VR3 DIY Fortress Mod + "Plus Edition"

Drenis

Good lord that stack is huge compared to the stock one... wow

VR3

Just for comparison sake - here is a "Regular" Fortress

Looks good man! Will look real good on my DIY page

tommyt21

Trey i will send you the original jpegs. All of the pics i uploaded are Gif and lower quality. ill get you the
good ones

tommyt21

Tonight I will be reassembeling my CSIA6 with the new moddified Fortress Plus Crossover...Yeah!!. I ditched the stock leads and went with the same 14ga wire I was using in the Crossover for the Woofer leads. When I go to attach the leads to the speaker terminals should I solder them or use clips? Or does it even matter?

Thanks Thomas

VR3

I would "tin" the ends, bare wire in or spades/banana

Look forward to your impressions!

Thanks!

tommyt21

I have only had about a half hour, all I can say is HOLY CHIT BATMAN!! I know these things have to burn in but the thing I noticed right out of the box was the Mid Bass just jumped out of the center channel. Its a little bright right now but I expect burn in will cure that. S's & T's sound much, much crisper... Giddy with excitment. Might I also add that the silver plate on the back of the speaker looks Kick ****$. I cant believe I was able to do this on my own!!.

A bigger right up after burn in...

Devlon

Tommy, did you ever get a chance to record anything before the mod to compare after the burn in is completed?

tommyt21

Hi Dev, I wasn’t able to get the Mic for a before recording, however I do plan on doing a side by side with the A7's. I would also like to say after watching that YouTube video and my initial results with modification. I can say with certainty that the video doesn’t even come close to capturing everything you can hear. That recording in my opinion doesn’t even come close to giving a good modification justice. That said I still plan on entertaining the idea. Thanks for the interest in this thread!

tommyt21

5+ Hours Update:twisted:

Some may call me Looney, but last night we watched Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer. During the movie I was astounded that I could hear the damn caps changing:eek: Voices kept getting clearer and clearer and my smile kept getting bigger and bigger. The mids so far are really the big star, they are blowing my A7?s out of the water in that frequency range by leaps and bounds. The brightness that I said earlier went away rather quickly. The highs seem much clearer now with a blackness too them. Meaning there?s no pink snow noise during quiet scenes. (thought they were broken at firsts, lol then they scared the jeepers out of me,LOL). So far I disagree with some who say the highs get rolled off. Rolled off to me, means that you have removed something. In my opinion they are now cleaner and less fatiguing & edgy. If this is what it?s like at 5 hours in I can?t wait for the full burn In.

I will try to post burn in updates. I'm thinking something along the lines of approx 50h, 130h, 200h+


Thomas

VR3

Hey Thomas,

Can you send me all your pictures in a zip file?

Thanks!

tommyt21

Trey i sent them let me know if they dont come through

VR3

Got em!

Devlon

tommyt21 wrote: »

Hi Dev, I wasn’t able to get the Mic for a before recording, however I do plan on doing a side by side with the A7's. I would also like to say after watching that YouTube video and my initial results with modification. I can say with certainty that the video doesn’t even come close to capturing everything you can hear. That recording in my opinion doesn’t even come close to giving a good modification justice. That said I still plan on entertaining the idea. Thanks for the interest in this thread!

Yeah, I can't imagine how good your mods sound "live"! The youtube video recording was with just a camcorder mic, and even with that with my eyes closed there was no mistake on which speaker was the mod. To me it was dramatic. So, it wasn't too hard to imagine how much better it would sound actually being there. I think if Trey recorded a high quality "before and after" comparison on some of his mods his business would quadruple. The proof is in the hearing. It would be great marketing! You listening Trey? lol

VR3

The problem folks is I rarely have the speakers here...

I however might be willing to work out something capable of such a thing

What is this video you guys speak of??

gp4jesus

tommyt21 wrote: »

.. the thing I noticed "right out of the box" was the Mid Bass just jumped out of the center channel.

1. Do you think you notice the MB* more* because of the "corrected" response curve because of the new XO parts?
2. Could higher quality, heavier gauge internal wire be a factor?
I say yes to both! I noticed the same* though less significant diff after upgrading my CC wire.

Regardless, congrats! Enjoy the well deserved fruits of your hard work.

tony

Devlon

VR3 wrote: »

The problem folks is I rarely have the speakers here...

I however might be willing to work out something capable of such a thing

What is this video you guys speak of??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFNPrqSxAgw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CP6eSTKs64

When you jump your cursor back and forth to make the comparison between the two speakers faster it becomes even more apparent on the differences.

tommyt21

These suckers havnt even burned in yet and the snappy tightness I'm getting on the midbass out of the center channel is just astounding. Trey I know for the A7's we are barley going to have room to just go ESA on the TW network, however after having these on the mids for the center I really want to figure out a way to either put ESA's again into the MB network or at least SA's. Could we mount the tweeter network seperate inside the cab with one of the bread boards?

VR3

Depending on much depth you have I have 2 ft long rods... I think we could suspend off the plates up to 10" securely... that would give you enough room to fit the ESA throughout on just a HUGE stack...

Let me know the depth

Thanks!

tommyt21

I'll double check but I think we are right at 10 inches from the driver to the back inside of the cab wall. I should have measured how big that beast was that I put back in the A6, LOL. Loving every minute of my newly Improved Center Channel. Trey your going to have to add a new section for "Fortress Plus" mods...HEHEHE

tommyt21

I now have about 40 hours on these bad boys. Our system is on most of the day. Note to Clarity Cap, possible nick name for a ESA Caps when in the mid network..."Bass Cans" J/k. I wanted to say the clarity and output of the bass on the A6 is almost unbelievable! and not something I was looking for when modding or expecting, it just kinda smacked me in the face. I listen to Multi channel music with the sub off. I played with the channel leveling just to confirm, yep modded A6 trouncing my unmodded A7's in everything, but especially the mid range and mid bass. Just amazing! Male vocalist sound so much more natural, not as bloated or boomy as before. There called Clarity Caps for a reason. I am still waiting for the top end to settle a little more. Trey I'm glad we went with the ESA's on the mids!

I wil try to get a full review for Trey sometime next week after some more burn in and listening.

tommyt21

Here is my Review for the VR3 Mods.

When I first started out in this hobby a mere 3 years ago I was given some great advice from Club Polk, ?don?t just take someone?s opinion on the forum, experience it yourself?. Nothing screams experience it yourself like a DIY Kit from VR3 Mods. After much contemplation, I decided to do the DIY Kit for my Polk Audio CSI A6 center channel. This is the center channel from Polk?s RTI A line. It?s a beast of a center channel measuring 24" W x 7 3/4" H x 14" D.
Even thinking about doing a crossover upgrade was a daunting task for someone like me. I have very little experience with wiring or soldering. While frightened, I finally bit the bullet and ordered my Kit from VR3 Mods. While waiting for the parts I started to think is this over my head? After receiving my well packaged Kit, I sat down and started planning on how I was going to climb this seemingly insurmountable mountain. I had few questions of course and emailed VR3 Mods. I had a response back each time in no more than an hour! Best damn customer service I have ever encountered. VR3 Mods answered every question I had no matter how trivial with expertise and politeness. Those interactions put me at ease and I continued the modification enjoying every minute, without any significant problems. It was so fulfilling to say I did this! I felt like a proud Papa.
Yeah, enough with the touchy feely how did it sound? This is where the big payoff is. The sound is absolutely stunning, the mid bass is now so tight and snappy. This is a significant plus for things like gunshots and drums that are directed out of the center channel. Male vocals were not as bloated and boxy, now they are smooth a natural. The clarity in the mid range increased beyond my expectations. I here detail now in Blurays that I did not know existed before, dialogue is effortless and clean with great separation from background noise. It is much easier to hear the dialogue on quiet scenes now. S?s & T?s are much better without that long overhang, much crisper. The high end on this notoriously bright speaker is now so much smoother with a silkiness to it. Lana Del Rey sounded very rich and airy, I was in heaven. The top end now has a clear detail that it was lacking before with a lot less shrillness to it in the upper registers. My modified A6 decimates my A7?s on all frequency ranges that I have compared. I cannot wait to get my A7?s modded, these will be speakers my family and I will enjoy for years! If you are thinking about doing a VR3 Mod, quit thinking and just do it!

Is it okay to say that I?m falling in love with a center channel?

VR3

Wow! Thank you for the kind words!

Very cool, enjoy those bad boys!

I am interested to see what route we take on the A7!

GFOviedo

Looks like a good mod. However, my wife and I heard your youtube videos and to be honest not much difference at all. However, in person would probably be a different out come.

VR3

... There has not been a modified video posted yet...

I do not know what you are talking about

tommyt21

I have no idea what vid your talking about but my Vr3 xover was worth every penny and was a dramatic audio difference

Polka_sound

Just came from the vr3 website some links didn't work. Is there a mod for Polk rti 12s? I have a csia6 so I can get that mod. What models does the modded do? I couldn't locate them on the website? Also the DIY section only had one model up but I see some guys here doing it on their own

VR3

Hello,
I am working non stop on constructing a new site to correct these issues... Sorry about this...

please email me at vr3mods@gmail.com for information!

Thanks :]

pablo_rodz

This is very interesting....

Is there a mod for the RTi10? I have the CSiA6 and will be considering this mod, but my RTi10s will need to be upgraded too.

EndersShadow

pablo_rodz wrote: »

This is very interesting....

Is there a mod for the RTi10? I have the CSiA6 and will be considering this mod, but my RTi10s will need to be upgraded too.

If it doesnt exist already, I am sure he can whip you up a quote quick for it, shoot him an email at vr3mods@gmail.com (I think thats his email now)....

VR3

Now... this will be interesting, this is approximately 2" taller than the final modification - I bound all four together at the end with a zip tie and there is a small amount of flex - once it is loaded up there should be hardly no flex and be AWESOME!