Seeburg 'R' speaker ID

[steveb]

The two side speakers on my 'R' have the following identifications on them.  Would someone be able to tell me who the manufacturer was.  I was guessing Jensen but not sure.  Also, does the number include a date of manufacture code?
Thanks

8 Ohms
A328442
407284-2

[Ron Rich]

Hi Steve,
I believe the 328 to be Utah-- the rest of that is a date code, but I don't recall how to read it. The 407284 is the part # -- Check the parts section of the R Service Manual--3 different brads of speakers were used in the model R-- Ron Rich

[steveb]

What would be a close match for a replacement speaker? Jim Alexander had suggested a Jensen Mod 8-20 in one of his archived posts. He felt these had the same sound quality as the original 8 inch side speakers in the Seeburg R. They are 8 ohms and rated at 20 watts. They currently sell for about $30 each but do not have the AlNiCo magnets as the original. The Jensens with AlNiCo are about $100 each.

Any other recommendations for replacement 8 inch side speakers for the Seeburg R?

[Ron Rich]

Hi Steve,
What's wrong with what you have ?
Ron Rich

[steveb]

Hi Ron,
The right side has recently developed a slight bass distortion. It's only the right side. Highs and vocals seem fine. These are the original AlNiCo speakers. The cones are fine. No rips, stains, or deterioration. All connections have been checked and are clean and firmly attached. Speaker polarity is correct. Speakers have not been over driven, at least not by me. Amp was recently re-capped and all resistor values checked. Played fine for many months. Haven't considered the output transformer as the source of the problem since the distortion only occurs on the one speaker. Any way to further identify if the speaker has a bad voice coil. Would like to retain the originals if at all possible. Just looking for a suitable replacement if I decide to swap out the originals. What are your thoughts?

[robnyc]

Steve, if you have checked for debris getting into contact with the cone the next thing to check for is a rubbing or disconnected voice coil.

The easiest way to check is to feed approx 2-3 volts AC into the speaker (around 1 watt into 8 ohms)@60 HZ from a transformer. With the speaker out of the machine, look at the collar of the voice coil where the "spider" which is the tan-orange accordion shaped circle moves with the cone or seems disconnected. Sometimes this can be checked also by applying even pressure to the cone to move it and watch for that broken linkage. If it is disconnected a -few- drops of white glue into that junction and working the cone in and out to get the glue distributed will secure the spider again.

If the voice coil is rubbing due to cone deformation, this can also be dealt with if it is not too severe. Sometimes just placing a washer under one of the bolts that hold the frame will shift it enough to eliminate the rubbing. Again, a constant source of signal to the speaker is helpful.

The 8" speakers in these machines often had damage due to excessive bass being fed to them. If you want to plow through this thread: jukeboxaddicts.proboards.com/thread/245/miscellaneous?page=1 You'll see my suggestions of adding capacitors to remove the deep bass from them.

Another option is to recone. This allows the retention of the original speakers and is still likely cheaper than getting new ainico replacements -though ceramic magnets are fine here.

RobNYC

[Ron Rich]

Hi Steve,
I had a customer the other day that mentioned that--I told him to swap the L_R speakers--he did, and said that took care of it ( speaker cone sagging ?? ) Other then that--re-cone ? Ron Rich