Mortite- Was it good for you?

Rev. Hayes
Rev. Hayes Posts: 475
edited January 2011 in Vintage Speakers
The Mortite Mod, a cheap tweak but is it worth it?

Obviously this poll is for those who actually tried this.
Sounds good to me...
Post edited by Rev. Hayes on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
«1

Comments

  • Knucklehead
    Knucklehead Posts: 3,602
    edited January 2011
    I tried it on my Baby Advent ii's made a huge difference in bass response.
    Polk Audio Surround Bar 360
    Mirage PS-12
    LG BDP-550
    Motorola HD FIOS DVR
    Panasonic 42" Plasma
    XBOX 360[/SIZE]

    Office stuff

    Allied 395 receiver
    Pioneer CDP PD-M430
    RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]

    Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Rev. Hayes
    Rev. Hayes Posts: 475
    edited January 2011
    edit: nevermind........
    Sounds good to me...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,567
    edited January 2011
    Not worth it.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited January 2011
    Worth it.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,806
    edited January 2011
    Moretite (or similar) helps damp resonance on certain ill-behaved cast metal horns...

    dampedcornyhornies.jpg


    I also used it to damp the frame of Radio Shack 40-1354 5-1/4" fullrange twincone drivers. Not sure it actually helped, but it couldn't hurt. These have also had Dave Dlugos' (www.planetsofta.com) phase plugs. Enclosures were designed by Bob Brines (Brines Acoustics) and built by my woodworker/contractor friend Mike Berg. I was actually listening to these last night after a fairly long hiatus; they sound very, very good - single drivers cannot be beaten for imaging (albeit with a fairly narrow window).

    DSCN5289.jpg
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Conradicles
    Conradicles Posts: 6,082
    edited January 2011
    I love mortite
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited January 2011
    Can't vote here...have a box sitting in my office and a set of Monitor 5s that need sealing but have been too lazy to break out the old screwdriver and get the job done. So I'll have to report back. But I'm pretty sure it's going to be 'worth it' because they are not properly sealed at this point!

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DON73
    DON73 Posts: 516
    edited January 2011
    cnh wrote: »
    Can't vote here...have a box sitting in my office and a set of Monitor 5s that need sealing but have been too lazy to break out the old screwdriver and get the job done. So I'll have to report back. But I'm pretty sure it's going to be 'worth it' because they are not properly sealed at this point!

    cnh


    Is there an easy way to tell if they are not properly sealed?
    TO ERR IS HUMAN. TO FORGIVE IS CANINE.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chandler9a
    chandler9a Posts: 878
    edited January 2011
    I have to say it was worth it for me. Did a pair of SDA 1.2 TL's, some SDA 2A's and some Monitor 5jr's and it helped all of them
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,567
    edited January 2011
    DON73 wrote: »
    Is there an easy way to tell if they are not properly sealed?

    Are your gaskets damaged? If not, you should have a good seal.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited January 2011
    I am not allowed to own mortite anymore,,I'll stick with the stock gaskets and Larry's rings.
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited January 2011
    Mortite is a fine tweak for anyone wanting to spend some time with their speakers, but it wasn't a night and day upgrade for me. I will however be redoing my friend's Infinity RS 4.5s with Mortite as his current driver seals are all but disintegrated.

    As mentioned above, I've tried it for dampening before, but it's not worth your time.
    Jake
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DON73
    DON73 Posts: 516
    edited January 2011
    F1nut wrote: »
    Are your gaskets damaged? If not, you should have a good seal.



    I haven't pulled the speakers out. I'm just going by the numerous posts here that say mortiting really improves the bass response.
    TO ERR IS HUMAN. TO FORGIVE IS CANINE.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,338
    edited January 2011
    I noticed an improvement with Mortite. Cheap, easy and worthy tweak.
    Carl

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • headrott
    headrott Posts: 5,496
    edited January 2011
    I did notice a very small improvement (so I answered yes), but vastly superior to the mortite are Larry's rings.

    The rings made a night and day difference in the sound.

    Greg
    Relayer-Big-O-Poster.jpg
    Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
    "I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion." :\
    My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....

    "Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson

    "Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,567
    edited January 2011
    DON73 wrote: »
    I haven't pulled the speakers out. I'm just going by the numerous posts here that say mortiting really improves the bass response.

    I found otherwise.

    I think the "positive" results that some have are due to the fact that the screws had loosened over the years. Of course, in applying the Mortite, the screws get tightened up. Therefore, I suggest tightening all the screws first.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • fbm211
    fbm211 Posts: 1,488
    edited January 2011
    I too did not notice any difference with the mortite either.Waste of time IMO.

    The dynamat extreme tweak made a great improvement to the mids though.
    SDA-2BTL with custom IC
    Adcom 565 monoblocks--Monarchy Audio M-10 preamp
    Theta Data Basic Transport--Stello DA100 Signature DAC--Camelot Dragon Pro2 MK III
    Harman Kardon T-55c TT
    DH Labs Q-10 Signature Speaker Cables With Furez silver plated copper bananas
    Revelation Audio Labs Prophecy Cryo-Silver Reference AES/EBU
    Revelation Audio Labs Prophecy Cryo-Silver i2s digital cable
    4 Furutech FP-314Ag with FI-11cu Plugs/FI-11AG IECs--- Power Cords
    DH LABS REVELATIONS ICs-amps
    Revelation Audio Labs Paradise cryo-silver ICs-Source to pre
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • silvertuner
    silvertuner Posts: 496
    edited January 2011
    ehh, i use it to replace worn out gaskets, but i dont make it a necessary "mod" anymore unless i have to replace the worn out gaskets like i currently am on the crossovers on my altec's

    some cheap free sony speakers
    psw125
    denon 1610
    3.1 channel because i hate cables ran across the living room like that
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited January 2011
    I liked the results on the vintage polk drivers with stamped steel baskets. I wouldn't bother with any cast basket drivers. Yes I did tighten all the screws on my drivers and had no air leaks.
    Ben
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited January 2011
    I found there to be a HUGE improvement after applying Mortite. It definitely wasn't due to the screws being loose, as F1 alluded to above. All of my drivers had been checked for tightness multiple times before I ever applied Mortite to them. My gaskets were in fine shape too, as far as I could tell.

    Bass output was vastly improved, overall midrange clarity was much better...the midrange seemed to come more forward in the mix, and blended with the highs and lows much better. This mod is an absolute no-brainer IMO. I'll never own another pair of vintage Polks without Mortiting them.


    Jesse-Have you ever tried Mortiting your speakers? I seem to recall you mentioning a while back that you just didn't feel it was necessary, so you never tried it.

    I seem to recall that using Mortite was actually a Polk Audio suggested tweak too.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,251
    edited January 2011
    It's a cheap "mod/tweek" try it and see for yourself, all my SDA's have mortite..It's a hobby try it you just might like it..

    Just keep your old gaskets..
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    edited January 2011
    comfortablycurt wrote: »
    I found there to be a HUGE improvement after applying Mortite. It definitely wasn't due to the screws being loose, as F1 alluded to above. All of my drivers had been checked for tightness multiple times before I ever applied Mortite to them. My gaskets were in fine shape too, as far as I could tell.

    Bass output was vastly improved, overall midrange clarity was much better...the midrange seemed to come more forward in the mix, and blended with the highs and lows much better. This mod is an absolute no-brainer IMO. I'll never own another pair of vintage Polks without Mortiting them.


    Jesse-Have you ever tried Mortiting your speakers? I seem to recall you mentioning a while back that you just didn't feel it was necessary, so you never tried it.

    I seem to recall that using Mortite was actually a Polk Audio suggested tweak too.

    I know I'm probably out of line here,but I can't help but wonder what's up with the red letter title under CC's name? A time-out maybe?

    Sorry for the derail,back to Mortite
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited January 2011
    Mike Reeter wrote: »
    I know I'm probably out of line here,but I can't help but wonder what's up with the red letter title under CC's name? A time-out maybe?

    Sorry for the derail,back to Mortite

    Huh?

    I don't see anything under my name...:confused:
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited January 2011
    Mike Reeter wrote: »
    I know I'm probably out of line here,but I can't help but wonder what's up with the red letter title under CC's name? A time-out maybe?

    Sorry for the derail,back to Mortite

    Curt was mistakenly "banned" for a short period. It was an error by the mods as I believe he quoted a spammers post and somehow was automatically banned when the spammer was banned.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited January 2011
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Curt was mistakenly "banned" for a short period. It was an error by the mods as I believe he quoted a spammers post and somehow was automatically banned when the spammer was banned.

    H9

    Interesting...I hadn't even realized that happened.:confused: I guess I'll have to remember not to quote spam posts when I report them from now on.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited January 2011
    I saw some improvement but the stress it put on the screws concerned me and went back to gaskets and now Larry's steel rings which gave me the best bass response and piece of mind.
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited January 2011
    thsmith wrote: »
    I saw some improvement but the stress it put on the screws concerned me and went back to gaskets and now Larry's steel rings which gave me the best bass response and piece of mind.

    Brings up a good point, using Mortite without flattening it out one needs to be careful when reinstalling the screws. If done carefully and tightened diagonally there should be no issue.

    Sometime before the end of the month I'll be putting Larry's rings in my 5B's so that will be documented as well as the listening observations. Only real problem is I have a new computer with new sound card option's (USB) so I need to become familiar with the new system before making a change like this or my observations will be skewed.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    edited January 2011
    comfortablycurt wrote: »
    Interesting...I hadn't even realized that happened.:confused: I guess I'll have to remember not to quote spam posts when I report them from now on.

    I thought something was up....now back to our regular scheduled programming.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • inspiredsports
    inspiredsports Posts: 5,501
    edited January 2011
    Rev. Hayes wrote: »
    The Mortite Mod, a cheap tweak but is it worth it?

    Obviously this poll is for those who actually tried this.

    But I have 4 set of Mortited Polks and could only vote "Yes" once :biggrin:
    VTL ST50 w/mods / RCA6L6GC / TlfnknECC801S
    Conrad Johnson PV-5 w/mods
    TT Conrad Johnson Sonographe SG3 Oak / Sumiko LMT / Grado Woodbody Platinum / Sumiko PIB2 / The Clamp
    Musical Fidelity A1 CDPro/ Bada DD-22 Tube CDP / Conrad Johnson SD-22 CDP
    Tuners w/mods Kenwood KT5020 / Fisher KM60
    MF x-DAC V8, HAInfo NG27
    Herbies Ti-9 / Vibrapods / MIT Shotgun AC1 IEC's / MIT Shotgun 2 IC's / MIT Shotgun 2 Speaker Cables
    PS Audio Cryo / PowerPort Premium Outlets / Exact Power EP15A Conditioner
    Walnut SDA 2B TL /Oak SDA SRS II TL (Sonicaps/Mills/Cardas/Custom SDA ICs / Dynamat Extreme / Larry's Rings/ FSB-2 Spikes
    NAD SS rigs w/mods
    GIK panels
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • inspiredsports
    inspiredsports Posts: 5,501
    edited January 2011
    F1nut wrote: »
    Are your gaskets damaged? If not, you should have a good seal.

    . . . a "good" seal, or an "excellent" seal ??
    VTL ST50 w/mods / RCA6L6GC / TlfnknECC801S
    Conrad Johnson PV-5 w/mods
    TT Conrad Johnson Sonographe SG3 Oak / Sumiko LMT / Grado Woodbody Platinum / Sumiko PIB2 / The Clamp
    Musical Fidelity A1 CDPro/ Bada DD-22 Tube CDP / Conrad Johnson SD-22 CDP
    Tuners w/mods Kenwood KT5020 / Fisher KM60
    MF x-DAC V8, HAInfo NG27
    Herbies Ti-9 / Vibrapods / MIT Shotgun AC1 IEC's / MIT Shotgun 2 IC's / MIT Shotgun 2 Speaker Cables
    PS Audio Cryo / PowerPort Premium Outlets / Exact Power EP15A Conditioner
    Walnut SDA 2B TL /Oak SDA SRS II TL (Sonicaps/Mills/Cardas/Custom SDA ICs / Dynamat Extreme / Larry's Rings/ FSB-2 Spikes
    NAD SS rigs w/mods
    GIK panels
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter