They're here!

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  • 04-04-2007, 08:32 AM
    basite
    They're here!
    my 'new' pair of large advents, an A3, to be exact...

    http://www.audiokarma.org/gallery/da...47IMG_0237.jpg

    As you've probably seen in the photo, they are in a desperate need of some restorations, the cabinets are fine actually, the woofer surround is completely gone, so I'll be ordering some new ones today or tomorrow.
    apart from that, I've got no sound out of the right tweeter unless the switch at the back is set to 'extend' I guess (correct me if i'm wrong) that this means that the cap has dried out, so these will also be replaced...

    I'm still glad I found them though, these things are really rare here in Belgium...
    I could use some guidance for the refoaming though:scratch2:

    I'll keep you guys updated...

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-04-2007, 08:44 AM
    Bernd
    Wel done Bert, on securing these. The cabinets look real nice. Just take your time with the re-furbishment.
    Good luck with the project.

    Peace

    :16:
  • 04-04-2007, 08:45 AM
    samgupta
    sweet! always cool to get a new project to work on. What kind of amp did you have in the picture?
  • 04-04-2007, 09:31 AM
    basite
    Thanks, I'll do the best I can to restore the speakers to their former glory :)


    @ Samgupta: the left one is a vintage Kenwood KR-730 receiver, currently used as a tuner, the right one is a Denon PMA-700AE integrated.

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-04-2007, 10:18 AM
    JohnMichael
    Many companies make surround repair kits but I do not know of any in your corner of the world. Good luck with your project and please post pictures of the progress.
  • 04-04-2007, 10:59 AM
    topspeed
    Congrats! Great looking speakers from the pics. You may want to post your question in the DIY forum regarding the refoaming project.

    Good luck and enjoy your toys!
  • 04-04-2007, 11:12 AM
    basite
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JohnMichael
    Many companies make surround repair kits but I do not know of any in your corner of the world. Good luck with your project and please post pictures of the progress.


    Yeah, Simplyspeakers seems to be quite known for the advent refoaming kits but I'm going to hear around a little to see if there are companies who make surrounds here...

    I'll post pics during the progress...

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-04-2007, 03:24 PM
    matt39
    Congratulations on picking up some fine speakers. You might consider doing some searches on AK on refoaming. There are quite a few threads there on the subject and specifically on Advents. Lots of good, practical info. Good Luck.
  • 04-05-2007, 02:27 AM
    Feanor
    OK ... cool
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by basite
    my 'new' pair of large advents, an A3, to be exact...

    As you've probably seen in the photo, they are in a desperate need of some restorations, the cabinets are fine actually, the woofer surround is completely gone, so I'll be ordering some new ones today or tomorrow.
    apart from that, I've got no sound out of the right tweeter unless the switch at the back is set to 'extend' I guess (correct me if i'm wrong) that this means that the cap has dried out, so these will also be replaced...

    I'm still glad I found them though, these things are really rare here in Belgium...
    I could use some guidance for the refoaming though:scratch2:

    I'll keep you guys updated...

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.

    Good for you, Bert. And I'm sure you'll have fun retoring them. I'm sure you let us the details of the project.

    Nevertheless I'm remain puzzled by you interest in these relics. Bear in mind I was very interested in hi-fi way, way back when the Advents were brand new. I the time I though they were good, not great. I much preferred the AR5's and subsequently the Braun L710's that I owned back in the day.

    But I know there comments won't dampen your enthusiasm, and that certainly isn't my intent, so carry on and enjoy. :thumbsup:
  • 04-05-2007, 03:24 AM
    basite
    never heard the AR5 or the Braun so I don't know or they sound better than the advents or not. I'm very interested in the Advents because I already have a pair, so that I have a double advent system, which makes them even a better speaker...
    I also bought them because they were original, and if i didn't buy them, they most likely ended up at a junkyard or so...

    anyways, updates:
    I'm done cleaning the woofers so now all the glue and foam is removed, and they are ready to be refoamed. I also took out the crossovers to make it easier to recap them, and the cabinets (although they look fine) are going to be cleaned up and varnish them...

    I'll post pics when done...

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-05-2007, 07:32 AM
    Feanor
    Don't get me wrong
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by basite
    never heard the AR5 or the Braun so I don't know or they sound better than the advents or not. I'm very interested in the Advents because I already have a pair, so that I have a double advent system, which makes them even a better speaker...
    I also bought them because they were original, and if i didn't buy them, they most likely ended up at a junkyard or so...

    anyways, updates:
    I'm done cleaning the woofers so now all the glue and foam is removed, and they are ready to be refoamed. I also took out the crossovers to make it easier to recap them, and the cabinets (although they look fine) are going to be cleaned up and varnish them...

    I'll post pics when done...

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.


    The stacked Advents are a classic, though I've never heard them personally.

    I notice the woofers in you first pair look different; will you end up with the same kind in both pairs?

    AR5, from Acoustic Research, was the slightly smaller sibling of famous and classic AR3a. The Braun L710 was a very nice three way, acoustic suspension system; it had a dome mid-range as I recall -- but that was a long, long time ago.
  • 04-05-2007, 08:07 AM
    basite
    yeah, the woofers in the first pair are different, dad replaced them when I was 3 or so, I also found out that they are utter crap compared to the original advent woofers...
    they should be replaced once... (with something like a visaton or so, but not now, cuz I don't have another €200 for a pair of woofers...) so then it would be more 'similar' to the original ones, I can't replace them with original woofers anymore because the hole is too small and buying the original woofers will actually cost me more than new woofers anyways (due to shipping and so).
    the second pair has the original woofers, which will stay in there...

    more updates: I've got new caps!!!

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-05-2007, 08:19 AM
    E-Stat
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by basite
    my 'new' pair of large advents, an A3, to be exact...

    Cool beans, Bert. Be careful to get the proper surrounds. Some are thinner than the originals. I think I might have mentioned to you in a PM about putting foam rings around the tweeters to minimize diffraction. If you can solder, then the next step would be to replace the caps in the crossover.

    Good luck on the project!

    rw
  • 04-05-2007, 08:39 AM
    basite
    Caps will be soldered tomorrow, they're not solen as I first wanted to do, instead, I bought a monacor cap and a visaton cap, 13,3µF all together, (sorry, couldn't find a 13µF cap anywhere) but according to the guy at the shop, it should do fine... all caps are 5% tolerance...

    I'm planning to buy the foam directly from Simply speakers, I'll do that tomorrow...
    how long should it usually take to ship them here??

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-05-2007, 08:50 AM
    Feanor
    Caps in parallel
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by basite
    Caps will be soldered tomorrow, they're not solen as I first wanted to do, instead, I bought a monacor cap and a visaton cap, 13,3µF all together, (sorry, couldn't find a 13µF cap anywhere) but according to the guy at the shop, it should do fine... all caps are 5% tolerance...

    I'm planning to buy the foam directly from Simply speakers, I'll do that tomorrow...
    how long should it usually take to ship them here??

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.

    A lot people believe that multple caps are better anyway, because multiple, smaller caps respond faster than as single large one. Also, a lot believe in a small cap, (<1 µF), in addition to one or more large ones. The theory, according to my crude understanding, is that the small caps permit quicker, cleaner response to higher frequencies.
  • 04-05-2007, 08:52 AM
    SlumpBuster
    That's a great score with the cabs in that nice condition. Refoaming will be child's play compared to refinishing banged up cabs. So good acquisition.
  • 04-05-2007, 10:24 AM
    basite
    because photos are so 'in' these days,
    Here's a visual update on how things are now...

    http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/...0/IMG_0250.jpg

    how it's going to look real soon, these are only the cabinets, the thing is HUGE, no really, it's *HUGE* :cornut:
    my 50kg stands come to their use here...


    http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/...0/IMG_0244.jpg

    I took out the drivers and crossover because the cabinets are going to be cleaned, to remove the small scratches and dents (there are not much, and they ain't big too)
    below the crossovers are the new caps. I already cleaned the woofer entirely (removed all the old glue and rests of old foam).


    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-05-2007, 11:58 AM
    E-Stat
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Feanor
    Nevertheless I'm remain puzzled by you interest in these relics.

    While never offering the Nth degree of detail, they were always natural sounding reproducers. Updating the crossovers, replacing the wiring, and soldering the internal connections can make meaningful improvements. Stacking them with the upper tweeters inverted offers a couple of synergistic effects: mutual coupling of the tweeters brings the midrange level a little further forward and more neutral, sensitivity is increased by 6 db, and the image size more closely resembles a taller planar.

    If you recall, Harry Pearson reviewed them in the very first issue of TAS back in 1973. In the current issue, he responded to a reader's inquiry about them. He recently heard a pair and found them to be much like he recalled from the original review.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Feanor
    Bear in mind I was very interested in hi-fi way, way back when the Advents were brand new. I the time I though they were good, not great. I much preferred the AR5's and subsequently the Braun L710's that I owned back in the day.

    Me, too. I bought my first pair in '72 and the second one a year later. Similarly, I replaced them with Braun LV1020s before moving to MG-IIs. The 1020s offered more detail, but in retrospect the double Advents do the critical lower midrange region better.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Feanor
    Also, a lot believe in a small cap, (<1 µF), in addition to one or more large ones. The theory, according to my crude understanding, is that the small caps permit quicker, cleaner response to higher frequencies.

    Exactly. I replaced the 13 uf NP electrolytics in mine with a 12 uf NP and a 1 uf film cap. The smaller, higher quality cap "bypasses" the high frequencies to offer better resolution.

    rw
  • 04-05-2007, 04:32 PM
    topspeed
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by E-Stat
    If you recall, Harry Pearson reviewed them in the very first issue of TAS back in 1973. In the current issue, he responded to a reader's inquiry about them. He recently heard a pair and found them to be much like he recalled from the original review.

    rw

    It's funny you mentioned HP, because that is exactly what I was thinking about when Bert said he was going to stacked Advents. In a past TAS Roundtable discussion, I believe it was regarding the ability to truly recreate a live event (they ultimately decided it was impossible, btw), HP and JV mentioned the magic of Double Advents. I've never heard them myself, but just seeing Bert's pics makes me wish he was stateside!
  • 04-05-2007, 06:06 PM
    jrhymeammo
    Hey Basite,

    Glad to hear the seller accepted your bid
    The cabinet looks great. Looks better than the cabinet B&W Signature 805 I used to have(starting to miss them a bit).

    Have great fun and take your time as others have already advised.
    But get'em bumpin' already:cornut:
    Have I mentioned to you that they are HUGE!!!

    Peace,
  • 04-05-2007, 06:39 PM
    E-Stat
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by topspeed
    I've never heard them myself, but just seeing Bert's pics makes me wish he was stateside!

    Well, if you're ever lost in the middle of Arkansas, look me up. I also have a double pair in my garage. Which probably get a bit more use than the stats upstairs!

    rw
  • 04-06-2007, 01:43 AM
    basite
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jrhymeammo
    The cabinet looks great. Looks better than the cabinet B&W Signature 805 I used to have(starting to miss them a bit).


    now that is when you don't look too close...
    there are some minor scratches and dents, especially on the top and the bottom, sides are pretty much scratchless :cornut:

    they will get a nice cleaning today, removing scratches and dents and then they'll get varnished to have the shiny look again, they'll get slighly lighter in 8color (which is ok, I find them quite dark, they won't get as light as my other pair though...). Today, the caps are going on the crossover too, and I'll be ordering the surrounds in a couple of hours :)
    I hope the surrounds arrive somewhere next week...

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-08-2007, 12:23 AM
    Bernd
    What an interesting thread!:) And a host of great information provided by E-Stat, Feanor, etc. Thanks guys.
    I have never heard a stacked pair. I will follow the Advents development with interest.
    Any news Bert?
    Good luck.

    Peace

    :16:
  • 04-08-2007, 01:38 AM
    basite
    ordered the new surrounds, I hope they'll arrive next week, but I think those chances are quite small...

    we cleaned the cabinets, and in a few moments, we're going to give them their first layer of colored varnish (color is mahony). I think they need 3-4 layers, so I'll post pics then :)

    more updates after the first layer anyways :)

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 04-08-2007, 06:58 PM
    bobsticks
    I'm lovin' this thread. Way cool insight into this grouping.

    Bert, I gotta say I've got a lot of respect for the amount of effort put into your system and music catalogue. Two thumbs up...more if I had 'em.


    Cheers to you