I hate oak..... Caution: graphic nudity!

crashb4

I started a post called step one SRS reseal. In true fassion, the quick weekend project balooned completely out of controle. I had poor sealing of the cabinet and set out to find out why. First problem was minimal seal on the tweet gaskets.


Next issue is poor seam sealing on cabinet.


Next issue is poor fitting interconnect socket.


The cabinet its self-failed Q.C. on at least one inspection. The red circle shows an area of the cabinet that is out of square by 1/16 of an inch. Inspection was 7 of 86, but the speaker seems to have been assembled late 12 of 86 by the driver stamps. Coincidently, my initials are MC.


Now for the promised nudity.



Side trim is held with pin nails and glued to the cloth.



I hate clear finish on oak. A refinish of the wood is in order.



100 grit sand followed by a 220 finish sand. Much better color. I have sealed the cabinet, glued the MW magnets, new driver gaskets, RDO-194 tweets on the way, have to order new grill cloth. Cabinet will be reworked and squared. Then a reassemble and see what we get.
I will try to update progress as the project moves along. The cross over will have to wait until the foundation is finished.

DarqueKnight

I hate oak too. Seems you ran into some of the same issues I did when I replaced the oak trim on my SRS and SRS 1.2TL cabinets:

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/131134/curly-maple-end-caps-and-side-strips-for-the-sda-srs

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/134147/sda-srs-1-2tl-custom-wood-panels/p1

By the way, the "starred out" words at the beginning of my SRS 1.2TL report are "p o r n". I'm surprised the word "nudity" isn't starred out by the site's censoring software.

westmassguy

Tiger (quarter sawn) oak is very nice.

Schurkey

Yup, in True Polk Fashion, a minor undertaking results in complete strip and major overhaul.

Proud of you.

Gotta say, I'm disappointed that Polk's flagship (or any other Polk) speaker was assembled so poorly, and from rejected parts.

F1nut

You should rethink your idea of removing and not replacing the clear coat as it does serve a purpose or two. The first is to seal the wood to help prevent it from absorbing moisture. If wood is not sealed it is subject to cracking, checking and warping due to excessive seasonal movement. The second is to bring out the grain, which would otherwise be flat, dull and lifeless.

nooshinjohn

Contact Magnepan for the outer grill cloth they use on their MG20.7's

I used it on my TL's and could not be happier. The cloth is acoustically invisible and has a modern look to it as well.

crashb4

F1nut wrote: »

You should rethink your idea of removing and not replacing the clear coat as it does serve a purpose or two. The first is to seal the wood to help prevent it from absorbing moisture. If wood is not sealed it is subject to cracking, checking and warping due to excessive seasonal movement. The second is to bring out the grain, which would otherwise be flat, dull and lifeless.

Sorry. Didn't make this very clear. The intention is to produce a richer finish on the wood panels. They will be finished with a matt poly seal.

crashb4

DarqueKnight wrote: »

I hate oak too. Seems you ran into some of the same issues I did when I replaced the oak trim on my SRS and SRS 1.2TL cabinets:

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/131134/curly-maple-end-caps-and-side-strips-for-the-sda-srs

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/134147/sda-srs-1-2tl-custom-wood-panels/p1

Your wood work is fantastic. I love the Tiger Maple that you used. I plan to replace the wood ultimately, but the scope of work required on this round is extensive, and the replacement will have to come later.

BlueBirdMusic

"...the quick weekend project balooned completely out of controle."

Adversity is good for the soul and gives us more to read.

Mike Reeter

Looking good soo far, you'll end up with a beautiful pair of Ole Classics when your finished.

DarqueKnight

westmassguy wrote: »

Tiger (quarter sawn) oak is very nice.

Someone suggested quarter sawn oak when I was looking at alternatives to the oak trim on my SRSs. I didn't find it appealing.

I do like oak burl, but it is very expensive and hard to come by in the large solid pieces I required for this project.

westmassguy

DarqueKnight wrote: »

westmassguy wrote: »

Tiger (quarter sawn) oak is very nice.

Someone suggested quarter sawn oak when I was looking at alternatives to the oak trim on my SRSs. I didn't find it appealing.

I do like oak burl, but it is very expensive and hard to come by in the large solid pieces I required for this project.

There are so many wood choices out there. It does come in different grades, light and heavy flake. I've always loved it. My Step-Father was an antiques dealer, so a lot of Victorian Era Furniture came and went. Tiger Oak was used extensively back then. You can also "fume" it prior to stain and finish, to give it a nice patina.

Rex81

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Contact Magnepan for the outer grill cloth they use on their MG20.7's

I used it on my TL's and could not be happier. The cloth is acoustically invisible and has a modern look to it as well.

Or Parts Express carries fabric nearly identical to the original. I just replaced a couple panels with this stuff and you can't tell the difference between the original.

http://www.parts-express.com/mellotone-premium-black-speaker-grill-cloth-yard-64-wide--260-332

crashb4

I was very happy to see the package from Polk on my door step tonight. I decided that in order to seal the new tweets, I would adhere the Armacell directly to the mouting surface of the 194s.


Placing the factory cut side to the edge made for a very clean install. I could feel the seal develope as i tightened the screws. This is not a job for the heavy handed. Overtightning would undoubtedly result in cracking the mounting bezel. A slip of the hex wrench would also be a disaster as it would pierce the dome. BE CAREFULL.

Looks nice all dresses in black. The silver domes are gone.




Also received the interconnect parts.



Next time i will wear my glasses so i can get it strait. 20' of Blue Jeans cable and two 90 degree connectors should allow for the needed wall hugging. Also liking the new wood color. The cabinet is now squared and well sealed.

crashb4

Oh yeah. Placed Armacell at the mount points for the end panels. I tried to address any and all potential leak points. I was tought that attention to detail helps ensure a job well done.

woodhead 2

Looking good

leftwinger57

Just to add to this. I also do not like light white oak as speaker furniture. That's why when I got my 2Bs w/ the requi
site plant deep water stains on both speakers I went into action . With F-1S help I 1st bleached the tops. Gave them a light sanding, tacked them dust free and applied a dark walnut stain to them. After the Minwax clear poly wwas swallowed uo I needed about 5 coats and the results were both fairly dramatic and pleasing. Light white oak belongs on my floors which they are. I'm a dark hard wood lover.Wal

nut, Cheery and so on.

crashb4

Quite the transformation. Looks great. Clear coat over oak reminds me of builder grade kitchen cabinets. Yuck!

crashb4

I got new speaker cloth at Joann's Fabric. They had it in stock at my local store and at $6.99 per yard, it was dirt cheap.

http://www.joann.com/utility-fabric-black-speaker-cloth/3514023.html

The cloth is very black and quite shear. I'm in the process of covering the side panels now. The speaker is now reassembled and the sealing measures have worked better than expected.

crashb4

OK. So I finished the left speaker. I figured that I would do a side by side comparison with the RDO-194 tweets in place. I had to do some work on the right to use the Speakon interconnect, so I figured while I was in there, I would also re-seal everything and glue the MW magnets. Both cabinets are now as close to air tight as I could get them. I put on Collective Soul’s Heavy and gave it some volume. Holy s**t. It felt like I was kicked in the chest by a mule. The bass response has improved more than I could have imagined. I have about 20 hours into these speakers and they have really started to come to life. The right still has a lot of shrillness with the silver domes, but the left is quite smooth. The poly switches are still in place and no cross over mods are done yet. The speakers need an internal re-wire. The tweet wires are black from oxidation. They need a full cross over rebuild and better binding posts. I can tell you that these bad boys really respond to the recommended updates from the good folks on this forum. Can’t wait to finish them.

VSAT88

Wow, cant wait to see more. Nice work!

crashb4

Just about 24 hours with the SRS back in service. The system has been running nonstop and I have noticed a change already. The interconnect cable was replaced with SpeakOn connectors and new Blue Jeans cable. Initial startup showed a dramatic reduction in the SDA effect. Today, the effect is returning and is smoother in stereo transitions than it was before. I guess it's the cables that are changing. I didn't believe the whole burn in thing, but hearing is believing. Cabinet sealing has produced incredible changes in low end response. Bass guitar is no longer overpowered by a kick drum. The level of detail is crazy. Bass sustain no longer falls off and the punch of the kick drum can be felt as well as heard. Pay close attention to your cabinets. The return on a simple reseal can be enormous.
Now... The left speaker with the new RDO-194 tweets is much less "bright" than the right with the SL2000s. The SPL also seems to be less. That being said, the poly switches are still in place and I don't know how many times they have been tripped. I am running 200 watts of clean power in a small space and think I will jump them. With holidays coming and planned trips, there will not be much time to further the project.

crashb4

Anyone else see a problem with this? The blue wire from the interconnect is supposed to be next to the green wire. This is the right speaker and it was this way on disassembly. Someone has been in here.

westmassguy

The Interconnect wires from the blade/blade connectors are supposed to be reversed on one crossover.

crashb4

Yes. They are reversed on the interconnect socket.

pauldsteve

I wished I had the money to do everything you are doing. I am going to do it but it will have to be in steps. Why no Hurricane nuts with Screws or Larry's rings?

crashb4

I am also doing things in stages. I haven't started the crossovers yet, but will as time permits. The model I have has metal threaded inserts where the drivers are bolted in. It provides a solid interface between the driver and cabinet. They thread into the wood and machine bolts thread into them.