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Old 2nd Jun 2010, 12:14 pm   #14
mhennessy
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK.
Posts: 4,241
Default Re: Hacker Speaker Survey

Hello,

Have just received another entry, the revised scores follow:
  • Goodmans with no bolts: 7 (My RP25, 2 AM Heralds RP35, 2 in VHF Herald RP37A, Helsman RP36, Hunter RP38)
  • Goodmans with 3 bolts: 15 (6 in RP18, 4 in RP25, 1 in AM Herald RP30, 1 in Jonster's AM Herald unnumbered - probably RP30, early RP10, Helsman RP36, Marine Herald RP32)
  • Celestion (silver frame): 3 (VHF Herald RP37A, 2 in Sovereign RP25)
  • Celestion (black frame): 3 (2 in Sovereign RP25B, VHF Herald RP37A)
  • Elac (large magnet): 3 (mine + 2 other VHF Herald RP37As)
  • Elac (small magnet): 1 (my Hunter RP38A)

From the data I'm thinking that we can draw the following (tentative) conclusions:
1. The Goodmans speaker was the "general purpose" model that was used in most models. It is available in two versions: the earlier version had 3 bolts, later ones don't. Check the impedance!

2. The Celestions were only fitted to RP25 Sovereigns and VHF Heralds. Does this suggest the Celestion was considered to be "better", or was it just a question of availability or similar? Until I can hear one, I'll reserve judgement... Later versions had a black chassis.

3. The large magnet Elac was only fitted to VHF Heralds. Again, does this mean it's better? Based on initial tests, I think so, but will report fully once I've put my Herald back together again

4. To put this another way, VHF Heralds generally had Elac or Celestion speakers, but Goodmans occasionally appear.

5. Finally, the Elac with the small magnet was only fitted to RP38A Hunters (a bold statement given the sample size of 1!).

We know that the sets are near-identical electrically, yet people report sound quality differences between them. I hope that this data supports my view that the choice of speaker is responsible. But having said that, they all sound pretty damn good

Thanks again for your help, and please feel free to continue submitting data.

Mark
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