02-01-2009, 11:24 AM
For those who have horn type speakers for their pre-1928 radios, a tiny magnet will greatly improve speaker performance.
The speakers were originally built with electrically magnetized magnets; these loose much of their magnetism over the years. By strategically placing one little modern super-magnet near the end of the original magnet, the audio output level is increased tremendously and tone is greatly improved too. It's totally non-destructive and brings the audio back to where it was originally.
A single magnet is about the size of three stacked dimes. Available at:
http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm/subsection/11
(you will have to get an order built up to $25 here so go through the catalog).
This technique has proved excellent on Baldwin and GGG speakers; Finding the "sweet spot" yet for the Atwater Kent horns is underway. Magnets don't seem to do anything for coned speakers- so far.
The speakers were originally built with electrically magnetized magnets; these loose much of their magnetism over the years. By strategically placing one little modern super-magnet near the end of the original magnet, the audio output level is increased tremendously and tone is greatly improved too. It's totally non-destructive and brings the audio back to where it was originally.
A single magnet is about the size of three stacked dimes. Available at:
http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm/subsection/11
(you will have to get an order built up to $25 here so go through the catalog).
This technique has proved excellent on Baldwin and GGG speakers; Finding the "sweet spot" yet for the Atwater Kent horns is underway. Magnets don't seem to do anything for coned speakers- so far.
Pete AI2V