Author Topic: Fairfax Speakers  (Read 5788 times)

Offline Reverend

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Fairfax Speakers
« on: April 01, 2013, 10:11:30 AM »
I picked these up a week or two ago, the seller lives less then a mile from my house.  They are three way, with a 4.5" tweeter, 5.5" mid and (2) 10" woofers.  Things weigh a ton, i'm guessing around 80# each and approximately measure 2.5' x 2.5' x 15".  There is little to no information on Fairfax speakers and i've found only one thread on audio karma that notes the version I have.  I have taken the photos from that thread as I haven't gotten around to taking any pictures yet.

Once I pulled the drivers I found that the tweeters were not original.  They are Fishers that are roughly around the same period I think.  They measure 8 ohm so I'm hoping the previous owner was smart enough to stick with the proper driver.  The photos I have listed below show philips tweeters so that is what I purchased.  Not doing my homework, if I had measured each driver i'd find that the philips are much too small.  The models with Philips tweeters appear to be later versions.  Exploring further, I found other Fairfax models that are using CTS tweeters. These would be the proper size.  I have two options at this point.  I could try to find original CTS drivers or buy the modernized versions that parts express carry.  I decided on option three, buy both since they are fairly cheap.

Functionality and Sound: They seem to be efficient, I was running my amps on them and the volume was quiet loud at 11 o'clock. For the same source on my main speakers, i'm looking at roughly 2PM.  One speaker sounds amazingly good, the low end is very good/ surprisingly punchy. The mids are warm and defined and i'll wait to comment on the highs until I have the proper drivers but they still sounded good. The other speaker has some issues. All drivers are working but the output is not as loud. I'm thinking crossover work will be in order. I also found that one of the two 10" woofers has a cap wired into the terminal, i'll have to replace those as well.

Appearance: I've spent some hours sanding/filling/oiling/finishing the cabinets and they turned out very well. There are some scratches that will take further work to get out/fill and at some point the previous owner (elderly woman) went nuts with a furniture pen on a side panel. My plan is to re-cloth the grills and I might have to make a new grill frame for 1 of the 4 as it's pretty well broken into pieces. Overall they are impressive looking. I can only equate what I've had in the past like a pair of Bozak 302's, but they look and are beefy. Real veneer over particle board but still monsters.





« Last Edit: April 01, 2013, 10:14:15 AM by Reverend »

Offline Reverend

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Re: Fairfax Speakers
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2013, 08:55:25 PM »
Caps and original/modern CTS seakers have been ordered.  These should be operational by this weekend.   >:D

Offline Reverend

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Re: Fairfax Speakers
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2013, 06:32:18 PM »
The redid the speaker grills the other night, they turned out ok.  The original frames are not the best of quality.  I probably should have built new grill frames but I can always do that later.  Well the original CTS drivers that were sent to me are 4ohm.  Looking into this further they made 4 and 8 ohm that looked exactly the same.  Every pair on epay are 8ohm except for these so I didn't think to look.  My screw up, not a big deal.  I recapped the crossovers which were easy enough to do.  There were one 6uf and one 16uf per speaker.  The originals say made in mexico and are about a 5th of the size as these new Solens.  In the place of the CTS's, I installed the new tweeters I bought from PE without soldering them into place in the case I want to try out other drivers.  Wow, they sound killer.  The bass is crazy impressive.  It is very low but still punchy.  The mids are nice and smooth and the tweets sound pretty damn good.  I'll have to throw in the Philips to do a comparison.  They project very well and fill the room nicely with minimal wattage.  This was a very fun project.

I'm currently running some rather demanding electronic music through them and they are singing like champs!

Offline Kingman

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Re: Fairfax Speakers
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2013, 07:47:50 PM »
Sounds good Rev...got pics after the refurb???
IN REALITY IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE TO YOU!!!!!

Offline Reverend

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Re: Fairfax Speakers
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2013, 07:37:02 PM »
The speakers are done.  Crossovers have been recapped, the new grills are made, philips tweeters in and they are shined up and looking nice.  I did some cabinet work but there are still water marks and some scratches that I don't think i'm going to tackle.  It's not really noticeable up close.

Now I just need to find someone to buy them.   ::)







On to my next set, their big brothers!  >:D

« Last Edit: April 10, 2013, 07:45:27 PM by Reverend »

Offline Kingman

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Re: Fairfax Speakers
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2013, 08:20:41 PM »
:P :P :P        8) 8) 8)        :P :P :P        ;) ;) ;)
IN REALITY IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE TO YOU!!!!!

OldiesButGoodies

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Re: Fairfax Speakers
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2013, 08:22:19 PM »
Pat Barber on R2R now - make sure I return this tape to you next time I visit.  My ears have a kleptomaniac tendency.  The Telefunkens on the front end improve midrange and layering/holography by quite the margin on the Bobs (I am not sure what Tom had in there to begin with - but this is def better). The C-9 may be overkill now.

I hope you sell the FFs soon - pleaze don't use flash when taking pics,  those cabinets look better than the flash lets on!

Offline Reverend

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Re: Fairfax Speakers
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2013, 08:40:34 PM »
pleaze don't use flash when taking pics,  those cabinets look better than the flash lets on!

I have a very dark basement, if I didn't you couldn't tell if I was taking a picture of speakers or Oprah's ass.