aussievintage Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 The foam surrounds arrive today. Looking good. Fit is as expected, not quite as big on the outside diameter, but looks like plenty wide enough to attach. Just sitting in place - not glued yet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray4410 Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 (edited) all looking good,how are you centering the voice coil,i have rick cobbs self centering cd if you would like to use it. Edited September 17, 2019 by ray4410 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Speakers packed up with paper and shimmed. By raising the cone, the surround will sit nicely into the cone for gluing the inside edge. Probably don't need to shim yet, but I did it anyway. Gluing using a small bottle of glue I bought with the surrounds. I suspect it's just normal PVA white glue. Both surrounds glued to the cones, but sitting raised above the outer edge while they dry. I used the cotton bud to stroke along the edge to seat the foam edge to the cone properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 28 minutes ago, ray4410 said: all looking good,how are you centering the voice coil,i have rick cobbs self centering cd if you would like to use it. I was hoping to just let the shims give me enough clearance all round. They are a firm fit (just cut from an old record sleeve) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Has anyone compared the Eclipse towers to the Epitome towers? Also, anyone compared the Epitome Towers standard with the Reference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 8 minutes ago, Kaynin said: Has anyone compared the Eclipse towers to the Epitome towers? Also, anyone compared the Epitome Towers standard with the Reference? I have heard the new Epitome Reference towers at my brother's place, but only for about half an hour. I plan to visit for a longer listening session. How to compare with the older Eclipse Reference (non-tower) that I have now? Bigger and better springs to mind. Very big and heavy to move about. The bass sort of fooled me. On one record I thought it sounded a bit light, but on the next the bass blew me away. I would say it's a case of not introducing any false bass if the recording is lacking, but making it shine if it is there. I guess that's what is nice about having that extra subwoofer in the tower version. The high-end is harder to compare, as it's a very different tweeter to mine which have the early focal tweeter that you can't get any more (that some say was a very special tweeter). Overall they are highly detailed and very resolving of individual sounds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jakeyb77 Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 There is also 20kgs of lead inside that help to stop any resonance. Although if you see inside the cabinets you’d wonder if there would be any cabinet resonance anyway. I was asked not to take a photo of the cabinets inside which is fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 8 minutes ago, aussievintage said: I have heard the new Epitome Reference towers at my brother's place, but only for about half an hour. I plan to visit for a longer listening session. How to compare with the older Eclipse Reference (non-tower) that I have now? Bigger and better springs to mind. Very big and heavy to move about. The bass sort of fooled me. On one record I thought it sounded a bit light, but on the next the bass blew me away. I would say it's a case of not introducing any false bass if the recording is lacking, but making it shine if it is there. I guess that's what is nice about having that extra subwoofer in the tower version. The high-end is harder to compare, as it's a very different tweeter to mine which have the early focal tweeter that you can't get any more (that some say was a very special tweeter). Overall they are highly detailed and very resolving of individual sounds. Thanks Aussie, good to hear your thoughts. Yeah I've heard the Epitome towers a few times before, but only the old tweeters. I won't get too caught up in the finite differences between models, so may look closely at the standard towers vs the reference and elite. Maybe even the eclipse towers because they're still a fantastic speaker, but saving some money. I doubt I'll spend on the Elite upgrade... @Quark what towers do you have? I remember listening to those and loved them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 4 minutes ago, jakeyb77 said: There is also 20kgs of lead inside that help to stop any resonance. Although if you see inside the cabinets you’d wonder if there would be any cabinet resonance anyway. Very true, well worth the extra $$$ though for the lead lining, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quark Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 3 minutes ago, Kaynin said: Thanks Aussie, good to hear your thoughts. Yeah I've heard the Epitome towers a few times before, but only the old tweeters. I won't get too caught up in the finite differences between models, so may look closely at the standard towers vs the reference and elite. Maybe even the eclipse towers because they're still a fantastic speaker, but saving some money. I doubt I'll spend on the Elite upgrade... @Quark what towers do you have? I remember listening to those and loved them... I've got the Eclipse reference towers. No longer running the Stereoknight valve pre and mono blocs - I've gone with an Elektra Pnyx pre and HD300 amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 1 minute ago, Quark said: I've got the Eclipse reference towers. No longer running the Stereoknight valve pre and mono blocs - I've gone with an Elektra Pnyx pre and HD300 amp. That's very interesting. I loved them, maybe a better price point for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 20 minutes ago, Kaynin said: Very true, well worth the extra $$$ though for the lead lining, IMHO. Both versions I have heard were lead lined. You can barely feel a vibration on the outside when they are working. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 17 hours ago, Quark said: I've got the Eclipse reference towers. No longer running the Stereoknight valve pre and mono blocs - I've gone with an Elektra Pnyx pre and HD300 amp. Being a longtime fan of the Elektra combo myself, just wondering what sonic changes you experienced going to the Pnyx HD combo from the Stereonight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quark Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 22 minutes ago, joz said: Being a longtime fan of the Elektra combo myself, just wondering what sonic changes you experienced going to the Pnyx HD combo from the Stereonight? It's been a bit of a journey Joz. With the Eclipse towers and their beryllium tweeters I found the sound too bright initially when moving to the Pnyx. I've since changed out the crap Electroharmonix valves for some NOS ones and am much happier with the sound now. The NOS valves also have a much, much lower noise floor. The Stereoknight Enigma was also a little bright for my tastes until I swapped out the Electroharmonix valves for NOS ones. I know Arthur reckons he built the Pnyx to suit the Electroharmonix sound, but I've always found them harsh sounding, noisy and unreliable junk. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 1 minute ago, Quark said: I've since changed out the crap Electroharmonix valves for some NOS ones and am much happier with the sound now. thats the great thing about valve s can just change out like that to find a better fit. @joz no harm in rolling some in to see what think.. can always change them back out if not really your thing 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quark Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 In case anyone's wondering, I'm running : Valvo PCC88 7DJ8 in the rear sockets (these are a 7V heater) Siemens A-Frame ECC88 in the front sockets Running the Valvos in the front sockets was way too dull. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 55 minutes ago, Quark said: With the Eclipse towers and their beryllium tweeters I found the sound too bright initially when moving to the Pnyx. I've since changed out the crap Electroharmonix valves for some NOS ones and am much happier with the sound now. The NOS valves also have a much, much lower noise floor. The Stereoknight Enigma was also a little bright for my tastes until I swapped out the Electroharmonix valves for NOS ones. My Eclipse Reference have the same tweeter, but I run all sorts of valves, especially 12AX7s in my various phono preamps. In one I have an Electroharmonix in first position, then a Mullard (original, not one of those new copies). In another I have two Electroharmonix. In a third, I just discovered, I have an unknown thing in first position. Must have left it there last time I was trying out spares - looks like a Ruby of all things, followed by an Electroharmonix. In my line preamp I have two lovely AWV 12AU7s. Haven't found the sound to be overly bright on any of those combos. Maybe they work better in phono preamps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Job finished AND successful. Glued the outer edges of the foam down yesterday, and installed them this morning. Working like new!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jakeyb77 Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 2 minutes ago, aussievintage said: Job finished AND successful. Glued the outer edges of the foam down yesterday, and installed them this morning. Working like new!! Great job! Are the new surrounds co trolling the extension better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 2 minutes ago, jakeyb77 said: Great job! Are the new surrounds co trolling the extension better? Much better than the temporary drivers I had in there. I would say they are also better than they were when I first got them - not unexpected as those old surrounds were totally shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaynin Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 1 hour ago, aussievintage said: Job finished AND successful. Glued the outer edges of the foam down yesterday, and installed them this morning. Working like new!! Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Just now, Kaynin said: Great work! Thanks. I was pretty apprehensive as I soldered and screwed them back in, then played the first few tracks through them, but they are singing nicely. I didn't screw up 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 On 16/09/2019 at 7:32 PM, davewantsmoore said: Ahh... I see. It's still right to call it the "midrange driver"..... or the "bass/mid". It doesn't include an electrical high pass filter .... but the driver and the box themselves act as high pass filters Depends on how you want to use the terminology. 2.5 usually refers to two identical woofers, where on has a low pass filter. eg. two woofers which play from 40 to 1400Hz ....but one has a low pass filter stopping it from playing above 200Hz. Here, it's really just a mid/bass driver, which doesn't have/need an electrical high pass filter. Just to put this one to bed, while I had the drivers out today, I looked around inside a bit more. There is a horizontal divider inside between the 2 lower drivers, and a crossover is sitting on top of it behind the middle driver that I was replacing. It seems to be essentially two separate enclosures, and this is supported by the fact there are two bass ports on the rear, a smaller one for the top section, and a larger one for the bottom. That middle driver really is a woofer for the 2-way section on top. The bottom section is a subwoofer. At least that's the terminology that seems most correct for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jakeyb77 Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 (edited) Email from Greg states they are run as a mid only. Next question. In the manual it’s says to use the switch in the bottom position. Does this mean push the switch so the bottom is in? Edited September 19, 2019 by jakeyb77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 14 minutes ago, jakeyb77 said: Email from Greg states they are run as a mid only. That may be true in the Epitome. Remember mine is the Eclipse 15 minutes ago, jakeyb77 said: Next question. In the manual it’s says to use the switch in the bottom position. Does this mean push the switch so the bottom is in? ... and I have no switch, so I can't help but I think your guess is good. What does the switch do? Is it about that phase reversal mod I read about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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