Speaker Source?

[Jeff Wilk]

OK.....from the other post currently running on "Radio Advice" I indicated that I have opted to finally install the factory OEM fully restored am/fm/8track radio I have for the 75 Eldorado.  Having decided that, now I need to know where to purchase replacement front and rear speakers that will fit in the OEM locations?  I'd like them to be as powerful as can be, and would even like to put in some of those coaxial multi cone/range speakers in the rear so I can hear the music with the top down......any suggestions or advice?

Jeff

[Chas]

This past weekend, just completed the same exercise with my 1970 CDV. Stock radio, which demands 8 ohm speakers. After much research, got them from Electro-Tech (www.turnswitch.com).

Perfect fit, more powerful magnet, a really high quality product.

[TJ Hopland]

Turnswitch has a good reputation.   Front speakers in that car are a less common size and most of the more modern ones tend to be too tall to fit.   Back is more common but I think again the depth can be a problem because they kinda stick into the back seat.    Front is really where you want to spend your money on these cars because the back location is just far from ideal.   Top up they shoot into the trunk.  Top down they shoot at the folded up top that is just inches away. 

Power is where you are going to run into issues with an original radio.  Back then power was expensive so to get a loud system you needed very efficient speakers.   By the 80's power got cheaper and by the 90's it was so cheap it just was no longer a factor so you could design a horribly inefficient speaker that sounded like crap but hit it with a lot of power and a digital equalizer and get decent sound.   This is where newer speakers and old radio just won't usually work well.   

Speakers that are sold from people like turnswitch should be a reasonable match to the original low power radios so would be pretty much your only good option if you are staying original.   Most of the classic car audio vendors seem to offer various levels of quality and originality that fit in original spaces. 

On newerish stuff the watts is not really telling you a lot either so don't get sold on a 20watt vs a 30 watt system.   Same with speakers they usually don't give enough details in the specs to actually make any sort of comparison.  A 500 watt speaker may not be able to get as loud as a 1 watt one.   The issue with power is that it increases using the inverse square law.   I'm making these numbers up but it gives you a general idea what is going on.    Lets say a speaker is a given loudness at 1 watt of power.   To make it noticeably louder you may only need 2 watts.  To get louder again 10 watts, louder again 50, again maybe 200.   So this means if that 10 watt setting is not loud enough for you going to a 45 watt amp is not going to help not to mention the speaker may not be able to handle 50 watts.   Its not all that complicated, the issue is many manufacturers don't want to give you all the specs so you can really tell what is going on.    If they told you all the specs you would either know they were lying or their product would look like crap and no one would buy it.

[LenInLA]

I recently purchased front and back speakers for my 1976 Eldorado from turnswitch. Very pleasant transaction.

It turned out that the original front speakers worked just fine - so I sold them in eBay!

[2manycars]

Another vote for Turnswitch here. I've bought a couple of speakers for 67 Corvettes from them. That is a special speaker with a choke coil on it. Beautiful speaker that sounds great and is the correct impedance for the Corvette radio, which is critical. Most repros are not the correct impedance.

[Jeff Wilk]

UPDATE - - - - Today I removed the upper and middle dash pads on the 75 Eldo along with the original radio and drum clock in preparation to install the OEM Restored AM/FM/8track and a restored drum clock.  While at it I was going to simply remove the old front speakers and toss them......Well....upon inspection it turns out that there has been some tinkering under the dash with the stereo at some earlier point in its life and the connectors to the radio had the brass spade connectors all loose and falling out of the plastic holders.....My guess is that this is why the speakers were always cutting in and out.....

Next step was to cut all of this bad wiring out and actually try the speakers themselves.....I hooked them up to my sons portable am/fm/cd player that had speaker pinch connectors on the back and guess what??

Yes.....they both work without any static at all.   My Question is this.....at certain higher bass toned songs I did hear a distinct warbling coming from the two OEM dash speakers.  Would you say that they are "Tired" and should just be replaced?  Or is it that there is too much power pushing out of his portable amplifier I am using for testing the speakers?  With all of the dash apart at this point I'd hate to put everything back together to only find that warble with bass with everything back in the car........thoughts?

Jeff

[76eldo]

Jeff

While you have the dash apart I'd replace them.

Brian

[TJ Hopland]

A lot of those more modernish speakers and amps have a lot different characteristics especially in the bass area than there would have been in the 70's so you could have just been pushing them way too hard in the low end.  The original radio would have been designed to match what the original speakers could do so in theory you could not overdrive them.   

You just have to weigh the cost of replacements vs taking the dash apart again. 

[55 cadi]

Back in my early years i competed in car audio competition. Doing all work myself.

With your situation could be a couple things, without being there to hear and see, possibility is,
If the speakers are sitting on bench not installed would cause that, because they dont work well in open areas, they need reverb, something to reflect back the sound.

Or over powered to the speaker.

Or under powered will give that as well.

Jason

[Daddio]

For all you "authenticity nuts" out there (of which I seem to be one).  I had both my speakers re-coned by a retired gentleman working out of his basement.  He checked the magnet and coils and replaced the paper cones. They sound like new, or at least, as good as they ever did.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

UPDATE - - - - Today I removed the upper and middle dash pads on the 75 Eldo along with the original radio and drum clock in preparation to install the OEM Restored AM/FM/8track and a restored drum clock.  While at it I was going to simply remove the old front speakers and toss them......Well....upon inspection it turns out that there has been some tinkering under the dash with the stereo at some earlier point in its life and the connectors to the radio had the brass spade connectors all loose and falling out of the plastic holders.....My guess is that this is why the speakers were always cutting in and out.....

Next step was to cut all of this bad wiring out and actually try the speakers themselves.....I hooked them up to my sons portable am/fm/cd player that had speaker pinch connectors on the back and guess what??

Yes.....they both work without any static at all.   My Question is this.....at certain higher bass toned songs I did hear a distinct warbling coming from the two OEM dash speakers.  Would you say that they are "Tired" and should just be replaced?  Or is it that there is too much power pushing out of his portable amplifier I am using for testing the speakers?  With all of the dash apart at this point I'd hate to put everything back together to only find that warble with bass with everything back in the car........thoughts?

Jeff

Either your son's modern unit is too powerful for your car's original speakers or the speakers are simply blown. I suspect the former more likely since you report they sounded good except only when playing certain music with more pronounced bass content but it's difficult to say.

Might be just as well to put in all new speakers as long as you're in there as they're relatively cheap enough and nobody will ever know the difference. Make certain the impedance of the replacement speakers is no lower than that of the originals. A speaker with a lower impedance rating will draw more current from the amplifier which it may not be designed to withstand.

Good luck.

[Chas]

Been told by an old-timer that still rebuilds Delco components that the life span of a 1960's/1970's factory speaker is about 5 years. As long as the dash is apart, I would replace them. After all, what are we talking about........$100 total?

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Been told by an old-timer that still rebuilds Delco components that the life span of a 1960's/1970's factory speaker is about 5 years.

With all due respect to the old timer, that is utter nonsense.

[Jeff Wilk]

Since I need to wait 2 weeks for the backordered circuit board to come for the warning light panel, I called Turnswitch today and ordered two new front speakers and a new dual cone super power rear speaker they make specifically for the convertibles and matched to the 8 ohm OEM radio requirements.  State that they have a specially designed sound curve and power to help with the challenges of a convertible top configuration........I will let you all know how it works out once it is all back together......soon?

Jeff

[TJ Hopland]

Looking forward to that review on the replacement speakers, especially the 'special' rear ones.   

5 years does seem a little short under most conditions.   The shortest life seems to be the ones with foam rubber surrounds and those didn't become popular till the 80's.   In climate controlled spaces those things sometimes didn't do 10 years so I could easily see 5 in a car but 60's and 70's was still paper so should have lasted longer unless maybe there were UV issues from fairly direct exposure to the sun?

[66 Eldo]

With all due respect to the old timer, that is utter nonsense.

It is a bit of an over generalization, however, when I was a kid in the 70s I used to hang around the local Cadillac dealership and befriended one of the techs who did all the radio repairs.

He was always replacing speakers, usually the front dash speakers.

[76eldo]

The owner of Turnswitch told me that the way the stock speakers were designed the wires that come from the voice coil are glued to the paper and that the glue fails and then the wires vibrate off and the speaker fails.

They make a nice product that is a direct replacement for the stock 8 ohm speakers but with better sound and a better build quality.

We are lucky this guy is filling this market for us GM guys.

Brian