Hi diy,
I have a pair of Realistic Minimus-7 speakers that I like a lot. They are black with a mesh front. Unfortunately, one of them "died" and I would like to try and fix it. The problem is that no sound comes out, or full sound comes out intermittently. Wiggling the speaker wires can sometimes bring the sound back.
I am not an audiophile, but I am pretty good at fixing computers and computer-related things. If it's just a short in the speaker connection, I might be able to fix it. The problem is I can't figure out how to get the case open. There are 4 threaded holes in the back and no fasteners in the front. Does the mesh pop off?
Also, does Radio Shack still repair these?
Thanks,
Zaffer
I have a pair of Realistic Minimus-7 speakers that I like a lot. They are black with a mesh front. Unfortunately, one of them "died" and I would like to try and fix it. The problem is that no sound comes out, or full sound comes out intermittently. Wiggling the speaker wires can sometimes bring the sound back.
I am not an audiophile, but I am pretty good at fixing computers and computer-related things. If it's just a short in the speaker connection, I might be able to fix it. The problem is I can't figure out how to get the case open. There are 4 threaded holes in the back and no fasteners in the front. Does the mesh pop off?
Also, does Radio Shack still repair these?
Thanks,
Zaffer
Zaff-
Yes U can. I have 6 1/2 pairs of whites, blacks, and silvers. Both the original 7's, and the magnetically shielded Pro7-AVs. Love 'em all.
I saw on eBay a while back a new crossover kit for both the 7's and 77's. Supposedly had better capacitors, and the 6dB/octave roll-off (hi-pass only) is beefed up to 12dB/octave for both lo-, and hi-pass. Have not heard any reviews yet.
If you are of the mind to do so, you might consider replacing all the wires in the cabinets with thicker wire, as the 'Shack used the cheapest material in spite of it being an excellent design, and sounding pretty good.
I guess the years of working at the 'shack really paid off!
Seriously though, since they have not sold them for at least the last five years, they almost certanily do not support them anymore.
Hope this helps!
Steve
Yes U can. I have 6 1/2 pairs of whites, blacks, and silvers. Both the original 7's, and the magnetically shielded Pro7-AVs. Love 'em all.
I saw on eBay a while back a new crossover kit for both the 7's and 77's. Supposedly had better capacitors, and the 6dB/octave roll-off (hi-pass only) is beefed up to 12dB/octave for both lo-, and hi-pass. Have not heard any reviews yet.
If you are of the mind to do so, you might consider replacing all the wires in the cabinets with thicker wire, as the 'Shack used the cheapest material in spite of it being an excellent design, and sounding pretty good.
I guess the years of working at the 'shack really paid off!
Seriously though, since they have not sold them for at least the last five years, they almost certanily do not support them anymore.
Hope this helps!
Steve
Thanks for all the good suggestions. I got the mesh off and the woofer out and all the connections looked good inside. The part where the trouble seemed to be (speaker wire connector) was a sealed box -- way beyond me. As a matter of fact, when I realized you had to know how to solder to actually fix anything in there, I realized I was in over my head.
So I put it all back together and trimmed the speaker wires -- guess what? Seems to be working now. Thanks.
Zaffer
So I put it all back together and trimmed the speaker wires -- guess what? Seems to be working now. Thanks.
Zaffer
Mod to full potential for 7 heaven.
I bought my first pair of mimimus 7 a year ago, sound was papery, over excited and bright, and I mean bright, I ended up buying another cheap pair just after, sounded the same obviously.
Bought the crossover mod from e-bay, main benefit is that the woofer is not running open wide any more, big improvement, but still bright, confirmed by measurements, about 3dB too bright. Made an L-pad fro the tweeter to knock them down 3dB, now this is when they really start showing what they can do, huge difference for the better, now starting to sound like something really special, and I mean special. Put thin felt round the tweeter, covering the plate, then a thin felt rim round the tweeter also, as per the ls3/5a, but only about 1/16" thick. Coated the woofer with 2 coats of elmers glue and added a small amount of wadding to the inside. They are on 21" target stands, about 5" from the rear wall. Seems like a lot of work, but they are something else. I have been using ls3/5a for years, and they make a very appealing alternative, huge soundstage, and enough bottom end so you dont feel short changed, they punch way above their weight, well worth the effort. Just my 2c.
I bought my first pair of mimimus 7 a year ago, sound was papery, over excited and bright, and I mean bright, I ended up buying another cheap pair just after, sounded the same obviously.
Bought the crossover mod from e-bay, main benefit is that the woofer is not running open wide any more, big improvement, but still bright, confirmed by measurements, about 3dB too bright. Made an L-pad fro the tweeter to knock them down 3dB, now this is when they really start showing what they can do, huge difference for the better, now starting to sound like something really special, and I mean special. Put thin felt round the tweeter, covering the plate, then a thin felt rim round the tweeter also, as per the ls3/5a, but only about 1/16" thick. Coated the woofer with 2 coats of elmers glue and added a small amount of wadding to the inside. They are on 21" target stands, about 5" from the rear wall. Seems like a lot of work, but they are something else. I have been using ls3/5a for years, and they make a very appealing alternative, huge soundstage, and enough bottom end so you dont feel short changed, they punch way above their weight, well worth the effort. Just my 2c.
Mini-7-
Thanks for a great post! I had seen these x-over kits on eBay and wondered is they were ever worth it. After your comments, I am inclined to perhaps pick up a set & Try them out.
BYW, what kind of Elmer's did you use? (There are so many different ones).
I am sure there are lots of Mini-7 owners out there that might appreciate your comments.
This gives me a killer idea: Do an actively crossed-over pair of '7's, using my chip-amp of choice: the LM4765T Overture Amp, possibly inside the case. If no-can-do, then perhaps in a project box suited to the '7's decor, affixed to the under-side of the speaker's enclosure. I did this about 20 years ago with my original pair of '7's, using the then-ubitiquous chip-amp, NEC's mPC1230H2. Sounded good, but times have changed, and it may be time for a serious upgrade. Sounds like the '4765T might just fit the bill....
Steve
Thanks for a great post! I had seen these x-over kits on eBay and wondered is they were ever worth it. After your comments, I am inclined to perhaps pick up a set & Try them out.
BYW, what kind of Elmer's did you use? (There are so many different ones).
I am sure there are lots of Mini-7 owners out there that might appreciate your comments.
This gives me a killer idea: Do an actively crossed-over pair of '7's, using my chip-amp of choice: the LM4765T Overture Amp, possibly inside the case. If no-can-do, then perhaps in a project box suited to the '7's decor, affixed to the under-side of the speaker's enclosure. I did this about 20 years ago with my original pair of '7's, using the then-ubitiquous chip-amp, NEC's mPC1230H2. Sounded good, but times have changed, and it may be time for a serious upgrade. Sounds like the '4765T might just fit the bill....
Steve
N channel
There is more to go with the minimus 7 I think, my internal wiring is standard, improving that may bring benefits. I plan to strip down and spray the inside of the metal cabinet walls with car body stone chip protection paint, it sets rubbery. The spring clip terminals would need to be replaced with proper binding posts. Getting a good seal on all the drivers and tweeter plate is important, maybe by using a really thin bead of sticky tac or modellers clay. Ive even considered making miniature plywood cabinets for them, as per the ls3/5a, and even bolting the woofer behind the front baffle the same as the ls3/5a, and using tygan material for the grill cloth maybe. Ultimately, they are a near field speaker, but set up correctly, and bearing in mind they cost me about $30 all in, they have turned into an audio bargain, fast tight sound, pinpoint imaging, big soundstage, they take you right into the music, and they are really musical, bargain, but you have to address the brightness with L-pad to get them sounding right, in conjunction with the crossover mod. Also IMO you have to listen with the grilles off, with them on they just mess things up sound wise.
The Elmers glue from memory is just white standard elmers glue, I mixed in a pea sized dab of black acrylic hobby paint just to make the drivers look almost black, thats mainly cosmetic though.
Ive tried running 2 pairs stacked, paralell and series, sounded awful, and I even made a pair of minimus 7 subs by taking the tweeters out of another pair and sticking tube in the hole about 4" long, fair amount of bass for the size but couldnt integrate them into anything to get a good sound, best with a standard pair with mods, but the chip amp sounds good, there isnt much room in the cabs though, my e-bay crossovers are glued to the side on the inside.
They really need to be on stands, with the backs about 5" from the wall and toed in a bit, maybe 3 degrees for best results IMO.
Im using the old faithful sony PS1 playstation as a source, another surprising bargain. With a small t amp, maybe the trends audio, this would be a killer system for not much $$.
There is more to go with the minimus 7 I think, my internal wiring is standard, improving that may bring benefits. I plan to strip down and spray the inside of the metal cabinet walls with car body stone chip protection paint, it sets rubbery. The spring clip terminals would need to be replaced with proper binding posts. Getting a good seal on all the drivers and tweeter plate is important, maybe by using a really thin bead of sticky tac or modellers clay. Ive even considered making miniature plywood cabinets for them, as per the ls3/5a, and even bolting the woofer behind the front baffle the same as the ls3/5a, and using tygan material for the grill cloth maybe. Ultimately, they are a near field speaker, but set up correctly, and bearing in mind they cost me about $30 all in, they have turned into an audio bargain, fast tight sound, pinpoint imaging, big soundstage, they take you right into the music, and they are really musical, bargain, but you have to address the brightness with L-pad to get them sounding right, in conjunction with the crossover mod. Also IMO you have to listen with the grilles off, with them on they just mess things up sound wise.
The Elmers glue from memory is just white standard elmers glue, I mixed in a pea sized dab of black acrylic hobby paint just to make the drivers look almost black, thats mainly cosmetic though.
Ive tried running 2 pairs stacked, paralell and series, sounded awful, and I even made a pair of minimus 7 subs by taking the tweeters out of another pair and sticking tube in the hole about 4" long, fair amount of bass for the size but couldnt integrate them into anything to get a good sound, best with a standard pair with mods, but the chip amp sounds good, there isnt much room in the cabs though, my e-bay crossovers are glued to the side on the inside.
They really need to be on stands, with the backs about 5" from the wall and toed in a bit, maybe 3 degrees for best results IMO.
Im using the old faithful sony PS1 playstation as a source, another surprising bargain. With a small t amp, maybe the trends audio, this would be a killer system for not much $$.
Re: N channel
A fallback from ModPodge... to get black i usually use black ink which also thins it as required. I've been doing all my dark cones with black of late -- they turn out really well. The ones attached were 2 shades of grey before i started in on them.
dave
Minimuslover7 said:
A fallback from ModPodge... to get black i usually use black ink which also thins it as required. I've been doing all my dark cones with black of late -- they turn out really well. The ones attached were 2 shades of grey before i started in on them.
dave
Attachments
Tune up
Just sealed the woofers and tweeter plate with sticky tac, really thin bead, seems to have tightened the sound up a wee bit, and I have angled them in slightly more, only maybe 1 degree, they are really focussed now, and clean, superb. I think I enjoy listening to them as much as anything I have had in the past, they play music. I swapped back to a standard pair, no mods, just to get an idea of the difference, the un modded pair are almost unlistenable now, forward, screetchy and unbalanced, so the work seems to have paid off.
Just sealed the woofers and tweeter plate with sticky tac, really thin bead, seems to have tightened the sound up a wee bit, and I have angled them in slightly more, only maybe 1 degree, they are really focussed now, and clean, superb. I think I enjoy listening to them as much as anything I have had in the past, they play music. I swapped back to a standard pair, no mods, just to get an idea of the difference, the un modded pair are almost unlistenable now, forward, screetchy and unbalanced, so the work seems to have paid off.
"Made an L-pad fro the tweeter to knock them down 3dB"
Minimuslover7, would you post details of the L-pad?
I've got a pair of M7's that I use in my office connected to a MyRefC, got the upgraded crossovers, cabinet damping and I painted two lite coats of PVA on the woofers and I think the L-pad would be the a great mod to incorporate.
Thanks.
T.D.
Minimuslover7, would you post details of the L-pad?
I've got a pair of M7's that I use in my office connected to a MyRefC, got the upgraded crossovers, cabinet damping and I painted two lite coats of PVA on the woofers and I think the L-pad would be the a great mod to incorporate.
Thanks.
T.D.
L-pad
If you go on sengpielaudio L-pad calculator on the internet, put in 8 ohms for the load, then put in the attenuation you require, I put in 3 dB, press calculate, it tells you to put a 2.34 ohm resistor in series, and a 19.39 in paralell. I think I managed to get something like 2.4 and 20 ohm ones, I got metal oxide resistors. It eas all very non scientific as im not sure if the Minimus 7 is a true 8 ohm load overall, thats what it says on the back, but they sound really good with this mod in my opinion. Let me know if you need any more details,
If you go on sengpielaudio L-pad calculator on the internet, put in 8 ohms for the load, then put in the attenuation you require, I put in 3 dB, press calculate, it tells you to put a 2.34 ohm resistor in series, and a 19.39 in paralell. I think I managed to get something like 2.4 and 20 ohm ones, I got metal oxide resistors. It eas all very non scientific as im not sure if the Minimus 7 is a true 8 ohm load overall, thats what it says on the back, but they sound really good with this mod in my opinion. Let me know if you need any more details,
Minimus 7 update
My L-Pad knocked the treble down 3 dB, so technically they should have been pretty flat as they are 3 dB bright in the first place, ive just knocked them down another 1 dB, so they have been knocked down 4 dB in total from standard, they now sound even better even though they are -1dB in the top end. I felt that the treble was still a little exhuberant at higher volumes, now it seems very intergrated, im still amazed what modded 7's can do, standard ones are diamonds in the rough. Im using a Leak stereo 70 I found in a second hand shop, mint for $35, sublime. Think I will stick with that for now.
Mark
My L-Pad knocked the treble down 3 dB, so technically they should have been pretty flat as they are 3 dB bright in the first place, ive just knocked them down another 1 dB, so they have been knocked down 4 dB in total from standard, they now sound even better even though they are -1dB in the top end. I felt that the treble was still a little exhuberant at higher volumes, now it seems very intergrated, im still amazed what modded 7's can do, standard ones are diamonds in the rough. Im using a Leak stereo 70 I found in a second hand shop, mint for $35, sublime. Think I will stick with that for now.
Mark
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All known Minimus 7 crossover mods measured and compared, and a new one developed, ten total, here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=199790
You have to be registered to view the images. Tell 'em Zilch sent ya....
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=199790
You have to be registered to view the images. Tell 'em Zilch sent ya....
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2980246#post2980246
~$15 apiece to upgrade them, my final measurements of the pair are here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2461978&postcount=252
Verified by another upgrader across the country here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2802131&postcount=320
Dennis Murphy found the thread recently; I'm hoping he'll have opportunity to also confirm the design....
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