Re foaming speakers using the 50Hz method and a smart phone

I usually re foam woofer surround by removing the dust cap, shimming the voice coil and attaching new surrounds.

Springfield Speakers has a pretty good walk through on using your smart phone and your stereo to use the 50Hz. method. I recently used this method on a pair of Pioneer HPM-60's with great results.

NAD Model 30 Speakers

I just picked up a pair of NAD Model 30 speakers that had been lingering to long on a local classified site.

NAD made these speakers in Germany probably under contract with Braun/ADS/Canton/Magnet/Dual as they use the very familiar large dome mid range and tweeter, in fact the woofer is similar to the speakers mentioned above.

I am pretty excited to have these in the house and look forward to updating the listening sessions.

Update:

The sound of the NAD Model 30 speakers is very close to my reference speakers the Dual CL390's. They differ in two areas. The bass is much fuller due to the larger cabinet size, which I like and the mid range is not as forward but only slightly recessed.

Although I paid a premium for these speakers it was worth every dollar.

Pioneer HPM-60 Speakers first generation

I picked up these first generation Pioneer HPM-60 about a month ago and finally got around to sourcing the proper surrounds of Ebay and re foaming the one woofer. The other woofer already had been done.

This pair was in better condition than the second generation HPM-60's that I had earlier.

The build quality of these speakers seems to be better with superior bracing on the inside and a cross over that uses polyester film caps than the second generation HPM-60's. The second gen used electrolytic capacitors.

I added more filling to the internals of the speakers as there was sparse material there to start.

For some reason the fake vinyl veneer seems to peel off this generation of HPM's as I have seen other images of the speakers in the same beige colour. Otherwise these speakers are in pretty mint shape and still have their spec sheets attached to the rear of the speaker.

So how do they sound?

Typical HPM rock sound with tight deep bass, very smooth lower to mid mid range and a sound that puts you in front and center in a concert, a rock concert.

These speakers were designed to to compete against the likes of JBL and Altec Lansing in the mid 70's

How do I like them compared to the second generation HPM's? Aesthetically, I think they look way better than the 2nd gen's. The sound is the same, this pair is starting to grow on me.

PSB 50R 70R foam surrounds

I have a line on PSB 50R and 70R foam surrounds that I have used in the past. I am selling them for $20.00 a pair with free shipping. they can be found on Ebay or contact me directly to buy a pair. These are for the foam surrounds only, glue and shims can be household items, like white glue and business cards cut into small strips.

The measurement are as follows

A: inside edge 6"
B: inside edge roll start 6 7/16"
C: outside roll edge 7"
D: outside foam edge 8"

Here is a picture of a woofer when done.

Contact me at bankofdave@gmail.com

JBL 82 Speakers

I picked a few pairs of speakers recently a pair of Pioneer HPM-60's and a pair of JBL 82's.

The HPM-60's need a re foam job and will be featured in an upcoming post.

The JBL 82's was just a curiosity for me to listen to.

These JBL's seem to have been manufactured for the mass consumer market relying on there reputation in the bass department. The speakers did put out the typical JBL style bass from the 8 inch woofers, the tweeters were a soft dome tweeter with a titanium laminate coated on top.

So how did they sound? Deep in the bass region, sparkly highs and hollow in the mid range. These speakers were really not worth keeping in the collection and where moved along pretty quick.

These speakers appear on a regular basis in the used market and should not be over paid for.

Realistic STA-84 Receiver

I stumbled across a 1977 Realistic STA-84 receiver that was in mint condition with the original owners manual still taped to the unit.

This receiver was rated at 25 watts per channel and has a cool glide path FM in the tuner and quadraphonic sound

It was exceptionally clean when I opened the beautiful real wood veneer cover. Just a bit of dust was scattered when the compressed air hit it.

It appears to be a really well made Japanese receiver with a pretty heavy transformer and two 5600uf caps neatly in place.

The amplifier rail has Sanyo electronics installed so I wonder if Sanyo had made this to Realistic spec?

This unit shows no scratches in the face plate of the veneer case, it is absolutely mint for it's vintage.

I cleaned the pots and the volume slider with contact cleaner, this removed the scratchiness from the unit.

I also found that the "Perfect Loudness" was really muddy in the bass region and the unit sounds best when the bass and treble are at this setting.

So what a bout the sound? Well this is the second Realistic receiver that I have owned and I was impressed with the System-7 that I sold off about a year ago.

The sound from what little information there is out there that it is a warm tube like sound and that the 25 wpc are a little understated.

Once I got the system up and running I was simply astonished in how good this unit sounds. The STA-84 as I had set it up had the perfect amount of bass that was clean, very clean. Where this unit really shines is in the mid range and how well the transparency is in the music. The highs where spot on with out being brash or harsh.

I managed about 5 hours of listening time since Saturday and have run the receiver with speakers that image really well already but this amp kicked it up the sound stage to a new level. 

So far I have run mostly 2-way speakers including the B&W D5, Mission 770 Freedom 4's, Audio Spec Perseus (which are a harder pair of speakers to drive.) the EPI 120C'c (wow) and the Advent 2002's

To be honest I will have to do a side by side with the Myryad T-40 and see which one sounds better, it is that good for Realistic.

This receiver will definitely be sticking around for a bit. There is plenty of music and speaker combinations I want to explore with this unit.

The Realsitic STA-84 probably flies under the radar of most Pioneer, Kenwood and Marantz aficionados and therefor can be had for a reasonable price. This unit is well worth picking up if you come across one.

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.