Martin Logan SL3 Woofers?

jbeckley42 · 9th October 2007, 03:02 AM

Hello,

I'm a new guy here and currently working on rebuilding a pair of Martin Logan SL3 panels I bought on ebay. I'm working on trying to learn as much as possible about rebuilding these things and have had good luck so far. The ESL is pretty easy to understand. I'm stuck however on the woofers. The orginials had a 10" cone. I've been looking around and found them on partsexpress, but I have no idea what is a good brand. (Like any good DIY project this one has gone slightly over budget by about 3x), so I'm not sure I want to plunk down $200 for a cone, but I don't want a crappy one either. Any suggestions? Thanks in advanced.

-Joe

AVWERK · 10th October 2007, 09:16 PM

I have the same speaker.

As I remember last year taking one out to look, it's a Vifa I believe. Mine is in a sealed enclosure, earlier ones were ported.

A call to ML will get you a new one or a call to Madisound. ML is fairly reasonable on prices to fix these.

You can go to the ML forum and get more info.

As a side note- Not very impressed on box construction. They could have put some cross braces in there and charged very little more for a more inert enclosure.

Regards

David

MikeBettinger · 10th October 2007, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AVWERK
I have the same speaker.

As I remember last year taking one out to look, it's a Vifa I believe. Mine is in a sealed enclosure, earlier ones were ported.

A call to ML will get you a new one or a call to Madisound. ML is fairly reasonable on prices to fix these.

You can go to the ML forum and get more info.

As a side note- Not very impressed on box construction. They could have put some cross braces in there and charged very little more for a more inert enclosure.

Regards

David

You might want to stick closely to the original type woofer as it's x-over was design for it and it's speed blends with the Electrostat panel. I experimented a bit maybe 5-6 years ago and ended back with the originals based on this. From my experience Martin Logan (as of maybe a year ago) was very reasonable on their replacement parts prices. These are awesome speakers, by the way, given careful placement and a good subwoofer.

FYI, Mike.

hasse_thai · 11th October 2007, 02:21 AM

Hi guys

I have been through some of the same issues when I modified my Sequel II's.

I agree that woofer cabinet modifications help on the sound. I have inserted a matrix of 3-4 mm sheets of plywood, two sheets across, like an "#" seen from the bottom of the speaker. These were slotted and glued into the walls of the cabinet, which kept me busy for a few nights...., but the costs are next to zero for this modification.

For a Sequel II, the woofer unit is so poor (extremely stiff suspension, wollen sound), that changing it out with a modern unit is almost compulsary. If this is done you need to spend a few bucks on biamping and electronic X-overs and some kind of equalizing unit.

If you do not need to change the type of woofer, it is FAR simpler to stick to a new but original woofer and stick to the original X-over. Even replacement panels are reasonably prised, and Jim Powers from ML is a pleasure to deal with.

Regards H_T

jbeckley42 · 11th October 2007, 03:42 AM

Thanks everyone, that should get me on the right track. Like I said, I only have the panels, so I will be building the crossover and cabinet myself. I'm also going to be playing around with a couple of different thicknesses of mylar (6 micron and 3.5), as well as a couple of different transformer designs. I called Martin Logan about the audio transformers and they were a little less than helpful. They wanted me to send the panels back to rebuild the whole speakers, which kinda defeats the DIY portion of building them

Thanks again.

-Joe

AVWERK · 12th October 2007, 01:33 AM

You will way ahead if you just purchase the panels from ML.

The last time I checked they were 600$ for 2. That is a deal when you consider somethig like Scanspeak drivers covering the same frequency that won,t be matched (although great drivers) for the same money. (Matched drivers are crucial even for DIY'ers IMO) and should be a first step that most step over....

If you think you want to roll your own and get 2 matching outputs for both panels then rethink the first sentence. Your very likely to get wild variations for the long hard work you put into this.

DIY is great and I love it also, but sometimes this important area is worth buying outright...

The frame and box is another matter. I,ve toyed with the same idea myself. ML didn't put much thought into a dead enclosure. e

1 1/2" MDF for all surfaces and offset internal bracing. The woofer should be positioned ahead of the panels themselves as the step response (Stereophile test info) clearly shows the panels leading in time.

Ebay sometimes has people selling the high voltage step up section to mate the panels. Ive seen 2 people selling them in the last year alone.

OR... Just forget all this stuff and sell the wife, kids, the car and buy some Vandersteen 5A's and live happily forever!!
Regards

David

jbeckley42 · 12th October 2007, 05:33 PM

Since I only have the panels (and they are falling apart), I'll be rebuilding the crossover, and the cabinet. I'm going to rebuild the panels first and try 3.5 and 6 micron mylar with two different audio transformers (one with 1:75 turns; the other with 1:125 turns). Once the panels are done, I'm going to determine where they start to roll off and (hopefully) match cones to the panels, and then build the crossover. Thanks again.

Andersonix · 24th October 2007, 02:58 PM

I don't envy your task of reconstructing the esl sections and getting a decently matched pair.

But I do think this is a terrific opportunity to much improve upon ML's (hopeless?) bass integration. I'd like to encourage you to pursue open baffle bass a la Linkwitz. What do you think? There would be plenty of help here....

9th October 2007, 03:02 AM	#1
jbeckley42 diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2007	Martin Logan SL3 Woofers? Hello, I'm a new guy here and currently working on rebuilding a pair of Martin Logan SL3 panels I bought on ebay. I'm working on trying to learn as much as possible about rebuilding these things and have had good luck so far. The ESL is pretty easy to understand. I'm stuck however on the woofers. The orginials had a 10" cone. I've been looking around and found them on partsexpress, but I have no idea what is a good brand. (Like any good DIY project this one has gone slightly over budget by about 3x), so I'm not sure I want to plunk down $200 for a cone, but I don't want a crappy one either. Any suggestions? Thanks in advanced. -Joe

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Replacement woofers for Martin Logan Monolith II's	horchem1972	Planars & Exotics	11	4th October 2008 06:52 PM
FS - Martin Logan CLS Panels	nautilus	Swap Meet	3	18th December 2007 11:35 PM
Martin Logan Monolith III	dsrviola	Planars & Exotics	7	17th September 2007 08:16 PM
martin logan's	dsiroky	Pass Labs	17	16th April 2007 10:13 AM
martin logan csl	flodge	Planars & Exotics	12	13th November 2005 02:59 PM

New To Site?	Need Help?
Register to Participate Search Privacy Statement Contact Us	Frequently Asked Questions Did you forget your password? Mark Forums Read


	Please consider donating to help us continue to serve you. Ads on/off / Custom Title / More PMs / More album space / Advanced printing & mass image saving

10th October 2007, 09:16 PM	#2
AVWERK diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: OC,Calif.	I have the same speaker. As I remember last year taking one out to look, it's a Vifa I believe. Mine is in a sealed enclosure, earlier ones were ported. A call to ML will get you a new one or a call to Madisound. ML is fairly reasonable on prices to fix these. You can go to the ML forum and get more info. As a side note- Not very impressed on box construction. They could have put some cross braces in there and charged very little more for a more inert enclosure. Regards David

11th October 2007, 02:21 AM	#4
hasse_thai diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2007	Hi guys I have been through some of the same issues when I modified my Sequel II's. I agree that woofer cabinet modifications help on the sound. I have inserted a matrix of 3-4 mm sheets of plywood, two sheets across, like an "#" seen from the bottom of the speaker. These were slotted and glued into the walls of the cabinet, which kept me busy for a few nights...., but the costs are next to zero for this modification. For a Sequel II, the woofer unit is so poor (extremely stiff suspension, wollen sound), that changing it out with a modern unit is almost compulsary. If this is done you need to spend a few bucks on biamping and electronic X-overs and some kind of equalizing unit. If you do not need to change the type of woofer, it is FAR simpler to stick to a new but original woofer and stick to the original X-over. Even replacement panels are reasonably prised, and Jim Powers from ML is a pleasure to deal with. Regards H_T

11th October 2007, 03:42 AM	#5
jbeckley42 diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2007	Thanks everyone, that should get me on the right track. Like I said, I only have the panels, so I will be building the crossover and cabinet myself. I'm also going to be playing around with a couple of different thicknesses of mylar (6 micron and 3.5), as well as a couple of different transformer designs. I called Martin Logan about the audio transformers and they were a little less than helpful. They wanted me to send the panels back to rebuild the whole speakers, which kinda defeats the DIY portion of building them Thanks again. -Joe

12th October 2007, 01:33 AM	#6
AVWERK diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: OC,Calif.	You will way ahead if you just purchase the panels from ML. The last time I checked they were 600$ for 2. That is a deal when you consider somethig like Scanspeak drivers covering the same frequency that won,t be matched (although great drivers) for the same money. (Matched drivers are crucial even for DIY'ers IMO) and should be a first step that most step over.... If you think you want to roll your own and get 2 matching outputs for both panels then rethink the first sentence. Your very likely to get wild variations for the long hard work you put into this. DIY is great and I love it also, but sometimes this important area is worth buying outright... The frame and box is another matter. I,ve toyed with the same idea myself. ML didn't put much thought into a dead enclosure. e 1 1/2" MDF for all surfaces and offset internal bracing. The woofer should be positioned ahead of the panels themselves as the step response (Stereophile test info) clearly shows the panels leading in time. Ebay sometimes has people selling the high voltage step up section to mate the panels. Ive seen 2 people selling them in the last year alone. OR... Just forget all this stuff and sell the wife, kids, the car and buy some Vandersteen 5A's and live happily forever!! Regards David

12th October 2007, 05:33 PM	#7
jbeckley42 diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2007	Since I only have the panels (and they are falling apart), I'll be rebuilding the crossover, and the cabinet. I'm going to rebuild the panels first and try 3.5 and 6 micron mylar with two different audio transformers (one with 1:75 turns; the other with 1:125 turns). Once the panels are done, I'm going to determine where they start to roll off and (hopefully) match cones to the panels, and then build the crossover. Thanks again.

24th October 2007, 02:58 PM	#8
Andersonix diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silicon Valley	I don't envy your task of reconstructing the esl sections and getting a decently matched pair. But I do think this is a terrific opportunity to much improve upon ML's (hopeless?) bass integration. I'd like to encourage you to pursue open baffle bass a la Linkwitz. What do you think? There would be plenty of help here....