I have a pair of Final Sound 150i(s) esl speakers wall mounted as theater speakers next to a TV, small 7 ch system. These are by far the best part.
I have another, larger set of ML esls which we love.
The Finals are, well, nasty little buggers. One of them anyway.
I had followed a suggestion from a diyer years ago - the left speaker was starting to arc - he suggested a careful inspection to locate the arc and a drop of clear nail polish might temporarily fix the issue (fuse/fill the acetate). It temporarily fixed it for 3 years and I owe that guy a round of beers.
The left finally, (pun intended) now seems to be on its last legs. It is arcing badly at turn on (used to be occasional at worst) so all you hear now is a constant pop-pop.
I would love to hear everyone's opinions and hear any other options. Well, good options - I can send them back to the Netherlands to not only be fixed but become new and improved for about $900. Plus $500 shipping, plus insurance. Not practical.
I feel I have 2 options.
1. Repair! Buy the film, $60, buy the spray, another $40, tear that thing apart and fix it! What's the worst that could happen? Problem here is I can find zilch online for help - not one picture, guide, even a thought on physically "how to do this to a Final Sound any model speaker". This is a beautifully machined speaker so a plan would be good. The worst that could happen is a is a deader speaker.
2. Give up! - you love gadgets and esl speakers ARE the coolest in the world, but these are just theater speakers for a TV room! Be a man, spend the $300-400 to get a decent set of mountable speakers. Oh wait, did you just waste $100+ trying to repair the existing speakers? That drops the budget. Of course I want something that sounds awesome for, well, less than stellar prices.
KEF wall speakers? MMGs? These are pretty big bucks.
90% of my current system (more than 20 pieces) was purchased used/bartered so I have so no qualms except for speakers. Buying used speakers has led to some audio and financial pain.
Hope everyone is healthy and safe and your turntables are now dusted off!
I have another, larger set of ML esls which we love.
The Finals are, well, nasty little buggers. One of them anyway.
I had followed a suggestion from a diyer years ago - the left speaker was starting to arc - he suggested a careful inspection to locate the arc and a drop of clear nail polish might temporarily fix the issue (fuse/fill the acetate). It temporarily fixed it for 3 years and I owe that guy a round of beers.
The left finally, (pun intended) now seems to be on its last legs. It is arcing badly at turn on (used to be occasional at worst) so all you hear now is a constant pop-pop.
I would love to hear everyone's opinions and hear any other options. Well, good options - I can send them back to the Netherlands to not only be fixed but become new and improved for about $900. Plus $500 shipping, plus insurance. Not practical.
I feel I have 2 options.
1. Repair! Buy the film, $60, buy the spray, another $40, tear that thing apart and fix it! What's the worst that could happen? Problem here is I can find zilch online for help - not one picture, guide, even a thought on physically "how to do this to a Final Sound any model speaker". This is a beautifully machined speaker so a plan would be good. The worst that could happen is a is a deader speaker.
2. Give up! - you love gadgets and esl speakers ARE the coolest in the world, but these are just theater speakers for a TV room! Be a man, spend the $300-400 to get a decent set of mountable speakers. Oh wait, did you just waste $100+ trying to repair the existing speakers? That drops the budget. Of course I want something that sounds awesome for, well, less than stellar prices.
KEF wall speakers? MMGs? These are pretty big bucks.
90% of my current system (more than 20 pieces) was purchased used/bartered so I have so no qualms except for speakers. Buying used speakers has led to some audio and financial pain.
Hope everyone is healthy and safe and your turntables are now dusted off!
Hi,
Final has since long vanished from the market.
IIrc the same people restarted as PIO who also went that way.
It could be the same pople restarted a third time ... but I don´t know if they refurbish or repair Finals.
If I wanted to still sell my stuff but avoid costy replacements and repairs I´d just do as they did ... restart under a different brand name.
regarding 1) Final went a different way than the usual.
Their inverter principle is working in a different fashion to almost all other ESLs.
They could be described as two antiserial connected singleended ESLs.
As such they work as constant voltage types, requiring a highly conductive coating of the diaphragm.
These coatings seem to be not stable and were probabely the main cause of the numerous beakdowns of Finals.
The inverter principle also differed in electronics.
It required two bias supplies and two dc-blocking HV-caps.
So if you want to use the typical films and sprays offered for DIY You need to redesign the complete speaker.
Also keep in mind that ESLs only sound superior when they can radiate freely.
If your TV setup only allows for close-to-a-wall mountage of the speakers look for something else ... a nice small dynamic speaker will then suit better.
If You can allow for ~1m distance to the wall go ahead andtry your luck.
regarding 2) You WIMP!! Ask Yourself the following: "Would Chuck Norris .....
jauu
Calvin
Final has since long vanished from the market.
IIrc the same people restarted as PIO who also went that way.
It could be the same pople restarted a third time ... but I don´t know if they refurbish or repair Finals.
If I wanted to still sell my stuff but avoid costy replacements and repairs I´d just do as they did ... restart under a different brand name.
regarding 1) Final went a different way than the usual.
Their inverter principle is working in a different fashion to almost all other ESLs.
They could be described as two antiserial connected singleended ESLs.
As such they work as constant voltage types, requiring a highly conductive coating of the diaphragm.
These coatings seem to be not stable and were probabely the main cause of the numerous beakdowns of Finals.
The inverter principle also differed in electronics.
It required two bias supplies and two dc-blocking HV-caps.
So if you want to use the typical films and sprays offered for DIY You need to redesign the complete speaker.
Also keep in mind that ESLs only sound superior when they can radiate freely.
If your TV setup only allows for close-to-a-wall mountage of the speakers look for something else ... a nice small dynamic speaker will then suit better.
If You can allow for ~1m distance to the wall go ahead andtry your luck.
regarding 2) You WIMP!!
Ask Yourself the following: "Would Chuck Norris ..... jauu
Calvin
Finally...
Wow. Thank you for killing all my dreams with your simple logic and knowledge.
Yes, I was going to try a Dupont mylar and coating replacement. Thanks again.
Not snarkfully, thank you, I was afraid I was in over my head and you verified that - I will put those supply costs towards new speakers.
The 150i was a godsend for me - have enjoyed for 9 years. Visually they are stunning, sonically perfect for what I wanted. Something a step up (sorry Bose lovers) from a Bose, but very visually appealing.
Here's a pic
The WAF is SO critical and this was workable. Luckily I hate seeing wires as she does, so it's clean looking. Going to be tough to replace them sonically - visually, I'm sure here's a lot out there. I actually did find an article online years ago about replacing the membranes on the Final Sound 3.0, but it physically hurts to read it. Way beyond my DIY level - and please understand I have built 3 (2 crappy, but..) sets of tri-amped transmission line speakers, so I get the necessary planning, work, detail, dedication, etc. His process for repair was much more like rocket science: no simple solutions, required really strong skills and no margin for error.
Quite comfortable with a bit of repair or design or even modification, but I would never touch a Swiss watch - I know my limits!
Regarding 2 - Chuck Norris would have sent for his local custom audio guy, who would come in and within the time Chuck got in a good workout, would have rebuilt the esls and extended the bass down to a really clean 40 Hz, just to make sure Chuck was happy (probably run diags on Chuck's $14k turntable as well).
I already asked Chuck for his audio guys name and he will not give it up. Wuss. All "McIntosh" system indeed...
Wow. Thank you for killing all my dreams with your simple logic and knowledge.
Yes, I was going to try a Dupont mylar and coating replacement. Thanks again.
Not snarkfully, thank you, I was afraid I was in over my head and you verified that - I will put those supply costs towards new speakers.
The 150i was a godsend for me - have enjoyed for 9 years. Visually they are stunning, sonically perfect for what I wanted. Something a step up (sorry Bose lovers) from a Bose, but very visually appealing.
Here's a pic
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
. The WAF is SO critical and this was workable. Luckily I hate seeing wires as she does, so it's clean looking. Going to be tough to replace them sonically - visually, I'm sure here's a lot out there. I actually did find an article online years ago about replacing the membranes on the Final Sound 3.0, but it physically hurts to read it. Way beyond my DIY level - and please understand I have built 3 (2 crappy, but..) sets of tri-amped transmission line speakers, so I get the necessary planning, work, detail, dedication, etc. His process for repair was much more like rocket science: no simple solutions, required really strong skills and no margin for error.
Quite comfortable with a bit of repair or design or even modification, but I would never touch a Swiss watch - I know my limits!
Regarding 2 - Chuck Norris would have sent for his local custom audio guy, who would come in and within the time Chuck got in a good workout, would have rebuilt the esls and extended the bass down to a really clean 40 Hz, just to make sure Chuck was happy (probably run diags on Chuck's $14k turntable as well).
I already asked Chuck for his audio guys name and he will not give it up. Wuss. All "McIntosh" system indeed...
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