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What do YOU think of as a "Monkey Coffin" speaker?
Thinking about what we refer to as "Monkey Coffins," I vaguely associate the term with big 3-ways from the 1970s and maybe 80s. I Googled to see if there was any more consensus and not only did I not find any consensus, I found some descriptions that most of us would consider simply wrong. According to one of the first search-results, a 8" slim 3-way tower would qualify 
So subjectively, what qualifies as a Monkey Coffin to YOU?
A few things I think of:
- 3-way.
- Big woofer 10" or larger (or does it need to start at 12" even?)
- Basic rectangular prism cabinet. Not a tower, so likely sits on the floor or on small stands a few inches high that may add a little tilt.
Comments
No-one really builds coffins any more - we have learned too much about speakers.
Yup, JR pretty much nailed it.
Bonus points for lattice grils🤘🏼😛🤘🏼
Thanks JR, that was a pretty nice summary!! I think I'll stick to the aesthetics of the monkey coffin and take advantage of the advances in driver's, bracing, etc.
Lol not sure if description, or rant.
Just acknowleging that I laughed out loud at this.
Were sealed cabinets typical at all, or pretty much all ported?
Were waveguides a "thing" at all back then?
I built several monkey coffin 3 ways. A RS225 / Peerless HDS 4"/XT25 ported - loved it! Sold it at cost to a great friend.. And a RS270 sealed w capacitor assist/ Morel MDM55 (I think) and an Airborne 5002. Christ all mighty, what definition, clarity and punch. Sold it to my nephew for $400.
I love the form factor, as well as the capabilities in one box. I will do this again.
Monkey coffins (Rhesus sized enclosures) have always been 1.5 cu ft 4 way sealed with a 12" woofer employing ZERO inductors from my experience.
Today's drivers are much better than those of my past (late 60's ~ late 80's).
The 0.707 roll-off of the bass @ F3 of ~55 Hz is something that I still try to create in all of my builds/experiments as it is the cleanest sound to my ears and can still rattle the dishes in the kitchen cabinets with some DSP/EQ without sounding muddy/out of phase.
It's all about the sound for me . . .
Radio Shack had a speaker with a waveguide loaded cone tweeter at some point, and of course a lot of speakers used horn tweeters such as the Mach 1.
Near as I can tell, ported became common in the 80s.
Not really a rant so much a reminder of how our rose colored glasses work. I grew up in the 80s in a house where we had stereo systems everywhere, and to this day I fondly remember all those Fisher and Optimus and Techniques etc speakers my old man would buy. However, important to remember a ton of them were the equivalent of today's white van speakers.
I forgot an important feature of monkey coffins - they need the highly optimistic frequency response and inflated power handling on a badge on the front baffle.
...and later in the 80s they became "digital ready".
Growing up I had a pair of Panasonic "Thruster" speakers that appeared to be TMM's. Wasn't until I blew them up and took them apart that I discovered they were TM's with a passive radiator. I didn't even know passive radiators existed in the late 70's. I have fond memories of the music I was listening to back then, those Thrusters... not so much. LOL I had a close friend who had a real stereo with some AAL monkey coffins (white cone woofers) that we listened to Dark Side of the Moon, Rainbow, REO, Doobie Brothers, etc over and over again. They sounded great!
From when I was real young I remember my father had some. Memory is foggy but I think it had a 15" and was either a 5 or 7way. All sorts of different horn tweeters. They had the crosshatch wood grills and not much bass lol. He may have gotten them when stationed in Germany in the early 80s. I don't think I've seen another example of them since, though it has been so long I might not even be able to pick them out.
I had some Acoustilinear speakers. They were 3 ways with 10" woofers, cone mids and tweeters, questionably ported, not much of a crossover, and had the chunky large bookshelf from factor - so I think they were proper monkey coffins. I replaced them with Infinity RS5000's. Similar form factor, but sealed bass, planar tweeters, oak finish, clear poly cones. Those seemed like something a little more refined than a standard monkey coffin.
The other type of speaker I would think about putting in the monkey coffin category were the ones that came with the 80's and 90's rack systems. They were cheaply designed and built, but we're usually taller to match the height of the equipment rack (enough room for another cheap woofer or even cheaper passive radiator that wasn't tuned at all and assumed by most to be another woofer.
Sehlin Sound Solutions
This?
Negative Ghost Rider...
Google "Panasonic SB-380"
When I got married in 1984, my wife had these from a previous marriage. We listened to them for many years. I replaced one of the blown tweeters with a Vifa D27 (IIRC) and tuned it by ear. Acoustic suspension of course. Always loved the clarity and dynamics. Circa about 1971 I think - back when Fisher made 'em good. Around 2000 I gifted them to a dear friend.
My friend had a pair of Thrusters that had dual 5-1/4" and a 8" PR.
Still have the Hafler ?
Requirement #1 - Too big to carry by yourself.
Bigger (and higher sensitivity) than even the OEM (Bowers and Wilkins) dares to commercialise. (Yes that is two Peerless XXLS 12” 830845, per side)
But with modern twist- DSP, sealed with LT, and tri-amped.
Besides; no one’s buying - except yourself!!!
I still wonder about the ones I posted. I happened across them at a dirt mall. They wanted more for them than I was willing to spend...or bargain for. Maybe I'll go back and see if they're still laying around.
What's a dirt mall?
No, I gifted it to my healer, then regretted it forever....
Sounds like a junk yard.
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
I was gonna bring these to Iowa if I had room. But it sounds like they’re gone now. He sold them last week after seven years of sitting in a show room.
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
The Hafler was, and still is imo a great little amp. Back in the day I bot a pair of maggies from a guy whom was driving them with a son of Ampzilla, a little hot running 80watter. He kept the amp...
Flea market, swap meet etc.
Ah! That makes sense.
Yeah, flea market. Coined from the movie Mallrats.
....and I hope you never get stink palmed at a dirt mall.
I don't think I've ever seen Mallrats. Is it good?
Kevin Smith movie.