Got the last RDO 198 in 2.3tl,s do they get to sounding better?

zarrdoss

Do these eventually sound better? because they sound pretty damn good straight out of the box. Yes everyone was right, these do sound better than my regular 2.3's and I thought that was impossible, I am in audio bliss and would like to thank everyone here that gave me a swift kick in the rear to take on this project.


http://s651.photobucket.com/albums/uu237/zarrdoss/?action=view&current=IMG_0964.jpg

nooshinjohn

You are quite welcome. now that you are finished with it could you please remove my boot from your A@* and return it after you clean it up a bit?:p

:cool:they will continue to improve a bit for about 50 to 100 hrs and congrats man!!!:D

artinaz

Was taking a look at the images you had posted.

Man, just how many speakers do you own ?

Azi

zarrdoss

artinaz wrote: »

Was taking a look at the images you had posted.

Man, just how many speakers do you own ?

Azi

5 pair currently 2.3's ,2.3tl's, ls 90's, monitor 5b's, and some AR tsw 610 at one time I had 17 pairs and over the years I have had over 100. What an addiction huh?

ND13

Advent Maestros kick ****. I've got a set I need to refoam that I bought for my father while In the Air Force. Had them since new and I even have the boxes somewhere. Now that I'm down to only one pair of Polks, I better get them refoamed quick.

zarrdoss

ND13 wrote: »

Advent Maestros kick ****. I've got a set I need to refoam that I bought for my father while In the Air Force. Had them since new and I even have the boxes somewhere. Now that I'm down to only one pair of Polks, I better get them refoamed quick.

The AR TSW610's that I have now sounded better than the Maestros, It was close but the AR took it. AR and Advent are basically the same. I had to refoam the AR as well, Fun job. but they sounded even better after.

ND13

But how much more did the ARs run ya?;)

I grew up with Advent and AR...always preferred the acoustic suspension design over vented. I guess that's why I like most Polks, they are really sealed, just use a passive and are normally more efficient than Advents and Ars.

zarrdoss

I got them for 60 at the pawn shop and spent 30 and about 6 hrs re-foaming them but they did at least work before re-foaming. they sound pretty sweet!

ND13

I was thinking when new. I'd say the ARs were close to twice the price, but I may be off a bit. The Maestros had an MSRP of $800/pr, iirc. I got them on base during an electronics clearance for $520/pr. Also bought 2 sets of Legacies and a pair of Babies. All the other fellas were buying CVs and Bose. My rig blew their's away. H/K seperates and Advent Legacy x 4. Still have the pair of Smaller Advents my dad bought in 72.

zarrdoss

Oh the AR had a retail of $900 new. All those older Advent's and AR's were great, sad now to see what they have become.

Phil Dawson

Right now I'm listening to a pair of old AR 910s (2 12" woofers, 1 8" mid-bass, 2 6" mids, and a 1 1/2" dome tweeter). They sound very nice - in the same league as my system at home. One of the 12s fires out the rear. If you get a chance to pick up a pair of old ARs at the right price go for it.
Good luck, Phil

SRS-SDA Front
2 cs400i Center
SRS-SDA Rear
Shure 12in sub
B&K ref 10 pre-pro upgr to ref 50
Techniques 1200 TT
Mac MR71 Tuna
Lexicon rt-20 uni player
HK citation pre for TT
2 PSE Studio Mono Blocks
4 PSE Studio Stereo Amps
1 Mac 2100 Amp for sub

zarrdoss

Yeah I have seen those on e-bay and have been looking locally, I hope to find some someday, cheap.

Phil Dawson wrote: »

Right now I'm listening to a pair of old AR 910s (2 12" woofers, 1 8" mid-bass, 2 6" mids, and a 1 1/2" dome tweeter). They sound very nice - in the same league as my system at home. One of the 12s fires out the rear. If you get a chance to pick up a pair of old ARs at the right price go for it.
Good luck, Phil

SRS-SDA Front
2 cs400i Center
SRS-SDA Rear
Shure 12in sub
B&K ref 10 pre-pro upgr to ref 50
Techniques 1200 TT
Mac MR71 Tuna
Lexicon rt-20 uni player
HK citation pre for TT
2 PSE Studio Mono Blocks
4 PSE Studio Stereo Amps
1 Mac 2100 Amp for sub

inspiredsports

nooshinjohn wrote: »

. . . they will continue to improve a bit for about 50 to 100 hrs and congrats man!!!:D

Very nice! Definitely will get even smoother and sweeter with a bit of time.

Also, are you familiar with the Mortite and Dynamat tweaks that can be added for a few dollars and an evening's work?

zarrdoss

Yeah I was going to experiment with some rubberized paint on one of the dead ones to see how it workes in taking out the ring. It would have been nice if they used cast alloy, but price would be more. Do you get Mortite at home depot?

Dennis Gardner

Don't confuse the raw driver ring with one installed. Damping may help some, but solid baffle mounting has more to do with removing the ring.

zarrdoss

So does this make the driver impossible to remove?

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

Don't confuse the raw driver ring with one installed. Damping may help some, but solid baffle mounting has more to do with removing the ring.

Dennis Gardner

Maybe I wasn't clear. Damping the basket is covering it with a damping material like Dynamat. I have heard how some have thumped the driver when removed from the cabinet and couldn't believe how much it rang. The cabinet mounting takes care of the ringing, so much so that it is a dead thud went rapped upon once its mounted. Damping the basket is really overkill, but if it makes you feel better, do it.

zarrdoss

No I was talking about doing the Mortite, sorry I should have been more clear. Does it make it harder to remove if you have to?

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

Maybe I wasn't clear. Damping the basket is covering it with a damping material like Dynamat. I have heard how some have thumped the driver when removed from the cabinet and couldn't believe how much it rang. The cabinet mounting takes care of the ringing, so much so that it is a dead thud went rapped upon once its mounted. Damping the basket is really overkill, but if it makes you feel better, do it.

Dennis Gardner

Many have use Mortite for awhile with success, but not many know what happens years after it has been on in storage units. The way you treat your speakers, you should be okay.

nooshinjohn

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

Many have use Mortite for awhile with success, but not many know what happens years after it has been on in storage units. The way you treat your speakers, you should be okay.

Moretite has been great so far for me and has not made it any more difficult to remove a driver

inspiredsports

zarrdoss wrote: »

Yeah I was going to experiment with some rubberized paint on one of the dead ones to see how it workes in taking out the ring. It would have been nice if they used cast alloy, but price would be more. Do you get Mortite at home depot?

I've done a lot of similar experimenting on some old old magnet shifted MW6509's and did a post somewhere about it. Recapping, I used Performix brand Plasti Dip, the rubberized stuff that pliers handles and other hand tools are dipped in. I think it might be a good solution if a factory was tooled up to precisely apply it in the proper uniform thickness. It takes many applications to build up a proper thickness. I'm pretty resourceful and handy, but I don't think the do-it-yourselfer will get the proper results.

I also tried Harvey's Plumber's Putty. It's very pliable and easy to work with at room temperature with no heating, and provides a very nice seal, but it dries out in a day. It's not made to interface with wood as the wood pulls the moisture out of it. It's made to be used between non-porous stainless steel and ceramics so maybe a ceramic-like primer sealer on the baffle would improve its usability. At this point in time I'm not a fan of plumber's putty.

Mortite is the tried and true winner and Matthew Polk himself has been quoted as using it when foam gasket material was in short supply at the Polk factory. DarqueKnight did some research by compressing under high pressure between pieces of cardboard in a vise to determine that it simply does not leach much, if anything. I've used it over 18 to 20 install / remove cycles and it performs flawlessly. It's hard to find at the big box stores now like Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, WalMart, etc., but available online. After using up the first box I found online (dark brown), I found a box of gray at a small local hardware store here in town that was probably 5 years old. It was still supple and there was no evidence of leaching onto the inside of the box.

I roll the thin strands between my palms and then press onto the metal of the driver rim. I then heat it with a hair dryer making about 4 10-second revolutions and evenly flatten it down with my thumbs. I then heat it again and install to the cabinet. When I remove the drivers, 100% remains on the driver. I reheat and reinstall over and over as needed.

Damping the driver and passive radiator baskets with Dynamat Exteme (must be the "Extreme" version") is a wholly separate process and should also be done. I've listened critically with and without, and with Dynamat Extreme definitely tightens up the response, allowing it to reproduce sound without coloring it.

zarrdoss

thanks for all the info you guys, I will try and find some mortite eventually, but spare time is kind of scarce these days.