Yep once or twice. But its for FUN, remember that?
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If you do an image search you'll find a number have the wrong drivers fitted. A pair sold on Canuck Audio had Vifa ones. On Boxing Day a seller had a pair for sale with blown tweeters and again with different bass drivers and was wanting £170. I sent her a message mentioning the drivers, and as such weren't worth the figure she was asking. She said she would remove the ad (which she did) and investigate and thanked me.
I didnt realise they were fetching that sort of money. :eek: This project was mainly done for fun and to improve my basic soldering, veneering and diagnostic skills. I'm happy working on passive bits of kit, amps and active kit is best left to those with far more experience than myself. These will live in my "charity shop system" which is a system of components that have been bodged together purely to test charity shop purchases before comitting the vinyl to either valve or solid state system.
Well, earlier in the year a pair went for about £70. Originally they cost £185, I think. A one-time mate got a pair and used them with a Nad 3020. The bass came as a bit of a shock after his previous Wharfedale Linton XPs.
I gave my sister a pair with a Linn Basik and a Denon system. She doesn't really appreciate what it is. A couple of times I've tried to set the speakers up but she later moves them. Has one bunged right in a corner between a wall and bookcase and no space right now. I've given up.
Oh, I saw grills in 3 colours for them on ebay for about £50
Im not bothering with Grills I've liked them.
Oh, it was a Google search that presented the grills and not eBay. £52 + VAT in Black, White or Dark Brown from Wilmslow Audio.
The original bass units were definitely chosen for sound rather than robustness! They had a rather thin pressed steel basket supporting a large and heavy magnet assembly, so it didn't take much of a knock to put the whole thing out of alignment and end up with a rubbing voice-coil, and quite a few had to be replaced under warranty. I think Audax subsequently produced a similar unit with a cast alloy basket that was used in the short-lived and rather unloved HB2R, but there never was anything similar after that. Still, at least they didn't have foam surrounds to rot away so the ones that survived undamaged will be as good now as they ever were.
Best of luck! Definitely worthwhile though. Heybrook themselves in their later AGI days offered a paper-coned bass unit as a replacement, but I think it was chosen solely on the fact that it fitted the same hole! I fitted a pair for a friend and whilst they sounded superficially more lively, they lost that beautiful airy cohesion and spaciousness that made the HB2 so special.