I consider washing the panels to be a method of last resort, to be used only if vacuuming and/or compressed air does not work. If washing is deemed necessary, be sure to remove the felt pads first - you don't want to get them wet! Use a very mild soap, and then rinse, rinse and rinse some more.
As a first step, I recommend blowing out both sides of the panel with compressed air, using a fairly low pressure and don't hold the nozzle too close to the panel. Follow-up with vacuuming both sides. Before you put the grille cloth back on, run the speakers for a few days to make sure you don't have any rattles, buzzes, or ionization noises. You may need to repeat this process several times, and I would do this before resorting to washing the panels. When I bought my used Spectra 4400's, which had been stored unprotected in a filthy warehouse, I was able to clean them with several applications of the compressed air/vacuuming procedure. I also recommend tightening all of the panel-mounting hardware. If the felt pads show any signs of becoming detached from the panel, they should be completely removed and reglued with a contact adhesive applied to the felt (only!).
Washing the panels is not without its dangers, not to mention the need to completely unwire and disassemble the panels from the frame. The panel materials are waterproof (except for the felt), but even the act of gently sloshing the water around could damage the diaphragm. The panels are generally considered unrepairable. Good Luck!
2+2 frequency response
I put my 2+2's away (medallion & C mods, recapped the HV supply) for 2 years while I set up my Full ranges with Tubelab simple SE.
Reset it up a couple months ago (in my basement) 28' X 13'.
Because its set up between the rafters I don't have complete control over where I can position them.
Previously I sat in the ~middle of the room, had them about 10 feet from the front wall and had a huge and deep sound field.
For convenience and room asthetics this time I set them up along the long wall about 4 feet from the rear wall with me backed up to the wall.
I've always found the best soundstage with them about 6 - 7 feet apart, and my distance about the same.
Previously, there was a broad dip in the mid range from about 400 Hz to about 2 kHz.
I've measured it and now it is about 6dB down in that entire range with a nasty dip at 600Hz thats about 10dB down.
Because moving them takes some ceiling work, I thought I'd ask before moving them.
Is the midrange affected with speaker / room placement?
Does the 2+ 2 normally have this broad dip in the midrange?
Thanks,
Paul
Sorry for the long post
I put my 2+2's away (medallion & C mods, recapped the HV supply) for 2 years while I set up my Full ranges with Tubelab simple SE.
Reset it up a couple months ago (in my basement) 28' X 13'.
Because its set up between the rafters I don't have complete control over where I can position them.
Previously I sat in the ~middle of the room, had them about 10 feet from the front wall and had a huge and deep sound field.
For convenience and room asthetics this time I set them up along the long wall about 4 feet from the rear wall with me backed up to the wall.
I've always found the best soundstage with them about 6 - 7 feet apart, and my distance about the same.
Previously, there was a broad dip in the mid range from about 400 Hz to about 2 kHz.
I've measured it and now it is about 6dB down in that entire range with a nasty dip at 600Hz thats about 10dB down.
Because moving them takes some ceiling work, I thought I'd ask before moving them.
Is the midrange affected with speaker / room placement?
Does the 2+ 2 normally have this broad dip in the midrange?
Thanks,
Paul
Sorry for the long post
I used the MCAAC room correction on my 2+2's and although there were some peaks and dips measured and adjusted for, at present locations, none were more more than 4 or 6db ( I think the limit for MCAAC is 8db).
I don't remember. I wrote it all down on a paper and found that even slight turning of the speakers away from sweet spot produced big changes. They also love to moved away from the walls. I'm going to pin up some large beach towels behind them to see what that does, if it helps, maybe find some white microfiber towels (to match the paint) to put behind them.
Hi Lukas, about your Quote: Also although statements like "power amplifier can add over $100 per month to their electric bill" are true in some rare cases its very, very unusual. I owned this wonderful amp from 1988 to 2000 with a few models of Acoustat's and YES that was the case i also used it to heat my dedicated room in the winter $100 per month was pretty normal for me but the sound of this pure 45 watts per channel pure class A amplifier was worth every dollar.
Classé Audio DR3 - VHC The letters V.H.C. stood for Very High Current
Just Got a Classé DR-3 (the little one) from a store.
Have trouble to get the bias and offset stable even with the Service Manual.
I can run it on halfpower (250 Watts AC intake instead of the 500 Watts spec) and still remain easily in Class A for the power that I need with the speakers I use.
One channel has a fluctuating DC offset reading that could be solved by substituting the two inputtransistors (TO92´s MPSA53 location Q3 and Q4) by MPS8599 according to a handwritten add on in de SM.
When I run at 250 Watts intake without a load I get decent readings like ± 15mV max in the problem channel.
As soon as I connect a speaker load the reading goes to -150mV and remains stable at the other channel (+ 3mV).
I wish I knew what kind of outputtransistors are used in the DR-3 so I can buy them and change them all just to be sure.
Any thoughts/advice?
I promised the store that I could keep them for two weeks before I decide and one week has already past.
Unit sounds great but I do not dare to use int on my Acoustats 2 + 2´s afraid that the DR-3 suffers a bias runaway and kills the Acoustats and then itself...
Attachments
Last edited:
If i was you i would try to contact Dave Reich the last time i spoke with him he worked for Theta Digital - - - 1 323 278 0001 hope that this can help good luck.
I mailed to them.
Do you like the modern American composer Steve Reich (Music for 18 Musicians)
Thanks I can give it a call..
Okay. that´s fair.
Bought the Classé DR-3 for my Acoustats because you raved about it several times in this thread ...
In my notification mail I saw an entry from you that stated ´Steve Reich´ instead of ´Dave Reich´ so I reasoned you mixed them up for a moment and edited a moment later in your reply that´s why I mentioned it.
Okay. that´s fair.
Bought the Classé DR-3 for my Acoustats because you raved about it several times in this thread ...
In my notification mail I saw an entry from you that stated ´Steve Reich´ instead of ´Dave Reich´ so I reasoned you mixed them up for a moment and edited a moment later in your reply that´s why I mentioned it.
I often mix Steve Roach and Dave Reich big fan of both.
Greetings all, I'm back with my tail between my legs and an apology to Mr Acoustat. I was running Emotiva XPA-1's and couldn't get my Model 3's to sound good at all. They sounded thin and weak and I could not turn up the volume or the amps would go into protection mode and kick off. He (and others) pointed out, and rightly so, the Acoustats need much current to operate correctly and the Emotivas were too puny. I took offense to his remarks and went off. Well after much soul searching, studying and discussions with others, the Emotivas are gone. In their place is a Hafler DH-500 amp topped off with an Audible Illusions Modulus 3 preamp.
The resultant sound is astounding! All the volume I'd ever care to apply, but the sound, WOW! Airy crystalline highs, detailed midrange, deep authoritative bass, layer upon layer of detail, a holographic soundstage with each instrument not just in its place side to side, but 3 dimensionally. The best I'd heard before this was a set of KLH Model 9's and to my ears the Acoustats easily best them.
All I can say is thanks for the advice, even though it was hard to swallow, the end result is nothing short of amazing! LONG LIVE ACOUSTATS!!
The resultant sound is astounding! All the volume I'd ever care to apply, but the sound, WOW! Airy crystalline highs, detailed midrange, deep authoritative bass, layer upon layer of detail, a holographic soundstage with each instrument not just in its place side to side, but 3 dimensionally. The best I'd heard before this was a set of KLH Model 9's and to my ears the Acoustats easily best them.
All I can say is thanks for the advice, even though it was hard to swallow, the end result is nothing short of amazing! LONG LIVE ACOUSTATS!!
Meat (?), Good deal...congrats.
You wanna really make them sing even further?
Try a Krell KSA-50 or KSA-100. They are a bit pricey for being 20 + years old, but if your inclined, build one. My KSA-50 totally ranks on ESLs - its current galore...and don't forget voltage too...High-ish Voltage rails also make ESLs sing too.
If I had my druthers (what the hell is a druther anyway?), a Class A amp with 90v rails...maybe sliding bias would work here to keep my electrical bills from going thru the roof??
You wanna really make them sing even further?
Try a Krell KSA-50 or KSA-100. They are a bit pricey for being 20 + years old, but if your inclined, build one. My KSA-50 totally ranks on ESLs - its current galore...and don't forget voltage too...High-ish Voltage rails also make ESLs sing too.
If I had my druthers (what the hell is a druther anyway?), a Class A amp with 90v rails...maybe sliding bias would work here to keep my electrical bills from going thru the roof??
Last edited:
I am very happy for you Meat Popsicle, here is a link with lots of information on Acoustat speakers you will also find out why the Hafler DH-500 is such a good match with your Acoustat's. Acoustat - - - ( History )
Last edited:
I figured as long as I'm here I'd add something useful to the conversation. We all know how difficult it is to properly place Acoustats. Here is my solution, and it worked wonderfully.
First off you will need a Black and Decker Bullseye auto leveling laser, part number BDL-170. I bought mine a Lowes a while ago for hanging pictures etc. The unit has a locked mode that will project a vertical beam from the front approximately 6 feet long. Turn the laser on in this mode and center it on top of your speaker. There are little feet on the bottom that will align with the rear ridge in the top of the Acoustats, effectively making it square with the frame and projecting a beam precisely where the center of the speaker is aiming. From there you can easily position the speaker to aim exactly where you want it. I positioned mine so the center of each speaker aims perfectly at my ear on the same side.
This is perfect for me, although you may want to experiment as outlined in the Acoustat owners manual. Hopefully this helps in your setup and helps repay you all for me being a PITA!
First off you will need a Black and Decker Bullseye auto leveling laser, part number BDL-170. I bought mine a Lowes a while ago for hanging pictures etc. The unit has a locked mode that will project a vertical beam from the front approximately 6 feet long. Turn the laser on in this mode and center it on top of your speaker. There are little feet on the bottom that will align with the rear ridge in the top of the Acoustats, effectively making it square with the frame and projecting a beam precisely where the center of the speaker is aiming. From there you can easily position the speaker to aim exactly where you want it. I positioned mine so the center of each speaker aims perfectly at my ear on the same side.
This is perfect for me, although you may want to experiment as outlined in the Acoustat owners manual. Hopefully this helps in your setup and helps repay you all for me being a PITA!
Meat Popsicle, i love your advice it is very good for the 66 inches model but for the 94 inches model i have a problem with putting the level on top of the speaker ( Turn the laser on in this mode and center it on top of your speaker. )
PS: This is just a JOKE.
Attachments
Last edited:
I would also suggest an Adcom 5800. It has some serious voltage rails (70v ?).
I was having a little clipping problem with my Marsh A400S 200w MOSFET amp driving my Acoustat Spectra 3300's, on a few heavy drum passages. The Adcom 5800, didn't clip at all but only gave me a little more headroom before the panels clipped
Both of these MOSFET amps deliver a very clean detailed sound that would take a lot more money to better. I believe the 5800 is a John Curl design, is available for about $600 on the used market, and helps keep your listening room warm in the winter
Dave
I drove my 2+2 with the same Hafler DH-500 with great success. I also used a 100W Counterpoint hybrid, which sounded a little sweeter than the DH-500 at low volumes, but couldn't at all compete with the Hafler when I wanted to Rock, which is most of the time. Servos took the place of the Hafler in the long run.
