Agolfman

Comparison shot.

A post weekend update. Finally got the last bit of sanding and application of Howard's Restoration Polish on the first cabinet. We're both pretty psyched with how it came out. Couple of pictures to follow. Bought some oak strapping today and planning on adding some braces to the cabinet and then we should be done with the first one. A great summer project albeit a little slower than we'd like!

Also reworked the corners with some wood filler and got the first three coats of Watco Oil on. Really happy with the way this box is coming. I especially enjoyed supervising the sanding with my son on the block....also glad he's owning the outcome here. Nice way to start a long weekend. Have a great 4th everyone!

Finally some progress on the first cabinet. Brought it from a "6" or so to about an "8" after sanding. Hit it with 150 grit and followed with 320. Here's a shot of it, post sanding. Really took out a ton of nicks, scratches and various markings.

No, nothing of the sort....it wipes off pretty easily and doesn't appear to be corroded in any way....but I'm no scientist....anything 40 + years old probably prone to leaking or breaking down. Come to think about it, I may resemble that remark....

Just a question here. Have a tweeter with a decent amount of "powder" adhering to it. Anyone know what causes this? Just planning on giving it a cleaning, but if it indicates aging of original parts, maybe I'll replace them? Originally, I thought we'd upgrade everything but we settled on keeping as. Much original as possible, so I'd rather not start swapping out parts. It's an option though.

Cabinets now ready for some sanding and refinishing. Hope to get these done with my son over the next few days, but he's started his summer job (yay!) and is putting in some long days. So far so good with the joint project though. I think we'll both be happy with the results. We'll be doing to sealing and weatherstripping along the gaskets (great idea!), but gotta get into the sanding stage first.

And the upgraded crossovers.

Some progress! Crossovers out, shipped to Bob Crites and returned in less than a week, just a great fellow to deal with.

Spent the past weekend not working on these and listening instead! These are still stock and sound very, very good. I find it a little surprising to read so much about lack of bass as I think they're very musical. Could see adding a sub but for now I think my son could be very happy without much upgrading. We'll see what we get when I get the backs opened up.... I had a chance to A/B against my fully upgraded Quartets and they hang right with them. Both were run by my Pioneer SA 7700 and I think I'm simply finding myself lucky to have a synergistic combination. Anyway, will get started on the refurb this week and keep the thread updated.

That's what I was thinking, to iron it right off. Feeling like its walnut, so il can at least do a test this weekend and see if I can match the finish. Thanks!

I should note that while these are consecutively sequenced serial numbers, the stickers are no help on the finish. One has been mostly torn off and the other is too faded to be of any help.

The only substantial chip in the veneer. Might be a tough match but that's the fun of it right....? And next to my refinished Quartet.

Damaged dust cap.

Just picked up a "new to me" pair of 1975 Heresy's (model year "N"), from a nice gentleman on CL that had them unused, taking up space in his house. Not entirely sure of the finish, but in reasonably good shape. Just one torn dust cap and a spot where the veneer has been pulled away. Felt like priced at $175, these couldn't be turned down! They sound fantastic (I'm a Forte and Quartet owner already), but I'm planning on a "full Crites", with bracing, dampening, etc. Perhaps a binding post upgrade as well. This is going to be a joint project with my son, who is exclusively an earbud listener, and something he'll hopefully have as a foundation for his own listening for many years to come. Originally, I was thinking re-veneer, but now I'm not so sure. I suppose that I'll make the call on that after the first sanding. I had previously converted my quartets from a worn out black paint to a red birch veneer, and those came out great. But with the age of these, and my intent to pass them along to my son, I'm thinking maybe just restoring them to originals and seeing if they really clean up well. Thoughts on older speaker preservation vs refurb are all welcome! Pics to follow.

Same install here, but with Definitive Tech's. I think the design of these for an install under the soffit is actually pretty thoughtful. Bass is really pretty good and I get a good number of comments on sound quality. Been a couple winters now, north of Boston and they're still rock solid.

I do this on a vintage amp (Pioneer SA7700) with a RW10, through speaker A hook up. And a Set of Vienna Acoustics (sorry) Bach Grands through the B channel. The Pioneer allows for A, B, or A+B to be used. Sounds is excellent and no blending issues. That said, depending on what I'm playing, I might bump the sub volume in either direction based on the source material. Good example is some of the Flight of the Conchords stuff (#sorrynotsorry), which covers a different genre per song....but getting it right is worth getting off the couch for a tweak.

Apple Music, with a bit of Amazon Prime. Actually don't love the UI of Apple Music and find that Amazon's radio channels aren't bad for casual listening. A little better "discovery" model. And it's free with the Prime subscription as well, so that's interesting. May be in the minority, but I really miss Mog / Beats.

+1 for this. Running a Marantz 5005 out to a 12 channel Niles amp at 60w per...agree completely that it can overwhelm. Particularly with Forte fronts and a Quartet center. Couldn't be happier even though it's a generation behind. When your speakers are almost as old as you are, the new stuff isn't as appealing...

I took a shot and bought the Quartets and I just wanted to leave some outstanding feedback for jfix64. He went above and beyond anything I expected for packing and shipping, and clearly put some extensive time in doing this right, I'd say in all the years of auction buying, these were the single best packing effort I've ever seen. Speakers were just as described. Will be refinishing these, but couldn't be happier with a great, great transaction!

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