JoeRiff

Ok, I took off the woofer access panel on the bottom and I see the screws you are referring to. I don't see anything on the top section, however. I just see the three screws in front (under where the motor board was) and the three in back. I presume these hold the top section to the bass bin? If I remove these will I see the grill screws? The reason I'm asking is because two of the screw heads in front look pretty rusty, and I don't want to have to try messing with them unless I have to. .

Thanks for the tips, guys. Sounds like I should be able to figure it out (hopefully). The current finish is a Laquer. I plan on chemically stripping it off as it is pretty scratched up. I will also give the veneer a light block sanding with some 220 or so grit sandpaper for good measure. I plan on refinishing them with an oil finish, probably Watco.

I plan on starting my strip and re-finish job on my Belles this weekend and I'm pretty sure this will involve some disassembly. I know some of the forum members have built their own set of Belle's, so I'm hoping for some good advice. The top section doesnt look very daunting. I've already taken the very top board off, and it wasn't too difficult other than getting the screwdriver in there and turning it in close quarters. Are there any problem areas or anything I should worry about? Do I have to disassemble the bass bin to get the bottom grills out? Am I opening a can of worms if I try to take out the grills?

The original owner had them sitting in his basement for about a decade. You should have seen the bottom of the speakers, caked in cob webs and spider eggs. The inside of the top cabs were also pretty dirty. They cleaned up nicely, though. I was amazed how nice the wood inside the cab looked after some Old English and elbow grease. Now I will turn my focus to the outside of the speakers, which will take more than furniture polish to get looking nice again.

And here's a pic of my crusty old Type AB's.

Thanks Bob! Here is a pic of what Bob's Type A with the 4500hz mod looks like. Bob really does nice, clean work.

I ordered Bob's Type A w/the 4500hz mod and installed them over the weekend. The difference was obvious. It also gave me a chance to clean out the inside of the top section of the speakers, and boy did they need it!! I installed one in the left channel and did the mono, A/B testing with my balance knob. The sound was noticeably smoother with less distortion. I also took some pictures of Bob's Type A and my old TypeAB which I may post later. I am uncertain how much of a difference can be attributed to the new caps and how much can be attributed to the 4500hz mod. I would like to do the A/B testing by reversing the mod on one speaker. Bob I saw you posted a schematic for the Type AA with the mod, do you have one for the Type A? How do I convert it to the unmodified sound? I think I might know, but I don't want to screw anything up. DOH!!!

Gary, I replied. DoubleJ, you are in luck. I will need around 17 feet to do both bass bins and about 28 feet for the whole project. I would like to use all the same stock for consistency, and would hate to run out with a strip left to do on the same side of the speaker. I'm simply going to need too much. Thanks again for your generous offer, Gary. Joe

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Gary,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> You have a PM (if I did it right) Here's a little bit about what I'm doing. I own a set of 84' Walnut Lacquer Belles, and I plan on striping them down, giving them a light sanding, and going with an oiled finish (probably Watco). All of the veneer edge banding around the front of the bass bin will need to be replaced in the meantime, as most of it is pretty beat up and chipped off. I got these from a guy who took them around the world for 12 years in the Navy. A few of the strips are still in good shape, but for consistency I plan on replacing all of it. As far as cutting my own edge banding from veneer sheets goes, I don't think I have the skill or patience for it. The current finish almost looks like it has an amber, almost orange hue to it. I plan on going for a comparable look, and hope to keep it as light as possible (for walnut anyways). There is quite a bit of surface scratching on the tops, but it looks like most of it is the lacquer. I hope between the stripper and a light sanding I will be able to get it out. If not, looks like I will need to re-veneer the tops. Either way, it will keep me busy for a few weekends. I will post pics once I start. Joe

I'm getting ready to start refinishing my "Beater Belles" that I got from a local guy off of ebay a few months ago. Most of the Walnut veneer edge banding on the bass bin will need to be replaced. I have been doing some reading on the topic, and noticed that a few places sell the 3/4" strips. However, most sell a 7/8" that is oversized and needs to be trimmed after being installed. Does anyone have any experience working with either or both? Any recomendations on which one I would have better luck with? Hopefully, the weather will break up here soon and I can move them onto my enclosed porch and start stripping/sanding/refinishing them. I've looked at some of the old threads with the search function and seen some wonderfull work from forum members in the past. Hopefully after a couple of weekends of hard work, mine will look a lot better than they do now.

Here's his crossover page: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1147464817

Al, I was considering a set of your universal networks, but I believe you mentioned modifying them to crossover at the lower point would require quite a bit of re-working on my part. I was also considering Dean's networks, but I believe I would be in the same boat there as well. This is just me throwing this out there, but is it possible to incorporate the extreme slope tweeter filter off of my AB's into the Type A design? Either way, I'll still be happy not to have my woofer running all the way up to 20khz anymore.

I would just like a few opinions of those who are running Bob's new tweeter with the crossover point between mid horn and tweeter lowered to 4500 Hz. I'm considering having Bob build me a new set of crossovers with the mod built in. This will replace the original Type AB networks in my 84' Belles. Keep in mind I plan on keeping my stock mid-horns indefinitely. What differences and/or improvements have you noticed?

OK guys, I unscrewed the K-55m from the horn and took a good look at it. The black plastic cap on the back of the driver appears to be on there good. Is it still possible that it's loose, or should I explore the insides of the driver? Is the inside of the driver anything like the inside of an electronic siren driver? If so, my dad should be right at home looking at it.

Should I just pry it off with a putty knife? Is there anything under there I should worry about damaging? Sounds like it should solve the problem though.

I've got a real problem with one of the K-55m drivers on my Belles. One of them resonates and rattles rather loudly at certain frequencies at moderate to high volumes. If you simply put your fingers on the back of the driver, the rattle stops instantaneously. I haven't done anything with it yet other than making sure the driver was snugly screwed into the horn. How should I proceed? Maybe try checking the tightness the screws holding it together? Anything else I should look for?

I also was interested in buying a set of used Heresy's. However, when a set of Belle's came up used close to home for about double what Heresy's are going for on Ebay, I couldn't pass it up.

"so i heaved the turntable and gave away the albums" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guys, I was in no way looking to start an arguement. I tried to give about as good a description as you can give without hearing them. It's kinda like describing a painting without seeing it ever. I did check the drivers at the guy's place before I bought them. If you hold your ear up to the tweeter, it does seem like there is sound coming out. I also covered them initially when I listened to them and it seemed to make a difference. Of course, you have to take into account that I was listening to them in a pole barn with the sellers system running off of a generator(no power due to an ice storm, personally I thought the guy was nuts for hooking them up that way). Once I got the speakers home, I foolishly assumed the drivers were working because it seemed like they were when I first listened to them. In fact, they were blown. In summary, it's my fault, not the people who were suggesting I replace the crossover networks. The problem has hopefull been resolved anyways, because my Crites tweeters arrive today.[] I'll let you guys know what happens.

Mine were just delivered today. I unwrapped them like a kid on Christmas morning. Bob has pre-installed leads on them to boot, no need to solder. I can't wait to get them hooked up.

I'm really pleased to read these reviews. Glad to see the tweeter does well with hard rock at high volume. Mine are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I can't wait to get them installed and see how they sound. I'm willing to bet they sound a helluva lot better than my current K-77's (blown by previous owner).

Erik, The more I think about it, I've owned these speakers for two weeks, and I still haven't heard what they're supposed to sound like yet. I think I'd rather just keep my crossovers in and listen to them with the new tweeters before making any more changes. I really apprieciate your offer and to perform the work free and even supply parts free of charge, but I don't want to part with my speakers for another few weeks just yet. Maybe if the tweeters get here and they still don't sound right, I'll change my mind. Thanks again for the offer, though.

I have placed an order with Bob C for a pair of his C125's. I also am entertaining buying a new set of diaphragms for my k-77's and comparing the sound eventually. I'll probably end up selling the ones I don't like on Ebay. Erik, I like your idea. Would I have to ship the autoformers to you first or would you ship the networks to me? My dad is pretty good with electronics and could probably build me a new set of crossovers from scratch, but said he would prefer not too. I could give you some money for the networks, plus some for shipping if you like. I'm sure my dad wouldn't have a problem installing them, he's an ace with a soldering gun. I was also looking at getting a set of Bob Crites crossovers down the road, but between buying the speakers and now a new set of tweeters, I think my audio budget is shot for a few months.

OK guys, this turned out to be a real lesson in Occam's Razor. The tweeters are blown.... that's the problem. DUH!! I feel pretty stupid now. Yesterday, I unhooked the squawker on one speaker just to check things out. I noticed there was no sound coming out of anything except the woofer. I thought maybe the way the crossover was designed, the tweeter would not play without the circuit completed in the mid. After looking at some schematics, we see this is not the case. It was further confirmed today. My dad covered the tweeter while I sat back and listened. We then switched places and did the same thing. Neither of us noticed a difference, covered or uncovered with our eyes closed. We then unhooked both the mid-horn and the tweeter from the crossover. We hooked the mid-horn up to the tweeter output on the crossover at low volume. Presto!, sound came out of the squawker. The tweeters are blown. Does this prove it enough, or should I bother getting on ohm meter to confirm? So it looks like I need new tweeters. What are some options? I've heard that Bob Crites makes a good one, as well as a few others. Should I just get another set of K-77's? Should I also replace my crossovers while I'm at it? (I don't see why not)

My dad came over today to have a listen and give his opinion. He pretty much agreed with what I said earlier. They just sound muffled. We played Paul Simon's "Graceland" album, which sounds phenomenal on my dad's Khorns. That album made the sound problems that much more obvious. My dad also said that the sound seemed similar to "clipping"- as if the amp was clipping. Obviously, though, that doesn't make any sense at about 75-80db sound levels with a 100w amp. The next two things I am going to try are: 1) clean the terminal contacts on the crossover network and 2) try my dad's Crown power line amp and pre amp to see if the sound changes at all.