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Buying T48s
Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 11:20 am
by Evarist
Hey everyone! I have a question regarding buying T48s
I was planning on building some T48s in the future for myself. Recently I have been helping out someone in the neighbourhood who used to play Techno/House music, and used titan 48s to do so. But he switched to reggae and is now using scoops. He knew I was interested in them, so he made an offer for me.
Offer: €450 for four T48s (unloaded) but if I want his old drivers (Eminence Kappa Pro 15 LFA) it's just €50 extra (but they are old, so probably don't work properly).
I had the chance to look inside of them, by laying in the mouth and all the bracing etc looks to be in place. Everything is glued and screwed.
Now my question is, should I accept this offer? I am a little bit hesitant because I don't know how old these are, and there are some usage marks (A corner that has a bit of broken wood on one of the four). Are there some ways I could fix these usage marks, so I can patch up these cabinets?
I want to thank you for your time, kind regards.
Re: Buying T48s
Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:43 pm
by Grant Bunter
If you can lie in the mouth enough you can see all the braces in the last part of the path, that makes me wonder if the mouth braces are installed. You also will not be able to see any more of the path to assess that.
What style of T48 are they? Do they have the access panel on top or on the front?
The one with a front access panel should also allow you to see the horn throat and first part of the path, the top access panel ones less so.
Well built cabs with age don't really matter that much. It's old cabs not well built you don't want to get.
Can you fix a broken corner? Sure. It depends on how bad it is to suggest how to fix it, if you have the woodworking skills and tools to do the job. Cosmetic scratches and so on just require a new coat of paint.
The Kappa Pro 15LFA is not the premium driver. So, 50 euro is not a lot to get them going again if they work, until you can upgrade to a premium driver.
How wide are the cabs?
Is 450 Euro reasonable for the 4? Well, depends on how wide they are, but I doubt you could build them for that at the moment, so yes.
But if it's going to cost you 100 Euro to fix them up with corner repairs and paint, then not such a good deal, negotiate away.
Go back, get some pictures, post them up here.
Any recommendation based only on words is flawed...
Re: Buying T48s
Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 3:25 am
by Evarist
Grant Bunter wrote: ↑Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:43 pm
If you can lie in the mouth enough you can see all the braces in the last part of the path, that makes me wonder if the mouth braces are installed. You also will not be able to see any more of the path to assess that.
What style of T48 are they? Do they have the access panel on top or on the front?
The one with a front access panel should also allow you to see the horn throat and first part of the path, the top access panel ones less so.
Well built cabs with age don't really matter that much. It's old cabs not well built you don't want to get.
Can you fix a broken corner? Sure. It depends on how bad it is to suggest how to fix it, if you have the woodworking skills and tools to do the job. Cosmetic scratches and so on just require a new coat of paint.
The Kappa Pro 15LFA is not the premium driver. So, 50 euro is not a lot to get them going again if they work, until you can upgrade to a premium driver.
How wide are the cabs?
Is 450 Euro reasonable for the 4? Well, depends on how wide they are, but I doubt you could build them for that at the moment, so yes.
But if it's going to cost you 100 Euro to fix them up with corner repairs and paint, then not such a good deal, negotiate away.
Go back, get some pictures, post them up here.
Any recommendation based only on words is flawed...
The mouth braces are not installed in all four of the cabs, that's the only thing I noticed. I do think I want to add the mouth bracing myself if I buy them. From the access panel (installed on the top of the speakers, not the front) I could see the bracing too in the first section of the path. Good that you mentioned I should take into account the price of fixing them up. Paint isn't inexpensive. They seem to be the regular version with the following dimensions: 48x24x24 fitting a 15" driver.
I will try to get some pictures today, and post them up here. Thanks for the response!
Re: Buying T48s
Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:41 am
by shawn_g
It sounds like those are the older style (which are fine), but the price sounds steep to me considering they're not complete (missing mouth braces). It's hard to tell what other steps were skipped.
Re: Buying T48s
Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 1:25 pm
by Evarist
shawn_g wrote: ↑Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:41 am
It sounds like those are the older style (which are fine), but the price sounds steep to me considering they're not complete (missing mouth braces). It's hard to tell what other steps were skipped.
Yes, also one of the driver anchors is broken. Would have to fix that too. I don't think I buy them right now, from what I calculated, it would be better for me to build them over time.
I am also still quite young, I am 18 but very passionate to start with this. So I guess I will do a bit more research first, the person doesn't respond when I ask for a soundcheck.
Thanks for helping out, it is very much appreciated!
Re: Buying T48s
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 11:15 am
by Bruce Weldy
Evarist wrote: ↑Fri Aug 12, 2022 1:25 pm
I don't think I buy them right now, from what I calculated, it would be better for me to build them over time.
That's exactly what you should do. You will gain a wealth of knowledge in woodworking and sound by going through the build process yourself. Wish I had started that young. There are a bunch of people on this forum who will help you through the process. Go through the build threads and read a bunch of 'em. You'll get some good woodworking tips there before you ever start making sawdust.
Good luck and welcome aboard.
Re: Buying T48s
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 2:13 pm
by Evarist
Bruce Weldy wrote: ↑Sat Aug 13, 2022 11:15 am
Evarist wrote: ↑Fri Aug 12, 2022 1:25 pm
I don't think I buy them right now, from what I calculated, it would be better for me to build them over time.
That's exactly what you should do. You will gain a wealth of knowledge in woodworking and sound by going through the build process yourself. Wish I had started that young. There are a bunch of people on this forum who will help you through the process. Go through the build threads and read a bunch of 'em. You'll get some good woodworking tips there before you ever start making sawdust.
Good luck and welcome aboard.
Thanks for this amazing response, I really appreciate it!
Also thank you for the tip to go through the build theads, I will definitely go through this!
I also think the same, will learn much more when doing it myself (which I originally planned to do so).
Re: Buying T48s
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:05 pm
by Seth
Perhaps a compromise could work for you. Buy 2 of them (cherry pick the nicest condition cabs of the bunch) and apply the money saved toward loading them with 3015LF drivers. Build more later (may not even need to).
Wait long enough and he may just give you the other two anyway.
A hundred bucks a cab would be hard for me to pass up.
Re: Buying T48s
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2022 1:46 pm
by Mongoose
I paid £90 for a cab unloaded UK without mouth bracing