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Seeburg DDS1- Rebuild / Mod Help


belles1978

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Afternoon All-

 

Newbie to the forum here and was looking / hoping for a little assistance.  I've been a casual reader of the forum for a few years, but this is my first post.  While I know this is the Klipsch forum, I stumbled across a few threads regarding Seeburg DDS1's while browsing over the years and a few weeks ago I was able to pick up a pair locally that are in need of some TLC.  My goal is to upgrade the internals a bit and see how they turn out.  I would like to replace the Utah's with modern drivers and rebuild/mod the crossovers given their age.  The challenge is I've never actually rebuilt or modded a cross over, so looking for guidance from anyone who's willing to share their thoughts and expertise to help out a fledgling tinkerer. 

 

I've read though several posts and found that several other members have contemplated the same rebuild, but specifics around the actual rebuild and recommendations for woofers is lacking.  So any and all recommendations are welcome. 

 

Thank you in advance

 

Art

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Thanks for the warm welcome billybob.

 

From what I could find in my research is the DDS1's were used to compliment/supplement Seeburg Jukebox's back in the day.  Details that I can share:

 

- Altec 806A Driver - 16 Ohm

- Altec 811 Horn

- 2 15" Utah Woofers

- Seeburg Type CN2 Crossover

 

I have included pics for reference. 

 

Thanks again in advance on any thoughts or advice you're willing to share. 

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IMG_5075.JPG

IMG_5076.JPG

IMG_5070.JPG

IMG_5104.JPG

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Well that is a good start. Was thinking those could be external to any amplifier/box.

The crossovers look simple enough being just 2 capacitors I'm seeing.

How do they sound now, or do the Utah's need refoaming or anything?

Not that hip on those but others of course are.

What do you think they require?

Thanks!

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10 minutes ago, billybob said:

Well that is a good start. Was thinking those could be external to any amplifier/box.

The crossovers look simple enough being just 2 capacitors I'm seeing.

How do they sound now, or do the Utah's need refoaming or anything?

Not that hip on those but others of course are.

What do you think they require?

Thanks!

Of course know of Altec and Utah brands, but limited.

Since those are possibly the original crossovers, they may benefit from a refresh at some point.

Are you handy with a soldering iron, refinishing wood, etc?

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Morning All- thanks for the feedback and questions.  My responses:

 

- How do they sound/do the Utah's need refoaming? The Altec's are in good shape, or at least that was my initial take when I briefly auditioned them.  The Utah's are in varying states of decay though.  Surrounds intact, but failing, in one cabinet and I believe in the second they are completely shot.  Little to no bass during the audition, but I have not opened that cabinet yet.

- What's my plan?  I would like to replace the Utah's altogether, from what I've read the Utah's were not stellar when new, as I would like more bottom end.  I've read responses on the forum that since they ported, I should have plenty of options to replace the Utah's.  Looking for suggestions, do not want to spend more than $350-400 to replace the four 15's.

- Can I solder?  As noted, I'm new to tinkering but have done some soldering in the past; I will be practicing and improving my skills before attempting any work on the actual x-over/refurb.

- Wood working skills?  The cabinets are in really good shape given their age and their potential past life living in a Northwoods Wi, bar/pub. Current plan is leave cabinets as is, but clean up and respray the gold grills/horns. 

 

Documentation online regarding these is rather limited, but did find an archived ad from 1967 that states the following:

 

- System Impedance: 8 ohms

- Crossover at 800 Hz

 

Hoping to get suggestions on replacement caps to: 

1) Bring the back to spec

or

2) Ideas on how to improve their overall performance.  Ex. would it be better to crossover at 900 Hz or 700 Hz? 

3) Experience recommendations on woofer replacements.  Ex. thoughts / experiences of comparable Goldwood vs. Eminence drivers

 

Thanks again for all the feedback and willing to help out a newb. 

 

Art

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5 minutes ago, belles1978 said:

Morning All- thanks for the feedback and questions.  My responses:

 

- How do they sound/do the Utah's need refoaming? The Altec's are in good shape, or at least that was my initial take when I briefly auditioned them.  The Utah's are in varying states of decay though.  Surrounds intact, but failing, in one cabinet and I believe in the second they are completely shot.  Little to no bass during the audition, but I have not opened that cabinet yet.

- What's my plan?  I would like to replace the Utah's altogether, from what I've read the Utah's were not stellar when new, as I would like more bottom end.  I've read responses on the forum that since they ported, I should have plenty of options to replace the Utah's.  Looking for suggestions, do not want to spend more than $350-400 to replace the four 15's.

- Can I solder?  As noted, I'm new to tinkering but have done some soldering in the past; I will be practicing and improving my skills before attempting any work on the actual x-over/refurb.

- Wood working skills?  The cabinets are in really good shape given their age and their potential past life living in a Northwoods Wi, bar/pub. Current plan is leave cabinets as is, but clean up and respray the gold grills/horns. 

 

Documentation online regarding these is rather limited, but did find an archived ad from 1967 that states the following:

 

- System Impedance: 8 ohms

- Crossover at 800 Hz

 

Hoping to get suggestions on replacement caps to: 

1) Bring the back to spec

or

2) Ideas on how to improve their overall performance.  Ex. would it be better to crossover at 900 Hz or 700 Hz? 

3) Experience recommendations on woofer replacements.  Ex. thoughts / experiences of comparable Goldwood vs. Eminence drivers

 

Thanks again for all the feedback and willing to help out a newb. 

 

Art

Sounds like a decent plan.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/26/2021 at 12:44 PM, belles1978 said:

Morning All- thanks for the feedback and questions.  My responses:

 

- How do they sound/do the Utah's need refoaming? The Altec's are in good shape, or at least that was my initial take when I briefly auditioned them.  The Utah's are in varying states of decay though.  Surrounds intact, but failing, in one cabinet and I believe in the second they are completely shot.  Little to no bass during the audition, but I have not opened that cabinet yet.

- What's my plan?  I would like to replace the Utah's altogether, from what I've read the Utah's were not stellar when new, as I would like more bottom end.  I've read responses on the forum that since they ported, I should have plenty of options to replace the Utah's.  Looking for suggestions, do not want to spend more than $350-400 to replace the four 15's.

- Can I solder?  As noted, I'm new to tinkering but have done some soldering in the past; I will be practicing and improving my skills before attempting any work on the actual x-over/refurb.

- Wood working skills?  The cabinets are in really good shape given their age and their potential past life living in a Northwoods Wi, bar/pub. Current plan is leave cabinets as is, but clean up and respray the gold grills/horns. 

 

Documentation online regarding these is rather limited, but did find an archived ad from 1967 that states the following:

 

- System Impedance: 8 ohms

- Crossover at 800 Hz

 

Hoping to get suggestions on replacement caps to: 

1) Bring the back to spec

or

2) Ideas on how to improve their overall performance.  Ex. would it be better to crossover at 900 Hz or 700 Hz? 

3) Experience recommendations on woofer replacements.  Ex. thoughts / experiences of comparable Goldwood vs. Eminence drivers

 

Thanks again for all the feedback and willing to help out a newb. 

 

Art

I hope you will be driving these with a solid state amplifier. If so, I would get Eminence Kappa 15a woofers which are less than $100 each wired in parallel and just replace the capacitors. Why would you even want to change the Xover frequency from 800? Do you have the means to measure ANYTHING? Don't work so hard a screwing up something that works if you don't know how to make it better. The Altec 806 is a good driver, so nothing to do there if it's not deteriorated. If you need diaphragms, you can get them from Great Plains Audio. Once you have fixed these, sell them and get Cornwalls! (just kidding, but not really).

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37 minutes ago, seti said:

I'd keep internals the same and just upgrade the crossover parts that need it.

 

--great advice -------since these are complete , a recap will wake them up -

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2 hours ago, RandyH000 said:

--great advice -------since these are complete , a recap will wake them up -

 

Well, a recap won't fix the woofers that are shot. Claude's recommendation is a good one, and they will probably sound very good with the Eminence woofers. It's also a no brainer since you don't have an original in good working condition to compare.

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1 hour ago, RandyH000 said:

the woofers are shot ?-

 

On 3/26/2021 at 12:44 PM, belles1978 said:

The Utah's are in varying states of decay though.  Surrounds intact, but failing, in one cabinet and I believe in the second they are completely shot.  Little to no bass during the audition, but I have not opened that cabinet yet.

 

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