DokSoul

JonM, the concrete blocks/weight keep the sides in either compression or tension. The approach is similar to going into the box and adding bracing to minimize flexing of the cabinet...this is just alot easier way to do it - besides I've got about 40 of these sitting in my back yard not being used. As internal bracing is used to minimize resonance, so is this technique. I know that marble and concrete don't resonate very well - too dense. I'm not sure if the wooden cradle I use to hold them might do something - if it does, I can't here it. I think the blocks make the bass sound tighter and more responsive, we're talking subtle diff. here. Many of the tweaks are subjective on how much they add, but you know they are just the right thing to do. The most effective and obvious benefits came from changing the caps (tweeter & squawker), rope caulk, CAT 5, & horizontal mounting.

I've tried to be pragmatic with tweaks I've done on my system. Many of the ideas, I got from others in these forums. Thanks for your help. Here's and outline of what I've done and a few pictures of the system. Home Theater Room - Lodge Theme Pioneer Elite THX VSX-24 Receiver - 5.1 ch, 5x80watts, DD & DTS, Burr-Brown DACs Harman Kardon FL8370 5-disk CDP with HDCD Connected via Digital Coax - Beldon 1506A home made innerconnect Panasonic RV-80 DVD -10 bit 54MHz interlaced video sampling rate; internal DACs for DD & DTS - not normally used, redundant to receiver capability. Unit sits on ½ sphere racquet balls and sand bags on top Digital out to DVD input, analog out (uses internal DACs) to MD analog input Digital Coax - Beldon 1506A home made innerconnect Analog is via original RS RCA gold innerconnect Klipsch original Heresy mains operating Horizontally with the following alterations: ChrisV Cat5 teflon speaker cable, 10 ft. lenghts, 27 prs of 24 solid AWG - just smaller than #8. Speaker cables are terminated with Audioquest LGC P-846S silver spades and bundled in Heavy duty Braided Polyethylene Mesh sleeving (1"nom. Dia.). Rope caulked Horns Zen 2.2 uf polyprop internal caps Added ½ bat of RS acoustic insulation New 33 uf non polar electrolytic bypass cap across woofer Each spk spiked with 4 pyramid lead fishing weights held with blue tac - no drilling. Sandwiched between bottom: 18" H x 15" diameter stump; and on top: 20 lbs concrete cylinder in wood cradle. Interior wiring #16 Monster XP - speaker posts limit to this size max. Assemblage WBT style gold binding posts Klipsch KSF C5 center Sits on TV cabinet, but isolated with 6 sorbothane ½ spheres. Monster 16 awg XP, 6 ft. Klipsch KSF 3.1 rears Mounted on 4 ft high 15" dia. sonotubes with 3" of concrete in base. Painted Logan green to match furniture. 14 awg, 35 ft lengths, RS Flat megacable speaker wire, terminations are silver solder on stripped cable - each end Mitsubishi 12" sub 120 watts 2-20 lbs concrete cylinders hold it down. Sit in double saddle wood frame. Connected via Monster sub cable 4 Aura, 4 ohm bass shakers - two on couch & 1 each on side lounges (all logan green) driven by 30 watt Rat Shack amp, 2 units are in series on each channel. Panasonic 36" TV 36G23W All video is S-video switched through receiver Calibrated with Avia DVD Power cables run on wooden shelf one foot above signal cables behind TV stand. Room is decorated with pine trees, birds, moose/bear pictures & statues. Speakers are aligned with laser level.

I'm intereted in possbily adding a zobel network to my K22E woofer. The Zobel flattens out the impedance curve at higher frequencies for the amp. I believe that this is supposed to result in better mids before crossing over to squawker and better loading on the amp. I'm tentively planning on adding a 8 to 10 ohm, non-inductive resistor in series with the 33uf cap across the speaker. I'd like to know if anyone else has done this and what your experience, results are? If no ones done it, does anyone know the Re and Le for the speaker, knowing that I'll calculate values to make sure I'm doing it right. Later after I apply the mod, I'll post my subjective results. Help please? As you can see on my system below, I'm quite willing to do small project tweaks! My Home Theater System: Pioneer Elite THX VSX-24 Receiver Magnavox CD B586, 6 disk pioneer cartridge Replaced 100uf audio board caps with 1000uf Replaced LM833 op amps with OPA2604P Panasonic RV-80 DVD Unit is suspended on ½ sphere racquet balls and sand bags on top Klipsch original Heresy mains Use ChrisV Cat5 speaker cable Horns have been rope caulked Replaced internal caps with Zen polyprop Added ½ bat of RS acoustic insulation Replace woofer bypass cap Each spiked with 4 pyramid lead fishing weights held with blue tac - no drilling. Sandwiched between bottom: 18" H x 15" diameter stump; and on top: 20 lbs concrete cylinder in wood cradle Klipsch KSF C5 center Sits on TV cabinet, but isolated with 8 sorbothane ½ spheres Klipsch KSF 3.1 rears Mitsubishi 12" sub 120 watts 40 lbs of concrete cylinders hold it down

Interesting post. I bought my Hereseys in 1983. I've replaced the caps with Northcreek Zen polyprops and rope caulked the horns. Both good tweeks. I'm interested in yours, but also curious if anyone knows where this rise in output around 9khz occurs with the K52H squawker. What's the diff between the K55 and the K52?

I have now had an extensive time to listen to and "burn-in" the new Zen Caps, and I am quite pleased at the results. Their is much more clarity from the tweeter...can't say I hear that much difference from the mid horn, but I figure the improvement to the sound as experience in the tweeter probably carried over to it also - just harder to distinguish. J Harris>the only other mod I did was to rope caulk both horns. That was an excellent improvement. I haven't replaced the electrolytic yet, based on what Malcom (thanks for your post, it was excellent!), I'm really not sure that's worthwhile right now. At present my electrolytic are in great shape, no leaks. I believe as others that many mods have diminishing returns. Therefore there are some I have no intention of doing. Ex: Moving the horns to the front of the baffle board seems like alot of work and I'm not convinced that there is much if any improvement. I'd like to thank both Malcom and J Harris for their excellent posts. Let me know if you find something good to tweak.

I installed the Northcreek "Zen" polyprop caps with grey leads towards source for both the squawker and tweeter on my 1983 hereseys, E-2 xovers. The change has been in effect 2 weeks. I have difficulty in discussing the subjective qualities of the change. For myself I listened individually to musical instruments for the change. For the tweeters, I checked the cymbals and triangles. They are clearer and more pronounced...they stand out more. I believe the new caps opened up the top end. The squawker is more difficult to tell. I do notice that on acoustic guitar music that the harmonics of the strings and sliding on the frets is more present. Also with piano music I can hear the attack on the keys more. In general, I would sum up that there is faster response to the music that adds a clarity that wasn't there before. Somewhat subtle but definitely better. One question I have for you fellow tweakers is the electrolytics (33 uf, 100v) across the woofer in the E-2 xover. I don't see anyone discussing those. In general electrolytics tend to degrade over time...I'm not sure if that's only in higher voltage applications or not. I there a need to replace these high frequency bypass caps? If so, what have others done?