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JKent

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Everything posted by JKent

  1. šŸ˜„ Yeah. Snell was somewhat fanatical about crossovers. Every xo was matched to the drivers, so you couldn't buy a new woofer from them without also buying a new crossover. Personally, I think that's nonsense but one would think such fanaticism would warrant meticulously neat assembly. Apparently not. The J IIs are really nice but I have too many speakers and too little room. Trying to find a home for them.
  2. This is a nice Allison Electronic Subwoofer but I mistakenly bought the 220/240V version. Any European members interested? I replaced some electrolytic caps, then had a pro check it out so it's in good cosmetic and electronic condition, just won't work in North America. Asking $100 USD + shipping. Please PM me with questions. Kent
  3. I do have another but I also have the DB Systems preamp and tone control, which includes a bass boost https://www.dbsystemsaudio.com/DB-5a.jpg so the ESW is kinda superfluous. I think the active Allison forum was on Yahoo. I've never been on Facebook. My tech told me what to look for in a transformer but I haven't found one yet. Maybe I beed to watch for a "parts only" ESW or maybe put it on Ebay and hope someone in Europe wants it. In the meantime, think I'll try our For Sale section.
  4. Bought another one of these last April. Ebay seller wrote "Seems to have a hum. Not sure whatā€™s going on with it" so I took a chance. Did a full recap and no improvement so I took it to a pro. He checked it out, then noticed the VERY small print: 240 Volts AC. Seems I got a European model (?). I may look into a new transformer.
  5. I've made a few of the Zaph Audio Hi-Vi B3 speakers before. I use the B3N because it looks better. Here's my first effort https://community.classicspeakerpages.net/topic/8473-polk-psw-200-auto-parts-store-resto-zaph-satellites/#comment-104142I also made a pair to use as surround speakers in my HT. But I had one cabinet left over. What to do with that? Recently I built my first BlueTooth speaker, written up here: https://community.classicspeakerpages.net/topic/20094-bluetooth-mini-guitar-amp/. So it seemed logical to make a single Zaph speaker as a BlueTooth. Cabinet is solid oak. Rear panel is Masonite. Driver is a B3N. BT amp board, Battery board, LED kit, cable kit, DC power supply are all from PE just like the "guitar amp" speaker. I put a grille on this to protect the driver but the ones from PE interfered with the surround so I found some on Amazon that work. Filter network was built on a small breadboard. These were all parts from my parts bins: 2 Dayton resistors (30 ohm, 8 ohm) 4.3uF made up of a 2.7 and 1.5 (I figure 4.2 is close enough) 0.08mH inductor is a 1.0 unwound to 0.08, the 0.8mH is a spare part of unknown origin. On the back panel there are the volume control with a salvaged knob, on/off switch, Aux in, green BT reset button, Red charging LED and socket for the power supply. I think the Zaph design sounds great. I have a couple of commercial BT speakers that I use outside in the summer but this one sounds far superior IMHO.
  6. A couple of months ago my niece was telling me about a cool BlueTooth speaker her friend has (first picture, below). Knowing I'm a "speker guy" she asked if I could build one for her. Of course I couldn't refuse. This would be my first venture into BlueTooth territory. Virtually all of the parts came from Parts Express. I used the Dayton Audio KAB-100Mv2 1 x 100W Class D Audio Amplifier Board with aptX HD Bluetooth 5.0. Probably overkill but it seemed to be the only mono board. As it turned out, it's really stereo with the speaker wires soldered together. I probably should have called first and asked for advice but this is fine. Also bought the Battery Extension Board, Function Cables Package and Red/Green/Blue LED Package. For the cabinet, my bro-in-law put together a simple 4-sided pine box, routed the edges, cut Masonite panels for the front and back, and an aluminum panel for the controls. All scrap pieces from his shop. For the drivers and crossover I used the tweeter and xo from a Polk RMDS-1 that had a bad woofer. The woofer I used is a Bravox WFR-03MX01 3.5" Poly Cone Woofer. PE had these as Buyouts in 2010 (!) for about 6 bucks each. This was my last one. Wish I'd bought more. For the covering, I originally planned to use some pebble-grain "leather patch" from Amazon that comes in a roll. Then I realized forming it over the rounded off corners could be tricky. Maybe the spray-on truck bed liner I've used before? That turned out to be a mistake. Another PE order: Acry-Tech DuraTex Black 1 Quart Roller Grade Cabinet Texture Coating Kit with Textured 3" Roller. Worked great. I was looking for something that would resemble Tolex and this filled the bill. It's water-based so cleanup was a snap. To add to the guitar amp look I added small corner protectors from Amazon. Grille is a vinyl basket-weave placemat. I stuffed the box with polyfill. The power supply is also from PE. Socket was from my local electronics store. The battery pack recharges on anything from 12 to 24 VDC so I had hoped to use one of the many wall warts I have on hand but PE advised me those were inadequate so I ordered their 19.5V DC 3.33A power supply. 99% finished. I plan to add a thin brass strip on the bottom of the grille, like on the Marshall amp in the first picture. I had to call PE's tech support a couple of times and found them to be very helpful. I also found a mistake on the instruction sheet that I hope they've fixed by now. I have another BlueTooth speaker (different style) in the works and will post pictures when it's finished.
  7. Photos in this thread Also here: As I wrote, I like the KA-1s and I think paired with any good sub(s) they would be great in a stereo system. In a smaller room or for listening to chamber music you may not want/need a sub. There's a review of the KA1 linked here: I have never heard the Model 3. My only other Cizeks are HTAs that I use as the center and rear channel speakers.
  8. I use my KA-1s as part of a surround-sound setup. The sub is a kit-built VMPS that I later added a plate amp to. I think it sounds great. The KA-1s had matching subs, the KA-18s https://www.subito.it/audio-video/sistema-diffusori-vintage-cizek-ka18-milano-507009960.htm For some reason it seems Cizeks were more popular in Italy than here. I'd love to find a pair of KA-18s (or even one) but doubt that will happen.
  9. Glenn, Sorry I didn't follow this. I originally responded almost 3 years ago and knew nothing about Snells. Coincidentally, this past summer a neighbor gave me a pair of J IIs! You can read my saga here: Looks like the previous owner of your pair really did "muck around" with them, to say the least! But it appears you got a very committed technician who put a lot of work into reviving yours. Hope they serve you well. Kent
  10. https://janszenaudio.com/pages/klh-nine
  11. Aida was never recommended by anyone that I know of. The Weichelt lambswool linen we used for years was not aida cloth
  12. I use an electric or manual T-50. My point was the pneumatic is probably too powerful. I use Monel staples because the originals were often rusted and with all this work why not go for the best quality. But of course you are right Royā€”stainless is not required.
  13. Lambswool is the color. If you look at linen cross stitch cloth you will see it is quite irregular with an open weave and lot of slubs. This matches the original. Aida cloth OTOH may be linen or some other fiber, or even plastic. It has a very tight, regular weave. IMHO Aida cloth is not acoustically transparent.
  14. Againā€”not Aida cloth. Too tight and even looking. There are other threads that discuss alternatives to the lambswool linen. I have used a standard (not pneumatic) T-50 stapler with 1/4ā€ Monel (stainless) staples. Works well on AR-4x frames.
  15. This tutorial is a start but not exactly relevant for linen https://www.humanspeakers.com/howto/grill-cloth.htm For the AR grilles donā€™t bother with messy glue. Use 1/4ā€ stainless staples. Last step after the cloth is attached and pretty tight: spritz it with water from a spray bottle and dry with a hair dryer. It will get nice and taut.
  16. Yeah Frank. My purchases were just a couple years later but nearly identical: ST-35, PAT-4 (both kits) AR-XA tt, KLH Eighteen tuner, AR-4x speakers. I still have the speakers, table (now with Sure V-15 Type V cart) and tuner but I sold the dynakits about 20 years ago. Got 10 times the original price for the ST-35. Nice little amp.
  17. Wish I had gotten to Grand Central. btw, the Korvettes speakers were XAM (you were close šŸ˜).
  18. Iā€™ve seen it done. But it totally changes the speaker system so itā€™s no longer a classic AR. Some people throw out original woofers if they have foam rot and replace them with something off the shelf. Crossover design is a complex art/science, not ā€œone size fits allā€. Youā€™re doing it the right way.
  19. Avid 100s. Those are the ones. E. J. Korvettes! Bought my AR-XA turntable there in about 1970. Think the store was in the Millburn area. All my other early gear came from Sound Reproduction in East Orange NJ. Greetings to another NJ guy.
  20. See my earlier post: Aetna-Pollak potentiometers
  21. Anthony, Hereā€™s something out of left field: Years ago Roy recommended putting Avid drivers and xo in the AR-4 cabinet. Worth a try if you can get the Avid innerds. Avid speakers sound great but their cabinets are fugly.
  22. Glad the cloth worked out. Many of us have used Ohmiites. The thing is you have to make an enclosure or use a little box to keep fiberglass out of their open backs. The originals were made by Aetna-Pollak (sp?) and had closed backs. Those caps are right Poly instead of lytic will last generations. How bout some pics? PS. Parts Express sells nice foam gasket tape. In a pinch you could use adhesive foam window weather stripping or get a brick of duct seal in the electrical department. Itā€™s like modeling clay and you can roll 1/4ā€ diam worms to seal the driver to the baffle
  23. Two thoughts: 1. As Roy said your pots are almost certainly the cause of the tweeter problem. They can be cleaned (sometimes) but youā€™re better off replacing. I donā€™t know what you have on hand but L-pads work well. 2. In my experience the Aida cloth has too tight and regular a weave to look right and maybe even to sound right. Michaels sells CharlesCraft Irish Linen cross stitch material in ā€œTeaā€ color, 28 count, that works well. One roll is enough. https://www.michaels.com/product/charles-craft-28-count-irish-linen-needlework-fabric-10357706?michaelsStore=1098&inv=1
  24. Luck! šŸ˜ Yes. Definitely replace the 20uF caps. That along with the new pots should fix your tweeter problem. Like your dad, I bought mine new in 1970 (okā€”one year later). They were my first speakers and, about 20 years ago, my first restoration. Not difficult at all and truly well worth the effort.
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