Refurbing Martin Logan CLS panels

[GlidingDutchman]

Hi

Some think I am insane but I am attemting to refurb a set of Martin Logan CLS panels.

CLS Panel Repair - Breaking New Ground

I am being discouraged by everone I communicate with regarding DIY repair to ML panels. I got nothing to lose so I thought why not give it a try...

I carefully sliced through the 'front' double-sided tape that adheres the front stator to the panel assembly.

Spars have been sprayed from the front with Q20 as to loosen the adhesive.

Carefully the front stator have been pulled off - great care has been taken not to rip the mylar or bend the stator.


Naked Panel - dusty!


HT copper strip - nasty!


HT copper strip - oxidized


Spar - nothing but firm weather stripping

To be continued...

[GlidingDutchman]

This morning I carefully restored the electronics boxes to factory standard with some help of schematics supplied by Martin Logans' helpful service manager Jim Power. Thanx Jim! He was also kind to have shown me that the electronics were heavily modified...



Box here attached to oak frame holding esl panel.



GD

[Few]

Thanks for posting the photos. It's useful to see some construction details of commercial ESLs.
Few

[GlidingDutchman]

Originally posted by Few
Thanks for posting the photos. It's useful to see some construction details of commercial ESLs.
Few

A pleasure...

Using double-sided tape makes DIY stat panels easy as pie to make... dont you think?

GD

[Calvin]

Hi,

the answer is NO!

jauu
Calvin

[Few]

Compared to the hours (days...weeks...months...) I've spent trying to come up with a convenient way to make stretched wire stators, I'd have to say it's pretty straightforward to make a perforated steel panel that will sound good. On the other hand, coming up with refined stator coatings, building with tight tolerances to maximize performance, and developing all the other tricks that separate first efforts from more refined projects certainly are more demanding tasks. I still find it pretty amazing, though, how simple a perforated metal stator design can be if you just want to get something up and making very clear sounding music.

Few

[GlidingDutchman]

Originally posted by Calvin
Hi,

the answer is NO!

jauu
Calvin

My my but you are optimistic!!



GD

[GlidingDutchman]

Originally posted by Few
Compared to the hours (days...weeks...months...) I've spent trying to come up with a convenient way to make stretched wire stators, I'd have to say it's pretty straightforward to make a perforated steel panel that will sound good. On the other hand, coming up with refined stator coatings, building with tight tolerances to maximize performance, and developing all the other tricks that separate first efforts from more refined projects certainly are more demanding tasks. I still find it pretty amazing, though, how simple a perforated metal stator design can be if you just want to get something up and making very clear sounding music.

Few

Few - Perf Sheet Stators seems the most logic way to go. They say that Nylon 66 powder coating it the best coating for perf sheet stators.

Double-sided tape is a no-brainer...

Easy guys!!
GD

[Calvin]

Hi,

regarding Nylon 66....
the answer is again NO!
Its rather a cheap to fabricate solution which works acceptable.

If it were the best, You might ask why don´t corona resistent magnet wires come with it?
If it were the best, You might ask why ML search for alternatives!
Just because ML uses this material successfully as coating of their stators, it is not necessarily the best or the only material to use. It just proves that this is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to achieve certain goals.

It´d be desirable for example to have a material with higher flashover treshold to reduce coating thickness. It´d be desirable to have a considerably higher dielectric constant to raise efficiency. It would be desirable to have a material which can be processed easier and cheaper, maybe even DIYable.

jauu
Calvin

btw. of course am I optimistic I´ve learned so many things about electrostats in 25 years that I know, that I´d never regard them as easy.......but that they only appear easy on first glance.

[stokessd]

Calvin is saying:

The devil is always in the details, no matter what you are doing.


Sheldon