Minimus 7 disassembly and biamp modification

[ijosef]

Hi (newbie here) - I just picked up two pairs of old Realistic Minimus 7 speakers for a reasonable $35 total. They seem to be in pretty good shape, but I'd like to do a few modifications. I've searched this forum and found a couple of threads on these units, but most deal with component replacement and modifying the stock passive crossover.

Here's what I want to do - I'd like to wire the speakers for bi-amp capability so I can use them with my Panasonic stereo (pretty much the opposite of audiophile grade, but I like it). The woofer will see 80hz to 3000hz, and the tweeter will see 3000hz and up. Unfortunately I don't know how to disassemble the Minimus 7 speakers without destroying anything, and I'm not sure how I'm going to install extra terminals. After all, working with a metal box is going to require a different technique than wood. Also, I want to hang these things on the wall, so I'm worried that if I mount another terminal on the rear of the speaker (the stock one is recessed), it will stick out farther than the little mounting bracket.

Any help?

[planet10]

Metal grills pull off, then you get at the inside by removing the drivers. Watch you don't strip the heads of the bolts.

dave

[ijosef]

Thanks for the tip. Disassembly was a lot easier than I had anticipated. It seems that the grills are held on by four little globs of reusable caulk that's virtually identical to the "speaker caulk" that Parts Express sells (and used to give away free whenever you bought a speaker).

Now that I've examined the cabinet, it would be a shame to attack it with a cutting wheel. I removed the original terminal and attached crossover (the model I'm working on now was in made in Malaysia in Oct of 92), so now I have to figure out a way to wire up some sort of quad connector in that same space. The space is only 1.5" long and .75" high, which doesn't leave me many options.

I suppose I could just have wires hanging out as a last resort, or maybe modify a terminal to fit. If I'm biamping, can I use a common ground for both the woofer and the tweeter?

[planet10]

Originally posted by ijosef
I suppose I could just have wires hanging out as a last resort, or maybe modify a terminal to fit. If I'm biamping, can I use a common ground for both the woofer and the tweeter?

I have the perfect connectors in one of my junk boxes -- 4mm female bananas similar to on Quad 303 or NAIM NAITs. You'd have to build up a piece of wood so as to have most of the male "in the cabinet". You might be able to find some push clips or even screw terminals that would work too (again, i'd just root thru my junk box).

I would not common the ground. 1/ it would rule out the use of bridged amps (like all the T-amps) and 2/ it would make flipping the phase of the tweeter impossible.

dave