acoustat 2+2 mods

[Gram]

Has anybody any experience or ideas for modifying and improving the performance of these speakers..? Mine already have the Medallion mods, and are working well as standard.. Thanks

[SY]

What is it specifically that you're trying to improve? I might have some suggestions.

[Gram]

Thanks SY. Not quite sure. I'm aware they sound cleaner and louder with their socks off. I know of a pair in NZ that have been rewired, the frame has been rebuilt using solid timber rather than the standard and relatively flimsy MDF, and a lot of the electronic components have been replaced by better quality items.Unfortunately I've lost contact with the owner. Don't know if I intended to go to quite this extent; I'd be very interested in your ideas. Thanks...

[stokessd]

I'm not up on my acoustat models, do those have an active crossover to a bass driver/subwoofer? They aren't the hybrid ones are they?

Most all ESL's have a DC blocking cap on the front end, make sure that's a poly cap or at the very least bypassed with a poly cap.

Mechanical stiffening can help marginally, but don't expect night and day improvements.

Sheldon

[SY]

What Sheldon said. There aren't really any night'n'day things, but you can take care of details. I did something like this with a 1+1. After refurbishing the panels (that's a story in and of itself), I mounted them in an incredibly ugly frame made from 2x4s and 1x6s. No socks or grill-cloth. Replaced the wiring, much of which was looking pretty corroded.

Use a flashlight and inspect the diaphragm and coating. Redoing that made the biggest improvement so far, but it's not easy or trivial, and takes some special equipment (like a corona treater).

The next step is direct-drive amps, an ongoing project here.

[Praudio]

Here a good project:

Re: Acoustat 2+2...Any users?
BOB: Before I migrated to audiophile surround, I listened to 2-channel for several years on a pair of Acoustat 2+2's modified by myself for optimized sound. Some tips: 1 Sound best without socks - by far! To operate without socks and still preserve WAF, you must improve the appearance of the frames (which, incidentally, improves the sound by removing square corner diffraction). Remove socks. Remove electro panels and crossover/transformers. Remove base plate. Rout a round shape into all sharp edges. Fill and paint frames. Reassemble without socks. I used an antique white that complemented the plastic flourescent light grids that are used as front and back speaker panel members. 2 Replace all caps in the crossover with audiphile variety, such as Wondercap. Big difference. 3 After you have found the best setting on the large variable power resistor, measure the resistance at that point. Then replace the entire resistor with a film-type power resistor of that value on a large heat sink. Huge improvement! 4 Make sure you have spike in the base plate. Then devise a turnbuckle system, like a small floor jack, that you can place between the tops of the speakers and the cieling, so you can screw the speakers into place with tension between the floor and the ceiling. Much more definition in the sound, top to bottom. 5 I had to carpet the entire wall behind the 2+2's to deaden the rear wall reflections. Otherwise, I was forced to play them 1/3 of the way out into the room! You may want to carpet or drape the entire area behind them. 6 Tune them by establishing your sweet spot, then aiming the left speaker at your left shoulder, and the right speaker at your right shoulder. Use a level to make sure they are vertical to the floor - this angle doesn't change. 7 Pound in a proprietary ground pole. Lift the house ground to your audio circuits and replace with the proprietary ground. Makes a difference in all systems, but even more so with electrostatics. My audiophile surround is an improvement over 2-channel, in part because I play into 13000 cubic feet. I have no room reflection problems, and can enjoy all the power inherent in 6 audio channels, 12 amplication channels and tons of drivers. But for 2 channel listening, I never heard anything better or more sensitive than those 2+2's with Krell amp and passive pre-amp. PS - never use a powered pre-amp with the 2+2's, if your DAC has enough power to drive your amp through a passive pre-amp. You end up hearing all the problems with your pre-amp rather than listening to the music. Bruce Kopitz
By Audio_optimizer on 08-20-00

[SY]

Oh, yes, one more (simple) thing- retension your diaphragms with a hot air gun. Make sure that the speakers have been unplugged for a day or two.

[Gram]

Thanks to everyone for your comments..much appreciated.

[CV]

http://www.izzy-wizzy.com/audio

which is StephenR's site.

Wonder if Stephen's the guy you were in contact with in NZ....

cheers
Chris

[Gram]

Thanks CV..great site. And I think it was the Richard mentioned..forget his surname.