M&K Volkswoofer 2B

I took this subwoofer in on trade on another one I didn't need any more. It's one of Miller & Kreisel's early designs, late 70's(?) and very nice looking with thick, real wood sides and an unusual trapezoidal shape. I don't know much about this generation of subs except that it uses a single 12" driver in a sealed cabinet, has an internal amp of I believe 50 watts and was probably originally designed to be used in a 2 way music only system as I don't think even the term "home theater" had been coined yet.

Here is my conundrum...

The surround, while not 'holey' yet, is definitely shot... it flaps under power like a sheet in the wind. I've already talked to ReEdger about a replacement surround but wonder if maybe I shouldn't look for a more modern, replacement driver instead? I see several new M&K Model 17035 12 inch 8 ohm drivers for sale on ebay for around $130 after shipping that I *think* might work... On the other hand is this sub even really worth spending that much on without upgrading/replacing the amp and crossover as well?

I really like the cabinet and would love to do something with this sub to get it back up to usable status again but have no good idea what I am dealing with here.

Anyone else have experience with this particular generation of M&K?

All opinions and suggestions welcome and appreciated.

If you are into diy'ing it, I think there are a bunch of places that would sell speakers with a new crossover, then I suppose you would just need to try to hook it up and see how it sounds.

I have never done anything like that, i did make a set of IC's though and it wasnt hard at all.

elroy

try parts express. you can get something of good quality there.

Thanks guys. So so far the vote tally seems to be for making a project out of it and just keeping the cabinet?

Just to clarify the amp DOES apply power and the driver DOES produce reasonable sound, at low levels anyway... it's only at higher volumes the surround reveals it's age. I'm leaning towards tossing a new surround on it first putting the cheapest option at the top of the list and seeing how it might perform and then, if it still sucks, replace the driver and finally the amp section, in that order.

I guess I was hoping someone would pop up and go "Hey! That's a GREAT sub! I have one! Refoam it, don't DIY it." I guess that could still happen but as I said...

All opinions and suggestions are welcome and appreciated!!!

I would think that if you make a mistake re-foaming it, you arent out much cause you can then replace it with a newer speaker if you wanted.

and it would give you a little more experience re-foaming, especially with a bigger speaker.

elroy

My thoughts exactly.

refoam is the easiest and most cost effective solution, if thats all it needs its really an easy choice imo. the kicker here is putting money into making this a project rather than putting that money towards another sub altogether.

I have acquired one M&K V-1b, replaced the original driver with the "M&K SuperFast Deep Bass" driver, and hooked up an external lowpass filter. The result is indeed fast enough to keep up with my very sensitive, efficient, and quick Zu Druid speakers. My bottlehead audio builders reviewed it critically and found it to be quite a surprisingly fine match and tuneful. In fact, I have another sub just like it on the way and will probably do the same thing to load the room more fully. These are very nice sounding units whith the $90 driver from M&K, available from a guy in Athens, TN called "the electro Mavin." He bought all of Ken Kreisel's recent 12" drivers when M&K folded two years ago. They sound better than the original drivers for music IMHO.

Top notch tip! Any idea how many he has left? How do I contact him?

I sold my last Volkswoofer, foam in less than adequate condition, and took a nicer V3B in on trade on some other stuff. Would love to upgrade it. M&K is still by far my favorite for subs. Too bad they went out of business!

The guy with the remaining stock of Ken Kreisel's SuperFast Deep Bass 17035 drivers is John Plemons. Try Google or Yahoo. His homepage should be
mavin.com. Also goes by the Electro Mavin. KK authenitcates his product. Tell him Bob Albiston sent you.

Thanks!