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In Reply to: RE: Acoustat (Spectra 22) Tweeks! (long) posted by Mendel on October 16, 2015 at 10:51:58
Nice write-up. Curious, as I have never seen or heard the Acoustats. You mention that the mounting screws should be loosened up which is pretty much the opposite of what we do with the Maggies and also flies in the face of PG theories about why wood frames are better than MDF. From what I read the Acoustats also use primary MDF with just some wood ando plywood parts. Do you think making totally hardwood frames would be beneficial?
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Hi neolith.
Hardwood frames would probably improve things, but many people who build new frames go one better and use steel. The stock Acoustat frames are pretty flimsy.
The standard advice with Acoustats and other panel speakers is to keep the bolts tight. Have you ever tried to loosen the bolts on your Maggies? Only takes a few seconds and a few seconds more to tighten if you don't like it. Two ways to go with frames for panel speakers-- either make them as rigid as possible alla Peter Gun, or decouple the panels as much as possible from the frames.
The ultimate would be panels in free space (perhaps suspended from the ceiling or attached to the floor). Then you would get no frame sound at all. A little impractical for most set ups though.
Ok here is one more great Acoustat tweak that has been around for a long time that I finally got around to trying.
One the back of each panel are three pieces of felt. These can be removed and replaced with paper masking tape. The felt absorbs a lot of high frequencies, with the tape in place you get more highs off the panel. More sparkle, more "air" around instruments. The rest of the frequencies seem unchanged. I can hear no downside, my Acoustats can use the extra top end. Easily reversible, just peal off the tape and glue the felt back on. Once you try it I doubt you will go back to the felt. The attached picture shows the back of the panels with the tape in place and the Soundcoat dampening on the frames.
Long live Acoustat!
The assembly techniques sure changed from how my Monitor IVs were put together to the way your Spectras are done. This picture is of the back of them. Panels bolted from back to front, and the recesses in the frame that the panels fit into are all lined with a felt product to eliminate any panel to frame buzzing.
...are all lined with a felt product to eliminate any panel to frame buzzing.
the felt is there to control the primary diaphragm resonance.
Stat,
Are you referring to the heavy felt strips on the back of the panels, or the thin felt on the frame members? I knew the thick strips on back were there to deal with diaphragm resonances, but just assumed the thin felt on the frame was there to keep the plastic from vibrating against the wood.
Mike
Are you referring to the heavy felt strips on the back of the panels, or the thin felt on the frame members?
The former as pictured earlier. I misread your post and agree with your assertion. Mea culpa.
I guess I was really responding to Mendel's "tweak" to effectively disable a necessary design function. I believe that is not a good idea.
Some people just like a whompy high Q kind of bass. A step in the wrong direction IMO but.....
Tweakers do the same thing with the original Quad removing all the damping material on the rear screen.
Hi guys!
Yes the purpose of these posts are to get people talking about Acoustat's again. These speakers are approaching 30 years old and can often be picked up for a song. My Spectra 22 cost me $1000 Canadian or about $700 U.S. These speakers are the perfect vehicles for experimentation and are capable of excellent performance IMHO.
Yes, the felt on the back is there to control panel resonances. Substituting tape for the felt is not defeating this built in design, just substituting materials. The tape preforms a similar function to the felt. I am not recommending removing the felt and running the speakers bare.
That said, I am definitely now hearing a change in the upper bass that I am not sure if I like it. I DO like the increase in high frequencies. I intend to do more listening and further experiment with the felt, possibly reapplying one of the 3 pieces of felt in an attempt to "tune" the panels for the best sound for me. I might even try other materials. All in good fun, no animals were harmed in these experiments. Any and all the "tweaks" I have described can easily be reversed and the speakers reverted to stock form.
Kent, I know you are not a fan of these speakers but did you ever try any of the Spectra versions? I have spent quite a bit of time listening to the new Quads and of course my Spectras and I can see how someone might prefer one or the other, but I do think they are competitive. Each has its strengths and weaknesses.
All the best!
Hey, no big. I'm just happy people are talking about Acoustats for a change.
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