Advent Small x-over question

[Bamark]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I've been reading posts for quite some time, and finally acquired a pair of the Smaller Advents.

My question concerns the inductor.  I have no way of measuring this.  Replacing the caps and resistors was not too hard, but is the inductor worth replacing?

[JKent]

Welcome Bamark!

No need to replace inductors. They are coils of wire and don't go bad.

It's also not necessary to replace the resistors unless they look damaged, BUT I like to replace 5w resistors with 10w because the couple of burned resistors I've seen were 5w.

Replacing those black and red Temple caps was definitely a good idea!

Kent

[ra.ra]

Hi Bamark. JKent's advice is very good - - - those black/red caps are long past their prime, and since you went to the trouble of replacing resistors, it might have been better to increase the wattage slightly but don't sweat it - - in all likelihood yours should function just fine. Also, with the 8uF and 16uF caps, can we assume that your Smaller Advents are the early version with the green tweeter? And, are yours stuffed with fiberglass?

[Bamark]

These are the early versions

[Bamark]

When I got these, I had already been reading the AR forum.  Evidently it was important to put the insulation back in exactly as it was removed.  So, I worked on one speaker at a time, carefully pulling out the insulation and laying it out the same way.  I knew that Acoustic Suspension speakers have to be as air tight as possible, so I ran a bead of hot glue in the seams inside. I also put one brace in each cabinet.  I did not want to get too crazy and reduce the cabinet volume, but I had seen this done on another thread.  I removed the old seal and used rope caulk as a replacement.   When I gently push on the woofers and release, they come back slowly.  

 

 

 

[Bamark]

Each x-over got new caps, resistors and 16 gauge wiring.  The one issue I had, is one woofer needed a voice coil repaired.  I found this out after putting everything back together and trying to play music.  Since I'm a beginner, I took it to Dave Miller at Speakerworks here in Tulsa.  He does very good work.  Also, when I initially got these, the surrounds were shot, so I got surrounds from a guy on the Bay.  From what I've read, these were to be installed in a reverse to what is normally done.  It seems the edge of the woofer cone is slightly different from other woofers.  It made sense to me because when I dry fit the surrounds the other way, they did not fit flush to the edge of the cone, nor did they fit flush to the basket.

[Bamark]

There are two more things I would like to do.  One is to clean the grill cloth without damaging the board or the black underlayment.  The other is to remove the vinyl and put a nice veneer on.  Oh yea, I need to find the Advent badges that go on the front of each speaker.

These little speakers truly sound good.  I am amazed at how low they can go.  I think they are definitely keepers.

Thanks for responding to my posts.  I look forward to any help or ideas that you guys may have.

[JKent]

1 hour ago, Bamark said:

When I got these, I had already been reading the AR forum.  Evidently it was important to put the insulation back in exactly as it was removed.  So, I worked on one speaker at a time, carefully pulling out the insulation and laying it out the same way.  I knew that Acoustic Suspension speakers have to be as air tight as possible, so I ran a bead of hot glue in the seams inside. I also put one brace in each cabinet.  I did not want to get too crazy and reduce the cabinet volume, but I had seen this done on another thread.  I removed the old seal and used rope caulk as a replacement.   When I gently push on the woofers and release, they come back slowly.  

Good job. btw, although some of us use other speaker gasket methods, the rope caulk is what was originally used on many classic speakers (brand name Mortite).

If you are interested in some reproduction Advent labels please see this thread in the For Sale section, then send me a PM

-Kent

[ra.ra]

You are doing some nice work on those speakers. To freshen up the grille cloth, you might try a scrub-a-dub carpet shampoo, or maybe even a spray-on diluted bleach solution. Regarding re-veneering, check out this terrific thread, which also includes an image of a spectacular exploded capacitor. 

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/craigslist-smaller-advent-loudspeakers.734139/

[Bamark]

22 minutes ago, JKent said:

Good job. btw, although some of us use other speaker gasket methods, the rope caulk is what was originally used on many classic speakers (brand name Mortite).

If you are interested in some reproduction Advent labels please see this thread in the For Sale section, then send me a PM

-Kent

Thank you, Kent.  Will do.

[Bamark]

4 minutes ago, ra.ra said:

You are doing some nice work on those speakers. To freshen up the grille cloth, you might try a scrub-a-dub carpet shampoo, or maybe even a spray-on diluted bleach solution. Regarding re-veneering, check out this terrific thread, which also includes an image of a spectacular exploded capacitor. 

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/craigslist-smaller-advent-loudspeakers.734139/

Thanks ra.ra.  I had also thought of using woolite fabric cleaner.  I just did not want to soak that fiber board that the cloth and black underlayment are attached to.

Another option is to replace the cloth. There is a website called 123Stich.com: http://www.123stitch.com/cgi-perl/abcSearch/search.cgi?page=1&keyword=18+Count+Aida&fabric_from_nav_menu=1&type=cutfabric&designer=Wichelt that sells fabric similar to what the advent grill has.  There are comments from guys who have used it to redo their AR and Dynaco grills.

 

Mark

[ra.ra]

Before you $hell out for new cloth, I'd suggest trying one (or more) of the cleaning ideas. If you are careful with not over-saturating the fiber board, you just may be surprised at the results you can achieve. The 123 stitch fabric is a near identical replacement for the AR fabric used for grille cloths, but it is quite different from the original Advent cloth.

[Bamark]

23 hours ago, ra.ra said:

Before you $hell out for new cloth, I'd suggest trying one (or more) of the cleaning ideas. If you are careful with not over-saturating the fiber board, you just may be surprised at the results you can achieve. The 123 stitch fabric is a near identical replacement for the AR fabric used for grille cloths, but it is quite different from the original Advent cloth.

Thank you ra.ra.  I'll research a little more and try that route.  I really do enjoy listening to these speakers.  I'm using a Pioneer SX-850 that has been recapped.   I have been reading about connecting these in parallel to achieve an 8 ohm load.  As my listening space is small, I don't turn it up to ear splitting volumes.

Any thoughts on connecting in parallel to achieve an 8 ohm load?

 

thanks

[ra.ra]

That Pioneer is an excellent receiver and should do just fine with the Smaller Advents, but I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to power with this receiver - - - parallel?.... how many speakers?.... and what is the impedance of all of the speakers? You are aware that the Smaller Advent is rated at nominal 4 ohms, yes? The sx-850 spec sheet reports about 85 watts per channel at 4 ohms, which is plenty of juice.  

[Bamark]

13 minutes ago, ra.ra said:

That Pioneer is an excellent receiver and should do just fine with the Smaller Advents, but I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to power with this receiver - - - parallel?.... how many speakers?.... and what is the impedance of all of the speakers? You are aware that the Smaller Advent is rated at nominal 4 ohms, yes? The sx-850 spec sheet reports about 85 watts per channel at 4 ohms, which is plenty of juice.  

You are correct, and I'm over-thinking this.  I'm only using one pair of speakers (the Advent), hooked up to the SX-850.  I started reading about 4 ohm speakers being connected to an 8 ohm receiver.  I think issues come up when connecting two pairs of 4 ohm speakers.  

I think I'll call it a night.?

[ra.ra]

You should be fine wiring up a single pair of 4-ohm speakers to the sx-850.

[Bamark]

3 hours ago, ra.ra said:

You should be fine wiring up a single pair of 4-ohm speakers to the sx-850.

I should have looked at that first.  Thanks for being patient.  

Btw, I did look at the Audiokarma thread you posted,  The veneer job looked great. My x-overs were also in much better shape.  

Once again, thanks. When I get ready to do the veneer, I'll keep you all posted.  I have to do a pair of HPM -60's first.  In the process of ordering new caps and resistors, and have already removed the vinyl from one box.  A heat gun, a scraper and a lot of patience.