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  1. #1
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    AR.com DIY Speaker Modifications

    Last week I assembled the AR.com DIY speaker kit from Madisound and have them broken in after about 20+ hours of use. I've not made any modifications yet but I just ordered acousta-stuff from PE to replace the foam Madisound provided in hopes this will clear up the mids and add to the bass.

    Also, I want to add a 3, 4, or 5 ohm resistor to tone down the tweeter and correct the sibilance, but I'm not exactly sure how to do this. I've already purchased these resistors from Madisound. Please describe in layman's terms how to do this. Thanks!
    Last edited by Free USA Shipping; 01-20-2005 at 06:18 AM.

  2. #2
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    I'd advise against the Acousta-stuff...in this particular design the interior is not meant to be overly dampened...you could end up killing the midrange smoothness and add excess boom to the bass...I had some left after building the PeeCreeks that I tried out briefly. It works fine in the PeeCreek but not in the ar.com DIY, to my ears. Too much dampening will really kill off the natural sound and transient responses in my opinion. If you're having issues witht he mids and bass (which are this speaker's strength considering size and price) it's most likely something else...

    I have no excessive sibilance on mine with the standard 2 ohm resistor (7 ohms) total, but then again, I have these beside my Paradigm Studio 40's which are bit bright IMO.
    Search some of the other threads, Ed answered the resistor question just a few days ago here!

    Also, how do you have them placed?

  3. #3
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    I read the posts by Ed Frias a few times but I can't piece together what I'm supposed to do. I was hoping for a less technical or more complete explanation in layman's terms for how to add a resistor.

    I have them sitting on top of a pair of 38" floor standing cabinets, of course not ideal, but I doubt it's attributable to the undefined mids and bass. I'm sure I will be removing the Madisound foam and trying a handful of the acousta-stuff in each speaker at least to see if it helps.

  4. #4
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    Try emailing Ed directly, I won't dare try to step you through it.
    I'm really worried about this "undefined mids and bass"...something's not right...everything wired in phase, no damaged woofers? Did you use Madisounds crossover or assemble yourself? How much polyfil did you install?
    Just curious, what are you use to listening too as a reference?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Try emailing Ed directly, I won't dare try to step you through it.
    I'm really worried about this "undefined mids and bass"...something's not right...everything wired in phase, no damaged woofers? Did you use Madisounds crossover or assemble yourself? How much polyfil did you install?
    Just curious, what are you use to listening too as a reference?
    Instead of first emailing Ed, I thought it better to post here so perhaps someone with the same question some day may benefit.

    Although I don't know how to tell if it's wired in or out of phase, I'm certain I wired everything as diagramed and the woofers aren't damaged.

    I'm using Madisound's crossovers and the foam fill Madisound provided. I'm guessing the replacement of the Madisound foam with acousta-stuff will clear up the mids and add to the bass (which is surprisingly low).

    For reference I've listened to 4 different CDs with which I'm very familiar. For two weeks before I received the AR.com speakers, I listened to the same 4 CDs with a pair of Ascend CBM-170's. I sent them back since I could not live with the tweeter's high end and sibilance. As is the AR.com's high end and sibilance is much less objectionable than the Ascends. However, I'm hoping these mods will bring my AR.com speakers up to their potential.

    Thanks
    Last edited by Free USA Shipping; 01-20-2005 at 12:09 PM.

  6. #6
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    I see the problem...the foam fill madisound includes is definitely not what should be used. You are not just dampening the cabinet, you could also be effectively increasing it's apparent volume (do a google search to find out why, I'm not the best to explain this to you).
    The design calls for polyfill...polyester stuffing, like you'd use in pillows...3 inches deep from the back wall...good news is a $5 bag will do about 3 pairs of these speakers...go to Walmart and buy some, try it out....then, if you still aren't happy, we can try a few other things. I'm fairly confident the polyfill will help
    Good luck.

  7. #7
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    Homework

    Free Shipping,
    You need to go to Forums Links(bottom left of tweak,mods DIY page) Click old forums - Click tweaks mods,DIY. This will take you back to much more build info. on Eds' speakers back to 2002.
    You do Not want to be soldering resistors on to your crossovers!!!!!! The resistor tweaking is done with quick connects on the wire between the crossover and tweeter. Dig and ye shall find.
    If you are new to room acoustics, speaker placement,etc. I suggest you spend a fair amount of time researching for your specific listening area!
    Once you've got your speakers in the right place, at the right height, solidly set on good stands with halfway decent speaker wire; then do your final tweaking. Good Luck!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by tillerman
    Free Shipping,
    You need to go to Forums Links(bottom left of tweak,mods DIY page) Click old forums - Click tweaks mods,DIY. This will take you back to much more build info. on Eds' speakers back to 2002.
    You do Not want to be soldering resistors on to your crossovers!!!!!! The resistor tweaking is done with quick connects on the wire between the crossover and tweeter. Dig and ye shall find.
    If you are new to room acoustics, speaker placement,etc. I suggest you spend a fair amount of time researching for your specific listening area!
    Once you've got your speakers in the right place, at the right height, solidly set on good stands with halfway decent speaker wire; then do your final tweaking. Good Luck!
    Okay, I shall research. But before I do, what is a "quick connect"? Is this an alligator clip? Thanks for the good advise.

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