Braun L830's update

These Braun L830's were dropped off by a regular reader of this blog that is now hooked on finding vintage loudspeakers to try, he once swore by his JBL L26's but has since expanded his perceptions.

When they came over they looked like this.

They still had the original speaker wire that was like an umbilical cord into the back of the speaker.

Whoever did the "Professional" re foam job made a mess out of the speakers so much so that they had two different dust caps and cement like glue everywhere.

There was not mush I could do besides get matching dust caps and mask the poor glue job with a solid colour, flat black.

Banana plug terminals went into the back of the speaker box which I should have taken a picture of.

The caps on the inside would be an expensive proposition to change and these speakers really do sound terrific so I did not think that that would be money well spent  (unlike EPI's).

Over all these are a beautiful speaker designed by Dieter Rams, their aesthetics are pleasing to the eye they have very cool mid century speaker stands, these are a pair of speakers worth seeking out and holding on to.

How do they sound?.....Wonderful! The extra large mid range dome reveals the intricacies of music that most 2 way systems do not. The tweeter gives off highs that pinpoint cymbal clashes and the 10 inch woofer takes care of the bottom end tightly.

It was a real pleasure to have these speakers for a short period, it had good company with some other German gems.

JVC JR-S300 Receiver

As part of the EPI 100 purchase I also got this 50 watt per channel JVC JR-s300 receiver.

This receiver is in the middle of the line with 50 real watts per channel and two massive 10,000uf capacitors that can easily drive any speakers. These receivers were made circa 1978 during a period when JVC made some pretty decent audio products.

Braun L830

A friend of the blog dropped this pair of Dieter Ram's Braun L830's off for a bit of a work over.

These speakers had an atrocious re foam job that looks like it was done by a six year old.

The cabinets are in great shape and they do sound incredible, a sound that is very detailed and neutral. These are on par with my Dual CL 390's and the Visonik Euro 7 speakers that I own.

I will install banana plug terminals into the cabinets and hopefully clean up the the way the woofers look.

 

Another pair of EPI 100V

I never get tired of re furbishing these speakers. EPI 100's easily benefit from some straight forward but easy to do upgrades. These speakers are incredibly musical and are a real joy to listen to.

The weak point in the speakers is the internal wiring, the capacitor and the speaker terminals.

I always upgrade these to a poly film cap, with 12 gauge speaker wire and new terminals to accept banana plugs.

I also added more fill in the back of the speaker to help dampen the standing waves.

EPI 100's are one of my favorite vintage project speakers, the gains from simple mods really bring out the best in these speakers.

Advent 2002 returned home

This pair of Advent 2002 with EPI tweeters came back home today.

The original posting on these speakers was here.

I gave them to a friend of mine and then I gave him this pair of Mirage 450's as he wanted a pair of speakers in black.

So I might do a bit of fiddling around with these speakers to either bring the tweeter output to match the woofer or move the crossover higher up on the tweeter as the woofer rolls off at 3500hz and the tweeter rolls off at 1800hz. Maybe a resistor will be needed to balance the sound.

Update: I replaced the 10uf tweeter cap with a Solen 5.6uf polypropylene cap and it has really smoothed out this speakers, it is way more in balance now. 

Paradigm 3Se Mini Speakers

This is my fifth pair of Paradigm 3SE Mini speakers that I have owned and I am always amazed at how their big sound belies their little size.

This pair came with Peerless SC-165 woofers which I took out and put in Vifa woofers from a donor pair of Mission 70 speakers and they work perfectly.

I also recapped the crossover with a poly film cap to open up the top end.

These speakers are one of my favorite 2 way speakers with 61/2 inch woofers and they happen to be my favorite out this era's Paradigm line up. These speakers sound way bigger than they are and are a joy to listen too.

Just arrived, Paradigm 3se Mini's with Peerless SC-165 woofers

I brought home a pair of Paradigm 3SE Mini's today, the fifth pair I have owned. The cabinets are a little beat but they work just fine. When I took them apart I was surprised to find Peerless SC-165 woofers were installed.

These woofers are sought after for Sonab replacements and I will probably sell them off.

The specs can be found here.

 The woofer has a large voice coil, heavy magnet, and low loss rubber surround. It has high power handling and is specially optimized for use in small bass reflex constructions. * Power handling: 150 watts RMS/210 watts max * Voice coil diameter: 1-1/4" * Voice coil inductance: 1.2 mH * Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms * DC resistance: 6.3 ohms * Frequency response: 37-4,000 Hz * Fs: 36.2 Hz * SPL: 88 dB 2.83V/1m * Vas: 1.14 cu. ft. * Qms: 1.55 * Qes: .35 * Qts: .28 * Xmax: 4mm * Net weight: 3.0 lbs. * Dimensions: Overall Diameter: 6-1/2", Cutout Diameter: 5-5/8", Mounting Depth: 3-1/4", Magnet Diameter: 4".

The cabinets are now being re glued and held together with wood clamps.

The person who installed the Peerless SC-165 threw an inductor in the crossover also.