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New in box, never unpacked...multiple shipping labels...from Massachusets to New York to California. Tomorrow I will unpack them and see what, if anything, many years in the carton has done..!
Black Sabbath, anyone?
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
Follow Ups:
Well, they're not virgin anymore..The L pads quickly started acting up, as in cutting out, etc. I removed the plastic plates and sprayed them, which apparently fixed them, although the tweeter pad makes little if any difference to my ear. I think the tweeters are working, however, as they respond to the Marantz treble control, which is set to 4k and up.
Sail on, sail on, sailor!
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
Just for fun, we made a youtube video of the first unpacking os the Mach 1 speakers after almost 40 years in the carton. I felt a little like Indiana Jones at the Temple of Doom! (You will have to copy and paste the link into your browser, I haven't learned how to hyperlink to youtube from my Ipad yet...)http://youtu.be/XpSeKql_79Y
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
Edits: 03/10/15
that your contention that the cabinets are raw walnut veneer is accurate. Dull or flat oiled walnut finishes with zero gloss were all the rage in in wood furniture in that period, and there was lots of walnut including speakers finished exactly that way with an oil that did not have any sheen at all! Now the oil may have gradually evaporated over time so the finish is duller than when originally manufactured, but that is easily fized. I would use a furniture grade paste wax.
David
Many RS speakers in the 70's that were Walnut Veneer had a layer of brown paper over the veneer as it was oiled. Then there was plastic over the brown paper.
E
T
You certainly my be correct. I have not heard of unfinished Realistic speakers being sold such as Klipsch did with the Heresy line. However, I will say that at this moment they are for all practical purposes, unfinished. The odor of freshly milled walnut was unmistakeable. The veneer texture feels like it last was touched by 180 grit paper. Perhaps the wrapping paper absorbed all the oil?
I am leaving shortly to purchase some finer grits of paper and some tung oil...when I am done, they will look better than they sound (I realize some would say that isn't saying much...)
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
I'd guess they were oiled, as well. Maybe the packing paper helped wick it away over the years. At any rate, I would personally not use a wax which would leave a shinny finish, I'd stay true to the product and use a Watco Danish oil in a neutral color. Matter of taste, of course.
Interesting, while at the checkout with my can of Watco a fellow told how he went to school with Dennis Watson's son in SoCal, and visited their shop where they stored the stuff in 55 gallon drums.
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
Just return the oil that evaporated.
When you replace them with film types, don't go with $$$$$$ ones
- as bypassing an Mf polycarbonate with a an MF polypropylene will sound a lot better than the OEM electros -
and measure the new caps ESR, too. Then add some series R to compensate, go non-inductive.
I'd be adding some felt around the mid and tweeter. There's someone in the USA who'll cut some neat shapes for you. 'diffraction begone' or something.
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
Or could the ESR of the old electrolytics gone high because of age?
I know that the ESR of power supply electrolytics is exactly what I'm measuring to see if a cap is bad, so I'm wondering if it works the same for non-polarized electrolytics in a speaker. I can't imagine they're any different, but that's speculation on my part.
The consensus here and from others was that the surrounds would be deteriorated. However, the wax paper wrap and excellent packing may have prevented oxidation or whatever chemically degrades foam. They look and feel firm. Interestingly, the walnut is unfinished. Wonderful scent as I opened the box.
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
I would enjoy your "new" speakers and not worry about refoaming the woofers and fiddling with the crossover unless and until something goes wrong.
I suspect that one of the major factors that makes foam surrounds deteriorate is sunlight. I think I read somewhere that when foam woofer surrounds first came on the scene the did not realize that they needed to add UV protection to the formula of the woofer foam. I think they do now. So being kept in darkness all these years was a big help. We all know the damage years of sun can do on wood, plastic, cloth, rubber and our skin.
Heck, you may want to get some blankets or something and keep the speakers covered when you are not using them. Couldn't hurt, and they would stay clean and new looking.
I had a friend who had a pair of Klipsch KG4's that were kept in a room in front of a west facing window. Years of afternoon sun lightened the backs of the cabinets and managed to make tiny cracks in the rubber surrounds of the rear passive radiators. They still sounded fine.
good luck,
--Matt
"When you think everything is someone else's fault, you will suffer a lot."
--Dalai Lama
I thought they'd be OK. Thanks for reporting back.
E
T
Those look perfect. I would power them up and see what happens. The caps are likely fine too!
The guys here often tend to be very conservative on a lot of this stuff. I find a lot of their concerns about things that could be wrong worth noting but maybe just as well ignored.
If I worried about every little part on my car that could fail I would be in bits and pieces with angst and never be able to drive anywhere.
David
Wow, they sound just fine, nice clear highs and great bass, maybe a tad too crisp for my ears at 0 db, but they respond well to their tone controls, got a big smile on my face right now.
"When the demon is at your door, in the mornin' it won't be there no more"
Steely Dan
Please: "Star Spangled Banner" - Hendrix Live, of course at a reasonable Volume level like 2 or 3'Oclock!
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”
... and investment in new, decent quality crossover capacitors would also be well worth the effort.
Beyond that, my advice (and I am going to be uncharacteristically diplomatic): manage your expectations.
all the best,
mrh
?????I sold them for 5 years and never liked them. I do think the surrounds might be OK but a crossover upgrade would be a great idea. I have a great story about a Jamaican customer with a BGW 750D amp that caught his pair of Mach One woofers on fire.....
E
T
What do you thing of the Mach II's? I have a pair that I got for free, but they definitely need surrounds.
Dave
They are similar but the 2's have a ported cabinet. Someone has surrounds for them and you got em free. I'd say have fun with them. Improving the crossover and the tweeter would be about as much as I would spend. They are 94dB @ 1/W and therefore tube friendly.
E
T
Edits: 03/10/15
They might be fun with a PP EL84 amp. I have a Dynaco SCA-35 and a Pioneer that I forgot the model number. There are kits for this woofer, which I believe is different from the Mach I. Bold Eagle has posted that they are more civil that the Mach I's. They have a slot tweeter and a cone midrange.
Dave
yes a different woofer. I say go for it!
E
T
I Googled pictures of them. They look like they should be a HOOT to play with. And yes you will have some pissed off neighbors with those horns.
You really should break them in with live Zepplin.
Post how they sound.
charles
I have a pair of Mach II's waiting for new surrounds. You make me want to get moving on that project!
Dave
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