After literally years of debating with myself, ive finally plucked up the courage to open up my speakers and fit new caps and wire. Everythings on order so hopefully be able to gat started on my main speakers in about a weeks time. One thing I did find of interest is that MA have their own branded caps and speaker cables in, and the cables are directionally marked and all do point towards the cones.
Modding my Monitor Audios
- Thread starter aliEnRIK
- Start date
chebby
Well-known member
chebby said:
Thats not whats in my speakers (but then mine are getting on a bit now)
Mine has white sheathing, has MONITOR AUDIO written on along with OFC somewhere
A chap who used to work at MA but had recently crossed over to retail told me that they used unbranded Chord Odyssey, at least in the model I have.
12th said:
Fascinating. So Monitor Audio must believe that cables can and do make a difference then.
Olli1324 said:
I bought clarity caps to replace all the caps. and some Van Damme UP LC-OFC to replace what ive now found to be unbranded QED micro cable with MA stamped on it
Circuit diagram for center came yesterday but they dont have one for my 8is anymore. Not a problem as theres enough information on the one I have to figure it out.
Ive had the drivers out to see what the script it. May need to drill a slightly bigger hole to get the speaker cables through to the treble and main driver. Ive followed what MA have done and put connectors on the speaker cables so they simply pull off. This is totally against my nature as I feel theyre not great connections for hifi, but its so that if I feel like it I can either chop them off and solder properly at a later date or it makes it far easier to try better quality speaker cable further down the line if I feel it would be worth it (So the van dammes are testers really). It was impossible to measure the holes in the circuit board to know for sure if the 2.5 van dammes will fit the circuit board direct. Ive 'tinned' them ready anyways. Ill cross that bridge on the day.
Still not figured out how to do the caps yet as theyre quite a bit bigger than the ones that are in. Thinking of maybe just cutting some wood, and tiewrapping the wood to the circuit board. Some of the solder is very close so I admit im a bit apprehensive about it but I will get there in time
Waiting on some silver solder with flux in it before I continue. Im not replacing anything else, im waiting to see what (if any) difference the caps and cables do first.
Just fitting some extra 'sound absorption' material to the bottom half of the cabinets and tightening the driver screws has made a marked difference.
Sounds good. It will be interesting to see how big a difference you find the quality of the upgraded crossover to be. Make sure you get pics during the build!
aliEnRIK said:
Not necessarily - they might just think there customers would expect that of them. McIntosh obviously don't and their stuff's about as high end as you can get before you get into niche high end audio designs. They're hardly churning out crap are they...?
the record spot said:
And you posted this because?
Just on the 'expectance'. I would expect them not to bother if it really didnt matter as MA dont tell us what cables they use and theyre going to assume very few people are going to open up the cabinets to see if the cables are all going the same way not to mention the extra cost of putting them all in the same way (And if you think its insignificant I recall a company spending thousands just to cut one second of production time)
Have you seen cables in a McIntosh speaker? I havnt. Im just wondering if your assuming due to other posts elsewhere by their fabled leader?
bigboss
Moderator
aliEnRIK said:
That is not how I read it. MA got a good deal from Chord (assuming that the "third hand" news is true. Obviously can't be verified because it's unbranded)! The price at which manufacturers sell the cables to us is not the price they sell it to other manufacturers. It's no secret that there's a huge markup in price before selling cables, so big discounts can always be had when you want to buy in bulk.
You pay for the brand as well, & this one is unbranded...
I for one would like to hear about the actual mod., how it is going, and its impact on the sound, rather than argue over what wire was (or was not) used and assumptions about what MA may or may not have thought about its influence.
I will concede though that MA are unlikely to have used wire they thought would make the speaker sound worse
I will concede though that MA are unlikely to have used wire they thought would make the speaker sound worse
Elaborating on my third-handedness for clarity: I was using vdh speaker cable (the metal and carbon composite one, can't remember the name), which I thought would go well with the vdh carbon interconnects that I used then and still love. The bass was more than a little overblown and wearying, so I made enquiries. Having told this chap my setup, room size etc, he went over what he thought the problem was (and suggested that the bass notes might sound all of a muchness at the very bottom end, which I hadn't considered but must concede was the case) and suggested that changing cabling would help. I borrowed a set of Chord Odyssey 4 (as well as matching interconnects, which I found didn't change the sound in comparison with the vdh ones I was using), and the bass was (without wishing to sound melodramatic) transformed. It was massively more nimble, ceased to be wearying and the differences between notes were as clear as could be; and I play the bass guitar, so have an opinion not entirly lacking in validity when it comes to low notes. So to be clear, MA's view is clearly that speaker cables do make a difference. In simple terms, he expected that a change of cable would solve the problem, and it did. I am fully prepared to believe that some (possibly even the majority of) changes of cable may not make an appreciable difference. I certainly couldn't hear any difference between the Chord and vdh interconnects. But my ears tell me that several cabling changes that I have made have made differences that were clearly audible, and not 'if I strain I might convince myself' differences. In some instances, these have been remarked upon by an generally sceptical spouse without prior knowledge of a change being made. I would suggest it probably makes sense for those who don't believe cabling matters to leave those of us who do to (what you see as) our delusions. We're not doing you any harm, and we seem to be happy with how we're choosing to spend our money and the results obtained. If you feel the need to 'prove' us wrong, I think there's something to be profitted from asking yourself why.
aliEnRIK said:
Another company (whose name I can't recall maddeningly) mentioned they put in - Leema was one, but not the one I'm thinking of - who stuck Nordost cables inside their kit. Another firm however put them in because that's what they thought their customers would expect, but they themselves felt the issue was neither here nor there. Of course, that's the damn firm I can't recall...anyway, the point is that MA might hold a similar view. Hence my point - probably one for MA to comment on though I imagine they've better to do with their time.
aliEnRIK said:
First things first, Roger Russell's a real guy, so there's no fable involved there. Secondly though, I was referring to their CD players and amps, most of which shift for well into four figure sums and sometimes five. It's just a counterpoint really.
12th said:
I'd suggest in turn that in an open internet forum, it's fair enough to pass a comment such as I did above. I don't need to "prove" anyone right or wrong; I did that for myself and am comfortable with the outcome and conclusions I came to. Subsequently, there's no profit for me. Apart from unnecessary spend on niche products that is.
the record spot said:
Everyones entitled to thier opinions spot. I do ask however that we leave all this boring debate for another thread please, im starting to get a little hacked off with all my posts being 'stopped' in some way or other.
f1only
Well-known member
Apart from unnecessary spend on niche products that is.
So let's get this straight, you aren't trying to prove a point?
So let's get this straight, you aren't trying to prove a point?
BenLaw
Well-known member
When do you plan to do the mod Rik? It sounds very tricky but I would be intrigued to hear what differences you find. As others have said, lots of pics please, including mid-solder!
The_Lhc
Well-known member
BenLaw said:
That might prove a little tricky.
Rather you than me Rik, my soldering skills were pretty dreadful...
BenLaw
Well-known member
The_Lhc said:
Can't tell whether that's meant to be light-hearted, but mine was. Although someone else could take the photos.
Just trying to keep the thread off the usual argument; the mod should be interesting.
Paul.
Well-known member
The_Lhc
Well-known member
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