Vifa SA-130 / AEM-6103

[Allnight]

Hello all.

I have been the happy owner of a pair of the SA-130 speakers for some time now, and generally speaking, mine are still in sound working order.

That said, the veneer on the cabinets is shabby in places, mainly around the rear edges - certainly beyond repair without replacement.

Other than a 32mm MDF plinth fixed to the bottom of each cabinet for the purposes of adding mass and sockets for spikes, they are as originally built.

The DIY bug is alive and well within, so it's time to give these big girls a bit of a birthday.

Cosmetically, I plan to strip the veneer off, and will either  re-apply a new veneer (most likely jarrah), or will coat them in commercial acrylic coating for that industrial look. Currently undecided on that one. Pic's attached are of a set a friend did a couple of years back.

While'st apart, I plan to re-glue/re-seal all joints, make sure the midrange chambers are sealed (which was apparently  a common assembly oversight), fit driver gaskets and address any issues with damping material etc, depending on what's there when I open them up.

Last, but definitely not least, I would like to built a new set of crossovers for them, and this is where I'd appreciate some feedback from members.

I have the SA-130 article and schematic. I would love to see the original AEM-6103 version and hear what everyone suggests as far as the crossovers are concerned. If nothing else, I'll build a set as per original specifications using premium grade components, which I'm sure will net improvements over the 32year old originals.

I look forward to seeing what suggestions come in.

Thanks.

 

[Gregor]

Hi, I worked at radio parts back in the 90s when the sa130 came out, I remember talking with Tom about the crossovers as I was going to make my own, he sent me an update to the mid section which removed the notch filter  he said the new mids didn't require the notch. Sorry I can't tell you any more about which mids where the original or later. Maybe if you can do or get some measurements done you could assess them yourself. I will look an see if i still have the schematics. Greg

[BioBrian]

@Allnight

 

I had quite a journey with these speakers. I enjoyed them a lot for a few years, before I got more serious about speaker building. 100 litres with a 10" driver is a very good way to enjoy bass response, without the addition of subs, etc.

 

I tried to improve them in a few ways, but got swept up and they eventually morphed into something quite different, with only the boxes (still the best size for 10") surviving.

 

I got quite a shock seeing the el-cheapo XO components, including lots of tiny electrolytics, but upgrading them to Jantzen quality was going to cost $1100, and I was never convinced that would be cost-effective.

 

I did replace the mids and tweeters with the equivalent Scan Speak models, which even have the same screw hole spacing - these are still sitting around, packaged for sale.

 

I have the circuit diagrams, photocopied from the magazine, but I'm not sure if copyright would be a problem if I post them here.

 

Sounds like the cosmetics are the 1st priority for you. The plastic veneer was hard to remove, but I would use the opportunity to add more mass to the outside of the box, as the bracing was inadequate, and there's only so much you can get to on the inside. The seals were good on mine. Nice accurate woodwork.

 

I personally think a re-design of the crossover would reap more benefit than upgrading components on the old one.

 

There are a few fans on this forum, so help is probably available to you from various people.

[Allnight]

23 hours ago, Gregor said:

Hi, I worked at radio parts back in the 90s when the sa130 came out, I remember talking with Tom about the crossovers as I was going to make my own, he sent me an update to the mid section which removed the notch filter  he said the new mids didn't require the notch. Sorry I can't tell you any more about which mids where the original or later. Maybe if you can do or get some measurements done you could assess them yourself. I will look an see if i still have the schematics. Greg

Thanks Greg.

I vaguely recall there being an early version of the mids that had a totally different mounting plate to what the later one had.

[Allnight]

9 hours ago, BioBrian said:

@Allnight

 

I had quite a journey with these speakers. I enjoyed them a lot for a few years, before I got more serious about speaker building. 100 litres with a 10" driver is a very good way to enjoy bass response, without the addition of subs, etc.

 

I tried to improve them in a few ways, but got swept up and they eventually morphed into something quite different, with only the boxes (still the best size for 10") surviving.

 

I got quite a shock seeing the el-cheapo XO components, including lots of tiny electrolytics, but upgrading them to Jantzen quality was going to cost $1100, and I was never convinced that would be cost-effective.

 

I did replace the mids and tweeters with the equivalent Scan Speak models, which even have the same screw hole spacing - these are still sitting around, packaged for sale.

 

I have the circuit diagrams, photocopied from the magazine, but I'm not sure if copyright would be a problem if I post them here.

 

Sounds like the cosmetics are the 1st priority for you. The plastic veneer was hard to remove, but I would use the opportunity to add more mass to the outside of the box, as the bracing was inadequate, and there's only so much you can get to on the inside. The seals were good on mine. Nice accurate woodwork.

 

I personally think a re-design of the crossover would reap more benefit than upgrading components on the old one.

 

There are a few fans on this forum, so help is probably available to you from various people.

Brian

Thanks for the reply.

I'll send you a PM about the drivers you have for sale.

Asthetics is what prompted this project, and I need to be careful not to end up with another one that gets it's wheels reinvented where as I should of started again on something else!

[linnit]

Thought I would upload this article from the net, relating to David Tilbrooks designed VIFA  3 way speaker design - Project 6103. 

 

This project was published in Australian Electronics Monthly January 1986.

 

Hope this article can help someone...

AEM-1986-PROJECT 6103.pdf

Edited April 5, 2024 by linnit

[Allnight]

Thought it might be time to resurrect this post.

 

Thanks to BioBrian for the message exchanges and Linnit for posting the AEM article.

 

It's time for me to finally get the new cabinets underway, however I have ongoing concerns about the crossovers I have. Right now they are the totally original SA-130 items. Whatever they were built with is how they remain, but I cant help thinking there is a better solution.

 

I was thinking that a basic upgrade of the capacitors to more "Audiophile" specific might be in order, given the age of the original components. Does anyone have anything else to suggest?

 

Has anyone been able to compare the AEM-6103 crossovers to the SA-130 ones? The original AEM design is obviously more complex, but did it achieve anything?

 

Thanks.