system7
17-08-2013, 18:13
I thought it might interest those with a beat-up pair of old loudspeakers to see what can be done to get them back on their legs. :)
These Monitor Audio R300-MD (metal dome) speakers were designed by Robin Marshall (http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/567/index.html) as an upgrade to the Monitor Audio R252. 8" bass plus 1" tweeter, which is a tricky combination.
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/8443/monitoraudior300.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img96/3036/t9d9.jpg
Here's how they look now, with an efficient mylar dome Visaton DT 94 (http://www.visaton.com/en/chassis_zubehoer/ht_kalotten/dt94_8.html) tweeter replacing the worn out SEAS 19 TAFD/G (http://www.seas.no/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=100) metal domes which had dried up ferrofluid and sounded ROUGH! Curiously the DT 94 is more in the spirit of the mylar tweeter fitted to the original R252.
http://imageshack.us/a/img829/7784/nqu3.jpg
I could have just bought new tweeters of course, but am not fond of metal domes, which always sound, well, metallic to me. The alternative would have been to fit the almost identical behaving SEAS 19TFF (http://www.seas.no/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=102) soft dome which is probably the easiest thing to do for those of you in a similar situation.
The original crossover, as shown below, was replaced with something a bit more sophisticated, smoother and more phase aligned.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7593/filtero.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img706/1448/zco3.jpg
I modelled the speaker using Visaton Boxsim (http://www.visaton.de/en/literature/software/downloads/index.html) and the similar Visaton W200S Bass Unit (http://www.visaton.com/en/chassis_zubehoer/tiefton/w200s_8.html), which seems justified by the good end result. I rotated the bass units 90 degrees to counter any sagging and voice-coil rubbing. All in all, very pleased by the smooth sound and good integration of the drive units. Have a go! An old box is full of possibilities!
10326103271032810329
These Monitor Audio R300-MD (metal dome) speakers were designed by Robin Marshall (http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/567/index.html) as an upgrade to the Monitor Audio R252. 8" bass plus 1" tweeter, which is a tricky combination.
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/8443/monitoraudior300.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img96/3036/t9d9.jpg
Here's how they look now, with an efficient mylar dome Visaton DT 94 (http://www.visaton.com/en/chassis_zubehoer/ht_kalotten/dt94_8.html) tweeter replacing the worn out SEAS 19 TAFD/G (http://www.seas.no/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=100) metal domes which had dried up ferrofluid and sounded ROUGH! Curiously the DT 94 is more in the spirit of the mylar tweeter fitted to the original R252.
http://imageshack.us/a/img829/7784/nqu3.jpg
I could have just bought new tweeters of course, but am not fond of metal domes, which always sound, well, metallic to me. The alternative would have been to fit the almost identical behaving SEAS 19TFF (http://www.seas.no/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=102) soft dome which is probably the easiest thing to do for those of you in a similar situation.
The original crossover, as shown below, was replaced with something a bit more sophisticated, smoother and more phase aligned.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7593/filtero.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img706/1448/zco3.jpg
I modelled the speaker using Visaton Boxsim (http://www.visaton.de/en/literature/software/downloads/index.html) and the similar Visaton W200S Bass Unit (http://www.visaton.com/en/chassis_zubehoer/tiefton/w200s_8.html), which seems justified by the good end result. I rotated the bass units 90 degrees to counter any sagging and voice-coil rubbing. All in all, very pleased by the smooth sound and good integration of the drive units. Have a go! An old box is full of possibilities!
10326103271032810329