Hi guys
After what seems like an aeon, I have finally climbed my Everest - a Pensil 7.3 build. Family commitments give me very little time to run at it and I've been gradually chipping away, 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there for nearly a year. They are aesthetically a little eccentric; when I've got some decent photos I'll put them up.
On to my question.
What sold me on the 7.3 Pensils was the promise of what I value most in a speaker - clarity and detail. I'm not interested in rattling any windows, I would much rather have a tight, articulate bass with a bright, clear midrange. The results are unfortunately a little underwhelming. The midrange is decently clear and bright but the bass is thick and slow and timid. No punch at all.
I did run the drivers in for 100 hours with some audiobooks and some light folk music. I'm hoping that my problems are simply down to stuffing (I used polyfill). So I'll try to adjust that. As mentioned, I have very little time to tinker so pointers in the right direction would be very gratefully received. From my description, is it likely that I have overstuffed or understuffed? Also, I have no stuffing directly behind the driver - should I add some?
Gigantic thanks to the community here, without whom this project wouldn't have even been conceived. Especially, of course, to Scottmoose.
After what seems like an aeon, I have finally climbed my Everest - a Pensil 7.3 build. Family commitments give me very little time to run at it and I've been gradually chipping away, 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there for nearly a year. They are aesthetically a little eccentric; when I've got some decent photos I'll put them up.
On to my question.
What sold me on the 7.3 Pensils was the promise of what I value most in a speaker - clarity and detail. I'm not interested in rattling any windows, I would much rather have a tight, articulate bass with a bright, clear midrange. The results are unfortunately a little underwhelming. The midrange is decently clear and bright but the bass is thick and slow and timid. No punch at all.
I did run the drivers in for 100 hours with some audiobooks and some light folk music. I'm hoping that my problems are simply down to stuffing (I used polyfill). So I'll try to adjust that. As mentioned, I have very little time to tinker so pointers in the right direction would be very gratefully received. From my description, is it likely that I have overstuffed or understuffed? Also, I have no stuffing directly behind the driver - should I add some?
Gigantic thanks to the community here, without whom this project wouldn't have even been conceived. Especially, of course, to Scottmoose.
I'd guess too much damping?
Is that just a roll of batting? If yes, you need to pull it out nd tease it into an amorpous mass.
Chris found that for his Pensils (A7.2) he had to pull out about a 1/3rd of the stuffing over recommended.
dave
Is that just a roll of batting? If yes, you need to pull it out nd tease it into an amorpous mass.
Chris found that for his Pensils (A7.2) he had to pull out about a 1/3rd of the stuffing over recommended.
dave
I found that with the 7.3 Pencils almost no padding, just a bit of wall damping and a couple of handfulls of polyfil about midway down, seems to work OK for me. YMMV.
My 7.3's are done, with the recommended amount of stuffing spread evenly up the pipe (acoustistuff). Are there any measurements, like a simple impedance graph (I could get the mic out too for FR), that would assist in tuning, or does it just tend to be done by ear?
Hold the phone!
I just realised that I've so far been listening to them at rather low volume (kids in bed). I just got an opportunity to turn the volume up a bit and my word, the sound just opened up like a lotus flower.
I'll try tuning the stuffing as suggested by you kind gents and if what I just heard is a taster of what's to come, I am going to be one very happy bunny 🙂
(I'm about to put a picture in the Pensil pics thread)
I just realised that I've so far been listening to them at rather low volume (kids in bed). I just got an opportunity to turn the volume up a bit and my word, the sound just opened up like a lotus flower.
I'll try tuning the stuffing as suggested by you kind gents and if what I just heard is a taster of what's to come, I am going to be one very happy bunny 🙂
(I'm about to put a picture in the Pensil pics thread)
I have about 900 hours on my 7.3 Pencils and they seem to be finally settling in. They are quite good. That first 100 hours must be for a safe initial break in, but they will continue to change - for the better - for quite a while.
I have made similiar mistake with over-stuffing my 7.3 pensils. For now (little over 100 hours) I removed all the stuffing and it seems ok even this way - slightly excess body on vocals and strings but bass is just great - tight, precise and its volume is amazing especially then looking at the size of driver itself. And sound is getting better each day... Just wonderful. Will experiment with adding stuffing later (after final breaking in) though.
You may have looked at my recent post about stuffing, but if not have a look at this stuff on eBay.
eBay number 261069251792
It's made a huge improvement to the sound of my 10.3's
eBay number 261069251792
It's made a huge improvement to the sound of my 10.3's
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