Picked up some 7b's for free!
buckaroo
Posts: 3
A buddy of mine had a set of 7b's sitting in his basement, and he gave them to me for free recently (I *did* offer him payment, but he wouldn't take it), with a warning that one of the tweeters (which appear to be Peerless, correct?) was bad:
When I got them home and checked them out, as many of you probably guessed the tweeter problem turned out to be a bad fuse. Replaced it and the tweeter lit right up. Can't be happier with them - they sound amazing set up on a couple of makeshift stands, even if cosmetically they're a little rough around the edges.
About that, I notice that on the top of both speakers there are three dimples in the veneer that look like the top of a screw or a nail. On one them, there's bubbling under the veneer that seems most likely to me to be corrosion from such a fastener:
Is there bracing in this area that would use fasteners? Any idea what these dimples might be?
Eventually I plan to re-veneer and re-cap them, but my priority now is to pull the woofer and secure the magnet - it hasn't come loose yet, but an ounce of prevention, etc.
Here they are in situ - placement isn't ideal, and I need to get a legitimate set of speaker stands, but it all works for now:
When I got them home and checked them out, as many of you probably guessed the tweeter problem turned out to be a bad fuse. Replaced it and the tweeter lit right up. Can't be happier with them - they sound amazing set up on a couple of makeshift stands, even if cosmetically they're a little rough around the edges.
About that, I notice that on the top of both speakers there are three dimples in the veneer that look like the top of a screw or a nail. On one them, there's bubbling under the veneer that seems most likely to me to be corrosion from such a fastener:
Is there bracing in this area that would use fasteners? Any idea what these dimples might be?
Eventually I plan to re-veneer and re-cap them, but my priority now is to pull the woofer and secure the magnet - it hasn't come loose yet, but an ounce of prevention, etc.
Here they are in situ - placement isn't ideal, and I need to get a legitimate set of speaker stands, but it all works for now:
Comments
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Someone likely had them mounted. There is nothing in the speakers to cause that. Have you looked at the bottoms for other screws?
That's a vinyl covering, not wood veneer.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 -
Yeah, I figured it was vinyl - just used the wrong word
. I want to peel it off and replace it with real wood veneer eventually.
I thought about the possibility of screw-mounting points (yes, the marks are on the bottom as well), but it didn't make sense to me that the vinyl is unbroken. I wonder if something heavy was sitting on it? But then what would the apparent corrosion bubbling under the vinyl be? Unless the vinyl is not original? I guess I won't find out until I peel it all off... -
It's original vinyl.
The vinyl is broken, it has screws driven into it.
The bubbling is the particleboard falling apart and trapped under the vinyl.
You'll need a heat gun to help remove the vinyl. Best to start on a back edge corner. Heat a small area, pull up that small area, heat another small area and repeat until skinned clean. Fair warning, it isn't easy.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 -
The vinyl is broken, it has screws driven into it.
At first I thought, "no way. I'm looking right at it, and it's unbroken." But then I looked closer, and started poking at it, and it turns out that you're of course correct: it looks to just be a really well color-matched waxy filler, probably something like this: https://www.fastcap.com/product/softwax-kit.
That puts that "mystery" to bed.
And yeah, getting the old vinyl off is going to be a bear - that's why I'm saving it for last, after I address other age-related maintenance. I'm just tickled to have such a great-sounding set of classic speakers, regardless of looks. -
Have you done a air leak test yet ? Are the holes thru ? Push in & HOLD IN on the passive & watch the MW come out. Should stay out 3-5 seconds before going back to resting position. If less then you got leak..
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Numerous reports here and at - ahem - certain dumpster-diver web forums
of de-vinyling these old cabinets. It looks (to use a phrase from math textbooks) straightforward.
