Dear Elliott, I feel misunderstood. In your OP, you seemed to be asking for input on whether you should purchase said Electrovoice speakers. I responded by detailing all the possible problems you might encounter, and my response was tempered by your previous statements and questions, indicating you are not that technically oriented. Of course, to an experienced speaker restorer, the Electrovoices would be much less of a potential challenge. And there is the possibility that these particular samples are just fine. Now that we have heard from the seller, that seems a real possibility. The eBay ad indicates the speakers were sold, so perhaps you are the lucky new owner. If so, good for you.
But please don’t accuse me of being shy about using vintage equipment, let alone anti-vintage. My ca 1980 Beveridge speakers and their dedicated direct-drive amplifiers are far more finicky and problematic than any pair of conventional electromagnetic speakers could ever be. Yet I persist in trying to keep them functional, because the sound is so superb. The persisting problem of the one amplifier oscillating is way above my head as a DIY guy, so if I solve it, that will be by luck. The Beveridge system is a "second" system in my house. I once drove it from an original Quicksilver full function preamplifier, ca 1985, although now I use a Manley Steelhead. Both turntables in that system are "vintage", a Lenco and a Victor TT101. I’ve upgraded the Lenco considerably, and the TT101 took 3 years after purchase to make it work properly (thanks only to JP Jones). The tonearms and cartridges are also vintage items. The Bevs require a supplementary woofer below 100Hz; I use a pair of Transmission Line woofer cabinets that I built in 1970, using KEF B139 woofers, also vintage. The woofer amplifier is a 1990s Threshold. The low pass crossover to the woofers is a Dahlquist DQLP, probably from the late 1970s. My point was that if you are going to mess with old equipment, you have to be prepared to solve problems. You know that as well as I do. The rewards for doing so can be great.
Case in point, as Dave Slagle (Intactaudio) pointed out, the components you replaced with a 16-ohm L-pad were not components of an L-pad to begin with. I feel partially responsible for first calling it an L-pad, but that was before I saw the schematic in the brochure you published here. How did the swap turn out?
