IMF brand of speakers

[newbie123]

Has anyone on the forum,used these speakers?
Throw some light on these speakers,and how much they retail,(with model no,if possible)in the seconds market.
How are they different than today's speakers?
Any info would be great.
Thanks.

[tubesguy]

IMF stands for Irving M. (Bud) Fried, a long-time advocate of transmission-line speakers. I believe that all of his speakers except for the smallest, bookshelf types, were of transmission -ine construction.

If you ever had the opportunity to sit through a demo with Bud, you'd know that he believes that his speakers are the very best in the world. - Pat

[newbie123]

Thanks tubesguy..
But would you put it at the top end of speakers list?And how much they retail in the seconds market?
How they compare with today's speakers?
Thanks.

[dnsey]

I ran a pair of TLS50s for a couple of years.
The bass was truly impressive - tighter than most reviewers would have you believe, and extended right down to 'feel' frequencies. Acoustic bass was particularly startling in its realism.
However, the imaging seemed almost non-existant (four drivers), and the midrange was distinctly woolly. Changing the crossover caps for decent polys helped a bit.
These days, I'd happily have another pair, but mod them into 3-way units with decent MF drivers.

[Gravenstede]

iv got a pair of TLS80's these are totaly amazing they dont sound as good as the new roksan fr5 speakers. the tls80's just sound so real, i dont find the midrange too badly coloured and the top end is fairly good - more natural sounding rather than the best sounding.

iv got a pair of ALS40s which are also very good but the bass responce is poorer and the top could do with a little more definition but still a very good pair of speakers.

TLS80's £400 - £600 dependant on colour / age / stlye and condition

ALS40's cost me £65 with roten mid range drivers

later versions of the prof monitor are the best, i saw a pair in rosewood go for £1000

[Gravenstede]

I MENT THE TLS80'S SOUND BETTER THAN THE ROKSAN FR5'S

xXx SORRY xXx

[aquapiranha]

Hello, my first post here... I have just got hold of some Super Compact MK1's. They are in good condition but unfortunatly have a couple of problems..

1] The original Elac 4/200 mids have been replaced with something else [look like generic cheap ones]

2] Despite the IMF reputation, there appears to little or no bass at all, I have detected a small amount of movement in the bass cones [KEF B200 1014?] but as I say, little or no actual bass.

I would be grateful if anyone here can point me in the direction of some replacement midrange drivers [Elac 4/200 would be good, though they are impossible to find] and also the cause of the bass suckout - is it possible the B200's have blown? or could it be more to with the crossover?

Any help very much appreciated!

aquapiranha

[Moondog55]

I had a pair of those, I still have the woofer ( reconed ) given what i have learned and what information is avaliable, it sounds like the problem i had.
My little sister turned the amp ALL THE WAY UP, and fried the mid, also damaged the cross-over.
Are you willing to pull the apart and check everything?
My initial reaction was to repair but now I would not bother, i'd build a new set using the same basic size box and some good new drivers.
Have you tried any of the 4inch square frames in the Madisound range?

[aquapiranha]

Hi, and thanks for the reply. Since the previous owner replaced the mids I was inclined to get some better ones, but the original elacs are almost impossible to find now. I did think that maybe there was some damage to the crossover given the lack of bass - not normally a trait of IMF. I have no problem opening up the box to check everything and may have a look at the weekend. Steve

[Moondog55]

From memory the original crossover is glued to the foam that covers the top of the shelf/brace and uses thin gauge laminate inductors. i was of the opinion that there was room for improvement. BUT I am no-way an expert.
I do like the sound of the B-200 in a sealed box, but why not try a really good mid driver ( Vifa P13-00-08 while they are still avaliable ) use the front panel as a template and build a new box to accoodate a slightly different driver placement