Are $38 Speakers worth it?

In 2023 I spent 3 and a half months customizing a $38 pair of vintage Realistic Nova 8 speakers for a local coffee shop in Bellingham, WA called Narrative Coffee co. The interior of the coffee shop is very modern and bright with maple and other light woods being prevalent and white walls. We took the speakers from having a dark, damaged, and dusty exterior to being bright and modern while keeping the vintage inspired lattice diamond grille. I used linen fabric to hide the drivers and veneered the cabinets in fresh maple wood veneer. In order to complete the look I had to learn a few new skills which can be a challenging but rewarding experience. I'm excited to use 3D modeling and my new found CNC skills on more projects in the future. Veneering old speakers and amplifiers is also something that I am slowly getting better at and I had a few takeaways from this project that have helped me with others I'm working on. Restoring old beat up items to a new or customized state and finding a new owner who will love them is one of my favorite things to do, and this set of speakers is even cooler for me because I get to see them every time I grab a cup of coffee. As far as how the sound turned out, well, it's some of the best sound I've heard in a coffee shop. If you're looking to get some sweet speakers in your shop, I'd definitely recommend going vintage as they keep the price low. 00:00 Intro and background info 00:51 The honeymoon phase of the project 01:16 Improving the sound - Crossover upgrade 01:34 First test in the coffee shop 01:40 Prepping the cabinets for new veneer 02:21 Are these speakers even worth customizing? 02:55 Finally finished the 3D model!!! 03:12 Learning to CNC the diamond pattern grilles 04:46 Installing magents in the grilles and painting the baffles white, 05:44 Applying Maple veneer 06:56 Cutting out the second diamond grill 07:17 Sanding, applying finish, and putting linen on the grills 07:41 Final assembly 08:07 First look for the new owner 08:36 Installing at Narrative Coffee Co. 09:07 First song and reactions 10:00 Emotional Sentiments •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Hey! My name is Matt and I sure do love stereos! I got into this hobby when I was in high school over a decade ago. I had huuuge speakers in my bedroom and way too many pieces of gear (my mom was worried I would become a hoarder haha). I started repairing stereos for friends a few years back and decided to make videos about it! Now I repair gear for people. If you want to send yours in for repair, head to my repair form: https://forms.gle/Tk5xAEkGgVdyZ4w4A Test equipment: (I earn a small commission if you buy from these links) -Dim bulb tester! I made mine but you can find them on various websites -Soldering iron Hakko FX 888 https://amzn.to/3JhyNrK -Hakko FR 301 solder sucker https://amzn.to/4ogUecy -Main Multimeter (Fluke 87V) https://amzn.to/45dvqJS -Get the mini grabber leads for it! https://amzn.to/4qpJzxt -Cheaper multimeter (Fluke 115) https://amzn.to/4o9y0ce -Oscilloscope Siglent SDS 1104X-E https://amzn.to/43ovYMU -Function generator Siglent SDG 1032X (There are newer versions out so finding this used online is the best option) -Capacitor tester Peak Atlas ESR 70 https://amzn.to/3JjBauK (The price here fluctuates, you can usually find them cheaper on other stores) -Transistor tester Peak Atlas DCA 75 (you can get the cheaper 55 model but it’s not as good so if you can afford it this is the one) https://amzn.to/4oaW6TS -Hagerman labs IRIAA (Phone or signal generator gets dropped to phono cartridge level) https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify... Tools: -Ratcheting screwdriver https://amzn.to/3WihZED -Lead forming pliers https://amzn.to/3JsB1oK -Capacitor drain tool https://amzn.to/4oD6HGZ -Wire strippers https://amzn.to/43r26iU -Magnetic Helping Hands https://amzn.to/4o5BAnF -Plastic Rocket Sockets https://lovemyswitches.com/rocket-soc... -Fiber glass pencil for cleaning metal contacts https://amzn.to/3Jdn0eG -Digital caliper (Don’t cheap out on one like I did, this one is nice) https://amzn.to/3WS5cJ7 Chemicals/glues: -Electronics contact cleaner https://amzn.to/4o7yH5O -Deoxit D100L for metal contacts https://amzn.to/3WRiXaS -Deoxit F100L for graphite contacts https://amzn.to/4hps1xf -Solder flux in a syringe https://amzn.to/4hpNs1f -Dow Corning 340 Thermal paste (Non conductive) https://amzn.to/4o6f65O -Freeze spray (Electronics safe) for finding faulty transistors https://amzn.to/4qlDvGl -Acrylic glue for dustcovers and such https://amzn.to/4o87TSZ -Mother’s Mag & Aluminum polish for faceplates https://amzn.to/3L70ip2 -Meguiars ScratchX For light buffing https://amzn.to/4ht58t1 Miscellaneous useful items: -Tuner string https://amzn.to/3Wl6DzK -Parts organizer bins https://amzn.to/4ht3nfp Instagram: @Shuksanaudio Tik Tok: @Thedealydeal eBay: https://www.ebay.com/usr/shuksan-audio