Dynaco A-25 Grill Cloth

[Guest jeffjohnson]

Can someone advise on where on planet Earth can I find some grill cloth that matches (or comes close) to the original Dynaco grill cloth. I love my A-25's but they look so ratty after all these years.

Thank you

[Horswispr]

If you don't mind a bit of work, try removing them from the frames and soaking them in warm water and your favorite cleanser. But then you have to reattach them with a glue gun. Larbor-intensive and requires a lot of concentration to get the lines right. There ARE fabrics out there that are fairly close (but not identical). Check your local fabric store. The ones I use when the originals are toast are close to what KLH used on their 17s.

[Guest jeffjohnson]

My problem is one of my cats exercised her claws on them.. Luckily the speakers were not hurt. I got some real cheap cloth over them now. But I would like to replace them with something that looks close to original material.

What I am leaning towards the FR 1004 or the FR 1003 from this site.

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/product...coustone_cc.asp

I can not decide which looks like the original..

[dynaco_dan]

Hi there;

I went to that site for a looksee.

None of what I saw, on any of their pages, looks remotely useful, sorry.

Perhaps as time goes by, other members will give you another suggestion.

I tried a solution called, "Pink Solution", which I read is carried by Costco's now.

Pink Solution is a concentrate made here in Vancouver.

You water it down per instructions.

I tried a patch test on an AR grille cloth, looks very promising.

In the near future I am going to sacrifice that entire cloth to complete the job.

I am going to lay the cloth and frame in a 1/16 - 1/8" bath so I will see the effects on the frame as well.

If I am successful or not, I'll post a write-up.

I would wait for better advice before spending any money, the original grille clothes were fairly neutral.

Good luck.

[Horswispr]

I can't tell from the little patches which would look real on the speakers. You could keep checking ebay. I've seen original screens there, but can't recall how much they went for.

[dynaco_dan]

Hi again;

I forgot that, Carl, did a really excellent and unbiased grille cloth review recently, in the AR forum.

He evaluated the original, versus several lookalike cloths available today through his speaker repair service.

Appearance is one issue, but sonic neutrality of the cloth is most important as his review points out.

A very interesting read for anyone attempting to find just a replacement cloth without any knowledge.

The job of replacing the correct cloth, with at least as close to neutral as possible, takes the same effort, as the wrong cloth.

Price also in not an indicator of what cloth is suitable.

Carl, put a lot of labour of love into his report.

Good luck.

[JKent]

>My problem is one of my cats exercised her claws on them..

>Luckily the speakers were not hurt. I got some real cheap

>cloth over them now. But I would like to replace them with

>something that looks close to original material.

>What I am leaning towards the FR 1004 or the FR 1003 from this

>site.

>http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/product...coustone_cc.asp

>

>I can not decide which looks like the original..

Jeff:

That's a good resource. If you check the site, they will send you swatches, which should be much more helpful to aid your decision. I got my swatches today--over 50 of them in folders!

Good luck

[Horswispr]

I'd be interested to know how close you can come to the original. Could you post a link when you find the best match? I use material that's a lot like what KLH used on their 17s. When I put it on Dynacos, it looks pretty darned good.

[Guest jeffjohnson]

I am not even sure what the original grills look like any more..After the cats and dog and smoking over the years and such. I someone with those patches would advise on one that is close, I will go that way..

Thanks

[Horswispr]

Jeff--Where are you located? I hope you don't mind a "business proposal." Send me you email address and I'll send you a picture of one of my pair of A-25s with my "modern" screens. The weave is a bit finer than the originals, but unless you're looking for the difference, you can't tell they're not original. If you can get me the frames, I'd attach 'em for you for $30 or so (materials included)...but I worry about shipping those frames...I'm in the SF Bay Area...we could sell you some material (we're running out) but then we wouldn't have the fun of attaching them (we use a glue gun, as Dynaco did). Let me know if we can be of help. My email is Horswispr@aol.com. --Colin

[Pete B]

Would someone with original Dyna A-25 Grilles please count the thread count per inch? I have A-25s but the grilles were missing. This would help to find a good replacement material.

[Pete B]

I spoke to Roy C. who spends more time here on the AR forum and commented about how excellent his AR-2ax's looked:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/dcbo...pe=search#11164

That material, in his first picture, is 18 ct, and it has the most open weave that I've seen so far. The texture is more of an expensive linen and it looks very close to the original Dyna A-25 material. Roy offered his source as:

http://www.123stitch.com/cgi-bin/fabric.pl

It is under linen, 18 ct, "Lambswool" color.

I estimated the count for the Dyna A-25s as closer to 28 but this was based on pictures and memory. I completed these grilles using "Zweigart 100% Linen, 28 Count, Cashel Raw Linen" purchased at a Michael's store. The color is a bit darker than what I remember and I believe that the 18 CT linen mentioned above is a better match.

Moderators can you pin this thread since it is such a common

question?

[dynaco_dan]

I spoke to Roy C. who spends more time here on the AR forum and commented about how excellent his AR-2ax's looked:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/dcbo...pe=search#11164

That material, in his first picture, is 18 ct, and it has the most open weave that I've seen so far. The texture is more of an expensive linen and it looks very close to the original Dyna A-25 material. Roy offered his source as:

http://www.123stitch.com/cgi-bin/fabric.pl

It is under linen, 18 ct, "Lambswool" color.

I estimated the count for the Dyna A-25s as closer to 28 but this was based on pictures and memory. I completed these grilles using "Zweigart 100% Linen, 28 Count, Cashel Raw Linen" purchased at a Michael's store. The color is a bit darker than what I remember and I believe that the 18 CT linen mentioned above is a better match.

Moderators can you pin this thread since it is such a common

question?

Hi Pete

I saw a close copy of the clothe used by Dynaco and I stared at for about 5 years now.

It is my daughters living room curtains, not the shears that hangs between the blinds and the window.

I haven't done a side by side comparison just from memory.

The shears are a nice colour also and maybe suitable as a plainer grille cloth.

My point is, perhaps looking at stores that sell or make curtains would be a great source.

I've looked in a few fabric stores a few years ago and bought some Advent similar material.

[dynaco_dan]

I spoke to Roy C. who spends more time here on the AR forum and commented about how excellent his AR-2ax's looked:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/dcbo...pe=search#11164

That material, in his first picture, is 18 ct, and it has the most open weave that I've seen so far. The texture is more of an expensive linen and it looks very close to the original Dyna A-25 material. Roy offered his source as:

http://www.123stitch.com/cgi-bin/fabric.pl

It is under linen, 18 ct, "Lambswool" color.

I estimated the count for the Dyna A-25s as closer to 28 but this was based on pictures and memory. I completed these grilles using "Zweigart 100% Linen, 28 Count, Cashel Raw Linen" purchased at a Michael's store. The color is a bit darker than what I remember and I believe that the 18 CT linen mentioned above is a better match.

Moderators can you pin this thread since it is such a common

question?

Hi Pete

I saw a close copy of the clothe used by Dynaco and I stared at for about 5 years now.

It is my daughters living room curtains, not the shears that hangs between the blinds and the window.

I haven't done a side by side comparison just from memory.

The shears are a nice colour also.

[DesignInc]

My Dynaco A-25's grills where really stained so to get them in the living room they had to be recovered ... so I went to the fabric store and bought this "linen" fabric for a few bucks to match the walls (my wifes option was NO speakers on the floor) they look and sound great. .... David PS I have photo's have to figure that out

[bonejob]

I have found cloth that is very similar to the original at fabrics-store.com. Among other things, they specialize in vintage and all-natural fabrics, sought after by theater companies and movie makers - for duplication of period-accurate clothing and the like - as well as by off-the-wall folks like vintage loudspeaker collectors. This is what they call basic, natural, un-softened, unbleached, all-natural flaxen linen. No cotton blend, nor any polyester, rayon or other petroleum-derived fake stuff woven in either. The color is perfect and the texture is nearly so. The only problem is that its thread count is a little too fine at 47. I think the original's thread count was 30-32. You will lose some high-frequencies from your tweeters, but turning up the knob on the back of the speaker pretty much fixes it. From across the room, the finished look is nearly spot-on. Up close, you can easily tell the texture, especially the thread count, is not what came out of the factory 40-some-odd years ago.

What I ultimately settled on using is some stuff sold by vintage-ar. They are a seller on eBay (seller #4061) - a so-called "Top-Rated Seller" at that - that specializes in fixing, re-furbishing and selling vintage Acoustic Research - mostly AR loudspeakers - as well as supplying miscellaneous goodies for AR hobbyist/restorers, like logo plates, replacement binding posts, grill frames and - of particular interest here - grill cloth. They claim that they obtained a bunch of NOS (acronym for "New Old Stock," or old stuff that never got used, found by somebody, sitting in a warehouse or attic somewhere, yada, yada...) grill cloth from a now defunct textile company in Massachusetts that used to supply cloth for various New England speaker makers, including AR, KLH and Advent - "the Klossies". I don't know about the truth of this tale, but what they are selling does look wonderful on both my vintage KLH Sixes and my dynaco A-25's. It is just the right color, texture and thread count. I've never found this stuff anywhere else. The bad news is, they charge up the yazzoo for it. One portion - more than enough for a pair of A-25's - costs $39.95 - kinda steep if you ask me. But I sucked it up and paid it, and I'm not sorry now that I've seen the excellent results.

Despite the high price for which they ripped me off... er... sold me this grille cloth, I like these folks. They were helpful to me some time ago when no one else had a clue. I had a working, otherwise "near mint" Acoustic Research Integrated Amplifier from the 1960's. I say "otherwise" because the front panel was damaged. I knew these folks specialized mostly in AR loudspeakers, not AR electronics. They were purely a Hail-Mary pass after nearly two years of frustrating, futile searching. And they found me my front panel! It took them only a couple of days! They were friendly and shipped the item to me right away. Best yet, the item was in pristine condition. Unlike modern stuff with panels made of plastic or nearly foil-thin aluminum glued to plastic, the AR integrated amp front panel was milled from solid brass! THOSE were the days! They knew I had been looking a long time, and they knew they had me by the "short and curlies" and would pay nearly any price, but they charged me only $30 for it including shipping. So, I am a very satisfied customer, happy to go to them again and pay a ridiculous price for some grill cloth, and happy to recommend them to others.

But if - despite my shameless plug - you don't want to go to the folks at vintage-ar and pay that $40 for only about a yard of linen, try fabrics-store.com. What they offer is a close, but not a perfect match. But at $7.21/yard, it is a hell of a lot cheaper, and I think most people - people less picky about "period original" than I - would be happy with it.

[Ben m]

On 7/28/2006 at 2:51 AM, Horswispr said:

Jeff--Where are you located? I hope you don't mind a "business proposal." Send me you email address and I'll send you a picture of one of my pair of A-25s with my "modern" screens. The weave is a bit finer than the originals, but unless you're looking for the difference, you can't tell they're not original. If you can get me the frames, I'd attach 'em for you for $30 or so (materials included)...but I worry about shipping those frames...I'm in the SF Bay Area...we could sell you some material (we're running out) but then we wouldn't have the fun of attaching them (we use a glue gun, as Dynaco did). Let me know if we can be of help. My email is Horswispr@aol.com. --Colin

Hi Colin I have a pair of Dynaco a10 that I want to restore.Can you advise a supplier of grill cloth please? Thanks in advance Ben M Perth Western Australia