Members GZsound Posted June 6, 2007 Members Share Posted June 6, 2007 I just picked up a pair of older folded horn cabinets (Yamaha 4115) to match the pair I already own. They were $50 each.. The guy couldn't hardly give them away. Cabinets need some TLC but the components are in great shape. I have found them to give much better projection with less power than my trapezoid cabinets (Peavey SP5). It appears nobody is making folded horn cabs anymore and I wonder why. Is it a weight thing, or is it the speaker technology that has improved to allow speakers to handle more power? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted June 6, 2007 Members Share Posted June 6, 2007 The Yamaha 4115 isn't a folded horn. The abundance of cheap high-power amplifiers and drivers have made efficiency less of an issue than in years past. That said, FH enclosures still have their place and many are still being sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 6, 2007 Members Share Posted June 6, 2007 Certainly not a folded horn! Short "horn" loaded cabinets for many users are just too large and heavy. The extra few dB were very important when power amplifiers were staggeringly expensive, and driver power handling was not as good as it is today. IIRC, those boxes were made from a special particle board and were ungodly heavy. Many also have cabinet damage. The other reason why those cabinets are so cheap is that factory replacement parts are virtually non-existant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted June 6, 2007 Members Share Posted June 6, 2007 Isn't that just their old horn-loaded fullrange cab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted June 7, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 I guess it's obvious I didn't know the Yamaha was not a folded horn cabinet.. I always thought that is what those cabinets were called. Sorry if that was a wrong description.. So they are horn loaded? That's the proper term? I appreciate being corrected. They still seem to project a lot better than my other "modern" speakers and it seems they should still be a sound design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted June 7, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 Certainly not a folded horn!Short "horn" loaded cabinets for many users are just too large and heavy. The extra few dB were very important when power amplifiers were staggeringly expensive, and driver power handling was not as good as it is today. IIRC, those boxes were made from a special particle board and were ungodly heavy. Many also have cabinet damage.The other reason why those cabinets are so cheap is that factory replacement parts are virtually non-existant. Interesting.. both pairs of mine are made of plywood, the new one's i just bought for $50 each are showing some damage on the bottom front corners, but they are certainly not particle board and I can easily fix them. The pair I already own are in pristine condition with zero damage. And I don't know about the horns or horn drivers being available, but I talked to my speaker tech a couple of days ago and he said the woofers were still easy to fix. Worst case is it would be easy to simply replace the 15's with newer speakers like Peavy Black Widows.. I would still be hundreds of dollars ahead of buying new cabinets that don't offer as much projection. I appreciate all the info.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted June 7, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 Isn't that just their old horn-loaded fullrange cab? Yes.. I was incorrect in calling them folded horns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members preacherman672 Posted June 7, 2007 Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 An example of a folded horn top. You can't see the folds, but what it boils down to is you must use curves in the folds or you will greatly compromise the upper mid range. This top has about a 3 ft. horn path. http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/DR280.html Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted June 7, 2007 Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 There is nothing wrong with a good folded horn design (or any horn loaded low end system). The reasons they have fallen out of favor is portability and (If I'm correct) for them to reproduce the extremly low frequencies and still remain reasonably flat, they have to be Huge. It seems to me that there should still be a place for them in installed systems (since their weight and size can be factored into the initial construction). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 7, 2007 Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 If they are plywood, you lucked out. IIRC, the particle board versions weighed around 125-150 lbs each. Too much for me. As far as recone kits being available, Yamaha discontinued them about 15 years ago. maybe there's some old stock somewhere or maybe an aftermarket part (doubtful) so if your guy can getthe parts, all the luck to you. A Delta 15 is probably a decent replacement for less than the dealer cist of the original recone kit. Your cones are white with black surround right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted June 7, 2007 Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 Martin Audio's W8L boxes feature a horn-loaded design, so they're not entirely dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted June 7, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 If they are plywood, you lucked out. IIRC, the particle board versions weighed around 125-150 lbs each. Too much for me.As far as recone kits being available, Yamaha discontinued them about 15 years ago. maybe there's some old stock somewhere or maybe an aftermarket part (doubtful) so if your guy can getthe parts, all the luck to you. A Delta 15 is probably a decent replacement for less than the dealer cist of the original recone kit.Your cones are white with black surround right? Yes, my cones are white with black surrounds. And I just weighed a cabinet and they are around 75 pounds. I am not big and strong by any means, but I can pick one up myself and set it on stage. It only weighs a little more than my Peavey SP5. The good news is that for $100, I just got two spare horns and two spare speakers if I need to use the parts... But I suppose I should first wait for them to fail. My original pair have been with me for twenty years without failure so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gtaudio20 Posted June 7, 2007 Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 Danley Audio Labs. nuff said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Square Posted June 7, 2007 Members Share Posted June 7, 2007 Danley Audio Labs. nuff said True dat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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