver you'll also need a real crossover. Overall you're looking @ $30-50 for the driver and the same for a crossover. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 I've developed a plan of action. First off, if I buy at parts Express I get free shipping with an order over $100. Fortunately, that dovetails with the plan: a) purchase four piezo drivers. At eight bucks each, it can't hurt to have 'em around as spares. b) purchase an Eminence aluminum driver for $30. c) purchase a crossover. The 'right' one is $42. d) Install one of the piezos into a Nady monitor for instant use. e) use the other Nady as the 'project'. Install the x-over and Eminence driver, and tweak as desired. When I get it right, that will go back into service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dedmeet Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 And, in the process, you will spend about twice what that POS NADY is worth. But, hey, it's just money. Good luck and post pics of the results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 And, in the process, you will spend about twice what that POS NADY is worth. But, hey, it's just money. Good luck and post pics of the results! Considering that the Nadys are used only in my basement studio, another $70 into the (then) $60 Nady is still far less $$$ than buying a better monitor elsewhere to accomplish what I want. And it'll be fun to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 Considering that the Nadys are used only in my basement studio, another $70 into the (then) $60 Nady is still far less $$$ than buying a better monitor elsewhere to accomplish what I want. And it'll be fun to do. And you end up with something that isn't practical to move and has a flip of the coin chance of sounding worse with $70 worth of stuff in it versus a replacement piezo. That's all we're saying. If you're OK with the limited application and those risks then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted February 27, 2012 Members Share Posted February 27, 2012 One thing that can be said, for a "puttering" project, this would be a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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