Sadly thats the condition they were in when purchased
But the sound more than makes up for the cosmetics
May see if I can make some stretchy covers for them in a more acceptable colour to me
Location: Dagenham Essex
Posts: 11,215
I'm Allen.
Sadly thats the condition they were in when purchased
But the sound more than makes up for the cosmetics
May see if I can make some stretchy covers for them in a more acceptable colour to me
[
Take the grilles off and 'dolly' out the kinks. Shouldn't be too hard.
They do sound nice. I had a pair. Had to rebuild the rectifiers in mine.
Location: Dagenham Essex
Posts: 11,215
I'm Allen.
Location: Dagenham Essex
Posts: 11,215
I'm Allen.
Just found this on the web a review of the 35 year olds
" These speakers were manufactured in the '70s... yep, 35 years ago... Then, why this review? because their technology was very special, and still interesting.
The mid-bass was 7.5", huge magnet, cast frame, bextrene shallow cone.
They were loaded by a quarter-wave Transmission Line, and covered the spectrum up to 3kHz. The T.L., high crossover frequency, very thick baffle and Bextrene cone resulted in a very neutral, non-boxy sound, still excellent today. The efficiency was very low, though, and a powerful amplifier is required (100W per channel).
There were 2 dome tweeters, one 38mm and one 19m (above 14kHz). Dome tweeters were in their infancy, and use of 2 tweeters was logical at the time, but one 25~30mm modern dome tweeter today would provide a less harsh, more detailed sound.
I wonder if somebody ever modded a pair of B&W DM2a. Keeping the enclosure and the mid-bass, augmented by a modern top-quality dome tweeter with an adequate crossover, should be a killer combination.
It is a pity that T.L. are not used more often. The freedom from 'boxiness' and the possibility to produce very low bass from a mid-size woofer are exceptional. "
[
Dunno where you got that info, but they are 1/8th wavelength lines, not 1/4. I spoke to John Bowers about his design when they were released.
You not thought about getting those ESL 57 refurbished, Al?
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.
Location: Dagenham Essex
Posts: 11,215
I'm Allen.
Location: Stäfa (near Zürich), Switzerland
Posts: 308
I'm Richard.
Do yours have the wax potted EHT units? If so its a fairly easy DIY job to rebuild them with new caps and diodes. Assuming they are still stock then you are not hearing them anywhere near their best.
I have a spare pair here I always intended to rebuild and then sell on an exchange basis for old ones.
I'd recommend taking grills off, gently push out dings & wash them, check EHT units to see if they are wax potted & and clean all the dust off the panels (nappy wipes are good) - you can then also check panels for arc damage.
Richard