Help, Audiostatic ES-100

[aau70]

Hi all,
I just brought a second hand Audiostatic ES-100, but both speakers have a low level volume and I can hear distortion in low frequencies.
I am planning to replace the diaphragm.
Can somebody guide me to take the electrostatic panel out from the frame?
I have taken the bottom, upper and electronics mdf parts, but I have a problem when I tried to take both side mdf frames apart.
It looks the electrostatic panels glued to the both side frames.
Should I just force it or is there any other way to take the panel out from the side frames?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Peter

[maudio]

Yes you have to apply some force here to break the glue bonds. Try to push (hammer) a long small screwdriver in between the panel and the mdf and use it as a lever. Should be fairly easy to separate them that way. They are glued together with dots of glue every 10 cm or so, but the glue is not very strong.

Same applies for separating the two stators, they are glued together as well using some kind of silicone based glue. Just put a thin but strong knife in between and push it all along the perimeter of the panel.

good luck!

[maudio]

like this

You can also see some of the glue here that held the stator glued to the mdf dframe

[aau70]

Thank you.
I will try it after finish work today.

Cheers
Peter

[aau70]

Done it.
I have managed to take the panel out and also take the panel apart with a little bit tears and blood. (tears because I managed to create scratch mark on the mdf frame and blood because I also managed to cut my finger.. lucky it wasn't deep )
next challenge.... to clean the panel.
Do you know what I can use to clean the panel from glue residue? alcohol?

Thanks

[Ulf Eliasson]

Hi,

I have made some tweaks to make my ES100 sound better and the improvement is major! But for the next step I need to take them apart. Anyone with a circuit diagram you could share/publish or if available a service manual?

Thanks,

Ulf

PS! If any is interested I could describe my tweaks. DS!

[bear]

Anyone know what the stock diaphragm coating is?

I have a friend with two pair of Audiostatics that is complaining that the output of the lower half of a pair of speakers is dropping in level (over a long time now...)

As far as I know there is nothing special in the schematic of the driver board... they use two xfmrs from the wall wart to boost the HV AC level up before dumping it into the usual multiplier.

(My friend does not have a HV supply problem, btw...)

Afaik they don't actually use the patented driver circuit at least in the panels that have a woofer and the "full range" panel together...

_-_-bear

PS. please do describe ur tweaks!!

[MJ Dijkstra]

Hi,

The ES100 is simple indeed.
The ES200R and 300R have a mirror drive interface which boost low frequency output to compensate for the destructive phase cancellation.

The easiest way to improve the es100 is to use thinner foils. The original is at least 6 micron thick.
You can play with the input cap. as well.
Some people even got the cap. completely removed.

[bear]

Anyone know what the diaphragm coating is?

In english we'd call it "film" not "foil" - foil is usually applied to metals, like "aluminum foil"...fyi.

_-_-bear

[Ulf Eliasson]

Originally posted by bear PS. please do describe ur tweaks!! [/B]

At the moment I'm in the process of modifying them (again), but give me a couple of weeks and I will be back with a description supplied with photos. A tip until then is to try to make the frame as rigid as possible.

Originally posted by MJ Dijkstra Some people even got the cap. completely removed. [/B]

I think I got that tip from Ben Peters himself ten years ago and I have run mine ever since with that cap bypassed.