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Hello. I have a pair of Heybrook HB1 speakers. I'm wondering if anyone knows which tweeters these have in them or if there is any reason to consider parting out these speakers. All is good, but the woofers are gone...replaced by non-Heybrook models. Any info would be appreciated.
These were my first high-end speaker. I loved them. Then I traded them in for HB2r's. Fantastic, great stuff. I got rid of them because I couldn't for the life of me find replacement woofers anywhere. I kept them until about 3 years a go. Then it was off to PMC TB2's, very similar sound I thought between the 2 companies.In absolutely no way should they sound the way you describe, no way!!
I had an older pair of HB1s (acoustic suspension and with the terrible foam grills) and the woofers were definitely Vifa, and if IIRC, so were the tweeters, though I don't remember what model number.I remember liking these quite a bit paired with any snappy/crisp sounding SS amps that I used them with - be it vintage or new - quality amplification was not an issue. The midrange was SUPER rich, thick and luxurious but not at all detailed. I did not notice anything in particular about the tweeter other than it was never sibilant or grating. One of the mids on mine gave out as well so I gutted them for parts - very good crossover components. If I had it to do over again I think I would have fashioned new grills from scratch and attempted to restore them instead. I think I still have the one working woofer lying around somewhere - I'll see if I can find it and get the model number for you.
Well, haha I doubt that helped you any but good luck!
Yes, please do give me the information on the woofer. I tried the speakers with the woofers they have in them now(Infinity) and thought they were the brightest and screechiest sounding monitors I'd heard in a long time. I'd be curious to hear them stock....let me know if you want to unload your woofer as well.
Well, I found the woofer - it is an 8" Vifa M21WG-09 w/treated paper cone.Vifa M21WG-09
Diameter - 215mm (8-1/2")
Sensitivity (2.83v/1m) - 90dB
Impedance - 8 ohm
Nominal power handling - 80w
Free air resonance - 25Hz
Frequency range - 25Hz-3kHz
The bad news - and something else I forgot about - is that they have foam surrounds and during the three years or so that the woofer has been sitting on the shelf the foam has completely deteriorated. Now I do have some generic 8" foams and I can see if they'll make a proper fit but you'd have to find another used woofer and do the refoaming job on the second woofer yourself.
The only place that I could find the M21WG-09's new is Wilmslow Audio UK which sells them for a hefty £40.00 each plus whatever shipping and handling charges would be. The foams surrounds that I have are almost certainly not exactly like the originals though so both woofers would have to use them (or not use them) or the speakers would be mismatched.
The closest match I could find for a more modern replacement is the Vifa M21WO-39-08 which runs over $60 each at Madisound. These are not an exact replacement though and so would be a costly experiment.
I hope someone else can jump in and help out (maybe someone else has one of these woofers lying around to make a pair or knows of some good replacements) because they really are nice little monitors with that traditional smooth British sound and it would be great to see them get restored.
I will certainly do that but it'll have to wait 'till tomorrow - I've been running around all day and I'm exhausted now. I'll leave myself a note so that I won't forget.BTW, there is NO WAY that those HB1s should sound the way that you described - NO WAY. Those infinity woofers must be so far off spec that it isn't even funny. Just not a good replacement...
I'll look for the woofer tomorrow and get back to you first chance I get.
I have a pair of HB1s that have sufferred the same fate, aparently it is common on these speakers as the foam suspension units degrade. I was considering replacing them with a pair of B&W 602 S3s but I am not comvinced that the sound quality is up to it, they look nice but the main reason for speakers is for the audio quality. The Heybrooks have a beautifully clean and bright top end without any sibilance and a full mid range, if anything they lack a bit of punch in the bass. I listened to some 602s and felt they sounded quite wooley in the bottom end without the crisp response that I was used to. I have therefore decided to replace my drivers and foam grille. I have found a specialist companny called "Pure Sound" (see link) in Devon who can provide brand new spare parts.
