My rebuild wasn't because of the noise issue. They REALLY needed it. The noise was just a small part of the situation. It wasn't super bad, but annoying.
Once I got everything back together, the noise has NEVER returned. Not even a peep or pop.
I have a feeling you are a little wary about doing this? It's really not that complicated, but does take time. The endgame is well worth it, IMHO!
Once I got everything back together, the noise has NEVER returned. Not even a peep or pop.
I have a feeling you are a little wary about doing this? It's really not that complicated, but does take time. The endgame is well worth it, IMHO!
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Howdy all,
I am so happy that a forum like this exists. I am the proud 2nd owner of a pair of Spectra 22’s. I got them a few weeks ago from a friend in Salt Lake City. My friend was purchasing some gear from a guy in SLC and noticed pair of Spectra 22’s in the back of the room looking sad and dirty They were plugged in and in working condition. He asked if they were for sale, was able to listen to them, and worked a deal to get them. He then texted me a pic and said they are dirty and look ugly but sound good. Long story short. I traded a pair of Focal Chorus 926’s for the Spectra 22’s. I always wanted a pair of electrostatic speakers and I was able to do this with no money out of pocket.
I now have them in my house.
My friend, who I go the Spectra’s from cleaned them up, painted the wood base black, had an electrician buddy go through them, and then sowed new black socks on the frames. – They look so much better than the first pics that were sent to me.
But…
My wife hates the way the look in our great room.
We have a very large almost 1000 sq ft room that houses our TV and home theater setup. I have the Spectra’s setup as the left and right speakers. I have them a bit close to the wall and toed in just a bit. Even with them being a bit closer to the wall then I would want. They sound amazing, better than the Focals726’s, better than my B&W 863’s, better than our M&K MPS 150s. I am comparing all our speakers in the same setup with the same amps – preamps etc.
Now I do not want to get rid of these!! But I need to find a way to make them look a bit better. My wife does admit that the sound and depth that comes out of these speakers is second to none to what we have had in the house before. Everyone who comes over says 2 things. Wow that sounds amazing and those are speakers?
I was thinking maybe some wood trim around the outside of each speaker, and maybe changing the stands to a matching wood? I am hoping someone here will have some great ideas where I can make the wife happy with the look and esthetics of the speakers and me happy by being able to keep the Spectra’s in the great room. I do not want to compromise the sound of course, but I need a bit better look for the wife.
Once I can make them a bit better looking, and the wife agrees I can keep them in the great room. I am hoping to get some advice on maybe how to upgrade the sound. They sound fantastic. But I think they are stock Spectra 22’s and reading up on this forum there sounds like there are multiple ways to get even better sound.
For reference the TV is 82” and the two subs that I use with the Spectra’s are SVS SB12-NSD- Amps that are pushing the Spectra’s are 2 Marantz MA500 Mono blocks per speaker – (yes Marantz made a mono block that can bridge into another mono block of the same making to get more power and keep the distortion down Both the MA 500 and MA 700 can do this)
I have uploaded a few pics for reference on how they look etc.
Thank you in advance for all advice to make my wife happy 😊
I am so happy that a forum like this exists. I am the proud 2nd owner of a pair of Spectra 22’s. I got them a few weeks ago from a friend in Salt Lake City. My friend was purchasing some gear from a guy in SLC and noticed pair of Spectra 22’s in the back of the room looking sad and dirty They were plugged in and in working condition. He asked if they were for sale, was able to listen to them, and worked a deal to get them. He then texted me a pic and said they are dirty and look ugly but sound good. Long story short. I traded a pair of Focal Chorus 926’s for the Spectra 22’s. I always wanted a pair of electrostatic speakers and I was able to do this with no money out of pocket.
I now have them in my house.
My friend, who I go the Spectra’s from cleaned them up, painted the wood base black, had an electrician buddy go through them, and then sowed new black socks on the frames. – They look so much better than the first pics that were sent to me.
But…
My wife hates the way the look in our great room.
We have a very large almost 1000 sq ft room that houses our TV and home theater setup. I have the Spectra’s setup as the left and right speakers. I have them a bit close to the wall and toed in just a bit. Even with them being a bit closer to the wall then I would want. They sound amazing, better than the Focals726’s, better than my B&W 863’s, better than our M&K MPS 150s. I am comparing all our speakers in the same setup with the same amps – preamps etc.
Now I do not want to get rid of these!! But I need to find a way to make them look a bit better. My wife does admit that the sound and depth that comes out of these speakers is second to none to what we have had in the house before. Everyone who comes over says 2 things. Wow that sounds amazing and those are speakers?
I was thinking maybe some wood trim around the outside of each speaker, and maybe changing the stands to a matching wood? I am hoping someone here will have some great ideas where I can make the wife happy with the look and esthetics of the speakers and me happy by being able to keep the Spectra’s in the great room. I do not want to compromise the sound of course, but I need a bit better look for the wife.
Once I can make them a bit better looking, and the wife agrees I can keep them in the great room. I am hoping to get some advice on maybe how to upgrade the sound. They sound fantastic. But I think they are stock Spectra 22’s and reading up on this forum there sounds like there are multiple ways to get even better sound.
For reference the TV is 82” and the two subs that I use with the Spectra’s are SVS SB12-NSD- Amps that are pushing the Spectra’s are 2 Marantz MA500 Mono blocks per speaker – (yes Marantz made a mono block that can bridge into another mono block of the same making to get more power and keep the distortion down Both the MA 500 and MA 700 can do this)
I have uploaded a few pics for reference on how they look etc.
Thank you in advance for all advice to make my wife happy 😊
Attachments
White grille cloth should help them blend into the background more. As an initial experiment, you could just wrap them in it and see if the new look pleases her sufficiently. A few pins and or tape will let you temporarily do the color change without tearing into them.
Speaker Grill Cloth White Yard 70" Wide
Speaker Grill Cloth White Yard 70" Wide
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What you are talking about is what Acoustat did from the Spectra 22 to Spectra 2200. Just a cosmetic change with wood & brass trim on the side.
Steve's - Acoustat Spectra 22 electrostatic speaker
Click on the picture, then on "next" to see pics of what the 2200's look like.
Steve's - Acoustat Spectra 2200 electrostatic speaker
Steve's - Acoustat (Andy is mentioned in this article).
Steve's - Acoustat Spectra 22 electrostatic speaker
Click on the picture, then on "next" to see pics of what the 2200's look like.
Steve's - Acoustat Spectra 2200 electrostatic speaker
Steve's - Acoustat (Andy is mentioned in this article).
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Use a heatgun to heat the strip and with it the glue will melt enough to remove it without damage.
Just Bought my first pair of Acoustat One + Ones. Long time lover of ESL speakers and finally found a nice pair, 600 miles from home. Rented a Pacifica and headed off to Wisconsin (from the Detroit area) to pick them up. Produced during the David Hafler Era, RED Medallion with factory MK121-C interfaces. Brought them home and plugged them in ... NO JOY! Very soft vacant and fuzzy sound from the speakers. Left them to charge (one day so far) no improvement. Sound is the same from both speakers, thinking high voltage supply issues? Any direction appreciated!!!
Did you hear them before buying?
Did you remove the interface from the speaker? If so, make sure the Red, Blue, and Black wires from panels are attached into the interface.
Also some 1+1 interfaces have two sets of binding posts - one for the amp connection and one for a subwoofer connection - make sure you have the amp connected in the correct binding posts...
If you do have the two pairs of binding posts, I have an Acoustat 1+1 Subwoofer in Maple finish sitting in my back room...
Did you remove the interface from the speaker? If so, make sure the Red, Blue, and Black wires from panels are attached into the interface.
Also some 1+1 interfaces have two sets of binding posts - one for the amp connection and one for a subwoofer connection - make sure you have the amp connected in the correct binding posts...
If you do have the two pairs of binding posts, I have an Acoustat 1+1 Subwoofer in Maple finish sitting in my back room...
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Remove the interface from the speaker, confirm the three wires are firmly connected to interface - red wire (bias wire) in middle with Blue and Black color coded on interface socket and wire pins...
Be careful to remove power from wall socket and remove amp to binding posts - and wait an hour or so to drain the bias voltage first. Otherwise, you may get a zap that you may not forget anytime soon...
Be careful to remove power from wall socket and remove amp to binding posts - and wait an hour or so to drain the bias voltage first. Otherwise, you may get a zap that you may not forget anytime soon...
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My Acoustat TNT 200 All-MOSFET power amp (ca. 1980) is in deep doo-doo. The right channel has weakened over the past year until the balance knob on the pre-amp has to be rotated 90 degrees to the right in order to get the two speakers to balance, and the sound has lost its brilliance. Probably it's repairable but is there anybody with the time and inclination to do the work?