Sunday, July 1, 2018

Lafayette SK98 Reunion

 
Many years ago, I wrote about vintage Japanese drivers. From that survey, the 8" Lafayette SK98 aka Pioneer PIM8L full range driver emerged as a favorite due to its vivid midrange, balanced by respectable high and low frequency extension. Thinking that I could easily find replacements, I eventually unloaded both pairs to friends who didn't have the budget for Altec 755As. 

Lafayette SK98s in Altec 618 clones
Over 10 years have elapsed and I am happily reunited with a pair of SK98s, courtesy of my friend at Junkyard Jukebox. He believed that his treasured pair in Altec 618 clone cabinets should be in the JE Labs collection.

 Welcome back old buddy and thanks J-Rob!




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7 comments:

  1. onboroALFAJuly 5, 2018 at 4:39 PM

    Hello, JE. I was looking for some interesting blog related to classic camera and found your blog. I like classic cars and film cameras. I am also interested in vintage audio but don't have now. It seems dangerous temptation for me☺︎ Anyway your blog looks very interesting for me and let me follow your blog. Thanks.
    Takeshi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JEJuly 5, 2018 at 10:36 PM

      Thanks for visiting Takeshi! I do miss my Austin Mini. But it's ok, I have many things to be grateful for. Can't have everything in this world.

      Cheers man!

      JE

      Delete
  2. UnknownJuly 21, 2018 at 10:34 PM

    I am fascinated with the speaker stands in the photo of the system in the listening room. The orange and green objects that resemble african drums. Could you provide any additional info on these? Are they commercially available? Thank you for your help in this matter.
    AD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JEJuly 22, 2018 at 6:52 PM

      Use these keywords on google, "Prince Aha Stool by Philippe Starck replica". Target used to stock replicas on-line for about $32/shipped, that's what we have. The original from Kartell cost more than double.

      Happy hunting!

      JE

      Delete
  3. UnknownJuly 30, 2018 at 9:38 AM

    Dear Sir,

    Thank you for your very interesting blog. My name is Ricardo and I live in the UK. Following your blog advise I started looking for a Pioneer Pim-16 (or similar) drivers and I have found them inside of an AKai ss-50 box. They are in perfect condition!. Could you point me in the direction of a suitable enclosure for them? I know you advocate open baffle, but my room is too small for them. Other option is to fabricate the boxes in accordance to the drawings shown on audio heritage jp, there, there are 3 options: 2 sealed boxes and one with a slot. Then you are have a nice picture in your blog of a different enclosure (the altec). What to do? :-)

    Thank you very much.

    Kind regards,

    Ricardo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JEJuly 30, 2018 at 12:02 PM

      As you already know I've listened most extensively to the PIM16 and PIM8L in an open baffle. And more recently the SK98 in Altec 618 cabinets, plans are here - http://jelabsarch.blogspot.com/2012/06/wealtec-755-part-2-2-cf-box.html - this might be too big for the 6" PIM16 though, but who knows?

      Aside from those, I really don't have much experience with other boxes. My friend Joe Roberts uploaded cabinet plans at Hifi Engine -https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/pioneer/pim-6.shtml - this might be a similar document to those you found in audio heritage.jp.

      I googled Akai SS50 and if I were in your position, I would start with those cabinets. If the walls are too flimsy, add some bracing and experiment with damping and etc. Part of the fun in DIY is the adventure of trying things until you find something that works even if they go against established high end audio concepts.

      Good luck on your journey and hope this helps!

      JE

      Delete
    2. UnknownJuly 30, 2018 at 1:00 PM

      Dear Joe,

      Thanks very much for your kind reply. You are absolutely right, I should try first the original box (about 10 liters in volume). At this very moment I am listening to them "open" since I don't have the correct "coaxial??" speaker connector (looks like headphone connector), Bach cello suites sounds beautiful on these little things!!!. One requirement for the enclosure is to squeeze the maximum efficiency from the drivers because the amplifier is only 1/10 of a watt in power (SE 3a4 or dl93 tube). The room is small: 12 meter square. With the amplifier volume at 50% the speakers fill the room nicely with no distortion in "open" state. Well too much talk...
      Thank you very much for your time, advise and links!!!
      Perhaps I will bother you again with my findings :-)

      Let's experiment!!

      All the best my friend,

      Ricardo

      Delete

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