|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
69.251.81.15
I've noticed consistent postings on ebay for an upgrade kit for the Realistic Minimus 7 speakers (I'm posting a link to one of them). They usually sell for about 14 bucks, plus shipping. Has anyone ever tried one of these kits on a pair of Minimus 7's, and if so, what did you think? (how much was the sound quality improved/in what ways it improved/how difficult was it to install, etc., etc.) I've never done an upgrade kit like this, so I'd be especially interested in finding out how difficult it is for a novice to install. Thanks!
Follow Ups:
I just installed a set of the upgrades sold by litekey on ebaY. He got the idea from Speaker Builder magazine. I haven't read the article, but if what he gives you is right out of that publication, then it's been tested and reviewed. Kind of wish I thought of the idea to make a kit available myself.In any event, my Minimus 7s were purchased new over twenty years ago new and started to sound hissy anyway. The original capacitors had already blown and destroyed the tweeters. Radio Shack repaired that under warranty 17 years ago.
I was thinking of buying new speakers, but I thought I'd give the upgrade kit a try. I bought two sets in case this worked so well, I'd get another pair of Minimus 7s and upgrade those, too. I opted for the "live forever" film capacitor option for an additional $4 a pair.
I installed them last night. I don't have a whole lot of experience wiring things. I did recently build a tube amp from a kit (S5 electronics K-12G, which was easy as pie because of the nice PCB and instructions). The instructions that came with the speaker upgrade kit could certainly be simplified and clarified. For example, his instructions say that there is a yellow and black wire on his crossover marke "in" and a red and black wire marked "out." There is no such marking (but since he identifies them by color in the instructions, it doesn't matter).
I didn't follow the directions exactly in order to avoid two extra solder joints. But it was basically easy.
I let the glue that I used to mount the crossover into the side of the case and am playing them for the first time right now. I have to say, they sound great with this little tube amp kit. Do they sound better than before? Definitely. My left speaker had begun to make popping noises at moderate volume. That's totally gone now. They are nice and loud and very clear.
I still might buy some small Klipsch bookshelf speakers just to compare, but I don't think they'll be better.
Some recommendations: The seller of the upgrades says it's okay just to twist everything together, but I soldered everything together. Also, there are some open uninsulated connections left by the builder of the kit. I dipped these in liquid electrical tape. Also, instead of splicing into the speaker wires, I just replaced his crossover "out" wires with the original speaker wires. These were short, so I had to reinstall the woofer upside down from the original orientation.
The parts used in the kit appear to be high quality, as far as I can tell. The capacitors certainly look big and juicy as opposed to tiny little cans. As for the sound: it's a definite improvement. Whether it's better than new, I can't go back 20 years in time. But they definitely sound way better than they did yesterday.
Oh yeah, I forgot to add that because this worked out so well, I've gotten another pair of Minimus 7s off of ebaY coming in the mail to do another upgrade to.
a kit that included dampening for the cabinet panels?
...regards...tr
my impression is that there have been several upgrade kits offered for this speaker, and yes--I believe that at least one of them included some sort of foam dampening material for the cabinets
.
Come up to me with your 'what did you say?' and I'll tell you straight in the eye: DIY
Sorry, I forgot to mention that the kit is a crossover upgrade kit--I don't think it includes anything else (like the solution that you paint on the woofer cone)
Where's your sense of adventure? Throw caution to the winds and send the 20 bucks for the kit and find out for yourself what it sounds like. It'll be fun...:> )
yeah, you're probably right about that, xdac, but I was worried about potentially messing up a pair of speakers that I use on a regular basis...on second thought, I do have another pair in storage that has something wrong with one of them (there's a lot of rattling and vibration noise coming from one)...maybe I'll use that pair to experiment wirh
Hey, if you're careful you can always put 'em back to stock if you don't like the results. Just don't 'paint the woofers' unless you're sure you really want to.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: