# rebuild sony towers!!!



## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

I have a set of Sony towers with dual 6.5" woofers that were given to me... 

They sounded good the last time I heard them.. the cabinets went through a basement flood.. ruined the gotten 2" s of the cabinets.. just throwing the idea around if I should rebuild or do something different.. I built two custom 12" subs now want to do towers and surrounds.. 

Not looking to dump crazy money but willing to buy all speakers and tweets and whatever else I need..

Thanks guys ahead of time..


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

I'm pretty certain you could best a sony tower pretty easily. The question is do you have the budget. To rebuild the cabinets you'd need to recover the crossovers and all the drivers. Along with the dimensions of the box. I suggest you add more bracing and use rockwool treatements inside your new boxes. That should help maximize the Sony drivers.


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

All the components are good.. wood isn't that expensive .. I've built dozens of car audio boxes. Wood and fiberglass.. im sure I have the budget.. what's a guesstimate on cost


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

ProCast12's said:


> All the components are good.. wood isn't that expensive .. I've built dozens of car audio boxes. Wood and fiberglass.. im sure I have the budget.. what's a guesstimate on cost


If you have all the parts we need the dimensions it was previously in. Were the speakers ported? 

You will want to recess mount the tweeters so you may want a jasper jig for that. I suggest using 13-ply birch instead of MDF. It's more rigid lighter and has better durability. Plus if you can use a quarter round technique on the seams to make finishing a possible option. Instead of a simple paint job.


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

41.5"h x 10.75"d x 8.75"w....

Yes they were ported.. have a pic but can't load from phone ..


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## fusseli (May 1, 2007)

So you just want to transplant the sony drivers/xover into a newly built cab?

Feel free to share some pics, we all want to see what you're dealing with here :bigsmile: If you are only building new cabs and finishing them, that would probably be real cheap.


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

Yeah that was my plan.. was going to use my celestion surrounds and center for now... maybe build surrounds and a center later and replace Sony components in tower later on


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

Here is tower


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

Send me a email ill email it


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

I've got a pair of 3-way sony tower myself, and as tempting as it can be to want to upgrade the crossover and box, I'm not really convinced that it's worth the time and money. And those have huge 12" woofers that could be repurposed.

I gotta agree with lsiberian that it's probably way more time/cost effective to just start from scratch, build an established design, or even buy commercial speakers.


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

Yeah.. I know I could probably build better with better quality.. I just don't want huge towers... never built home audio cabinets but I know its a finesse ordeal.. im up for some challenges though.. just don't have all kinds of money for stuff.. could start out with buying a couple sets of speakers tweets and boards to get it started.. thought it would be good to rebuild Sony cabinets for now and use them in garage when I get nice ones done.. 

Up for ideas on brands for higher end towers center and rears.. then box designs will be started...


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

ProCast12's said:


> Yeah.. I know I could probably build better with better quality.. I just don't want huge towers... never built home audio cabinets but I know its a finesse ordeal.. im up for some challenges though.. just don't have all kinds of money for stuff..


If you had to outline some budget, where abouts would you be looking?


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

Well would look to spend a 1000 tops. But I need to piece it together.. if its a little over that's fine.. but it will be some here some there type of deal


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

ProCast12's said:


> Well would look to spend a 1000 tops. But I need to piece it together.. if its a little over that's fine.. but it will be some here some there type of deal


How about for an 8" wide tower:










a shade over $500: 

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2.5-way-speaker-kits/zaph|audio-za5.5-tall-tower-2.5-way-pair/

or if that's a bit tall, $700 for a very nice 2-way MTM:








http://meniscusaudio.com/er18mtm-ribbon-p-1323.html

or you could save some money and go for its dome tweeter sibling
http://meniscusaudio.com/er18mtm-domepr-p-1322.html

Or for commercial speakers, $400 for a pair of VERY nice, tall and thin towers:

http://emptek.com/e55ti_clearance.php

:T


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

What would be the best route for new ones.. I like the commercial ones or the 700 dollar pair.. point me in right direction. Im going to run them off a receiver.. keep that in mind


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

ProCast12's said:


> What would be the best route for new ones.. I like the commercial ones or the 700 dollar pair.. point me in right direction. Im going to run them off a receiver.. keep that in mind


All 3 will have zero trouble being run off a receiver. All 3 are a fantastic deal, too. It really depends on you. Remember that with DIY, the finish is your call, so the Zaphs could have the high gloss finish that you see on the ER18MTMs.

The ER18MTMs are probably the best speaker at regular volumes, but I'd expect the Zaphs to take an edge for home theater dynamics. The e55tis are a fantastic commercial speaker that I happen to own. 

Here's some subjective reviews:

Zaph ZA5.5TT

ER18MTM

EMPTek E55Ti

I think whichever one you pick, you'll be a lot more satisfied than the Sonys.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

You could certainly build a cheaper speaker than those kits to get a strong performer. Though the Zaph stuff is fantastic. I think the question is how far do you want to go with this DIY stuff. If you want to get into circuit fabrication definitely don't do a kit with a built crossover. This is a hobby and as such you can decide what you want to do in it and what you want to leave to someone else. I personally don't have the workspace for soldering and woodworking so I use already built amps and active crossovers.


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

I definitely am not good at the internal electronics... figured it would be a good project to do and keep me occupied ... not sure what to do... or what kit to buy..I definitely wouldn't be opposed to buying the crossovers and stuff and then build my cabinets..


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

ProCast12's said:


> I definitely am not good at the internal electronics... figured it would be a good project to do and keep me occupied ... not sure what to do... or what kit to buy..I definitely wouldn't be opposed to buying the crossovers and stuff and then build my cabinets..


 Go for it. Build some speakers. We love to read build threads. 

The ribbon tweeter ER18MTMs are probably optimal for music, the Zaphs are a great choice for movies, and the dome tweeter ER18MTMs probably somewhere in between. Let that be the deciding factor.


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

The ribbons would be out as I watch more movies then listen to music on my speakers..


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## ProCast12's (Jan 22, 2011)

Hey guys... been looking at your posts and pics.. sounds like I would want the zaphs. Possibly a dome tweet.. I would go with a already built crossover.. 

So I do watch 90 percent movie / tv with my ht setup.. other 10% would be music occasionally... 

Let me know if that's the best choice.. I would also want to build a center and rears to match... after these are done.. want this to be a summer project.. 

Thanks guys..


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