Heresy II Restoration/Refresh

[GeezerB]

New to the forum and relatively new to audio, but I picked these up for a "bargain" but they are rough.  Sound great, and look awful.  I would like to reveneer and not part out.  They are so bad they look like they may have been left outside, then painted an awful gray.   The original veneer is awful thick, and the joints have swelled and left gaps.   Would i be better off trying to remove all the old veneer or smoothing/repairing and veneering over old veneer? 

 

They sound great.  Was not too impressed until I messed with placement in room and angling up slightly, then I really liked them, being powered by an old ST70 tube amp and Thorens with V15.   New walnut with any number of grill options and I love the look of these speakers

[Travis In Austin]

Welcome to the Forum.

[JMeader]

I re-surfaced my 1987 bar room L Scala's.

 

First take out all the drivers it really helps especially with weight. Next go inside and put a bead of glue in all the corners where wood meets wood, this insures you end up with a truly sealed box.

 

Also look at the wire from the crossover to the driver, mine was very light and I changed it to 10 gauge wire, not sure t makes any difference but I felt better afterwards

 

Spend the time to strengthen that corner and fill all the other imperfection and then sand smooth.

 

It will like surprise you how much veneer it will take to cover your speakers. First decide how you want the grain to flow. Will you also cover the bottom, what about the back. How do you want the front edges to look like when you done. 

 

As for new grills I used this   https://www.parts-express.com/Speaker-Grill-Frame-Kit-260-346?quantity=1

  easy to use.  BTW  after I was done with my La Scala's I left the grills off, its a personal preference thing so not required.

 

Lastly since you mentioned that you tilted the speakers to get the best sound - get a couple of sturdy boxes and raise them off the floor. With my La Scala's the difference was small but I have kept them elevated

 

Good Luck and Enjoy The Music

 

 

[GeezerB]

Thank you very much for the info!  These appear to be MDF and I am certain they were left in the rain... removing the veneer took a lot of the soft MDF with it, and what was left behind was soft and fuzzy... nothing really to build on.  I am going to retain the front and rear boards and make new cabinets when I have the time, have been measuring carefully for reference

 

 

[GeezerB]

Wiser to go with MDF, or what type of plywood did they use originally?

[OO1]

@GeezerB    the Heresy II were made from pre-veneered MDF to save the added labor needed  to veneer a wood panel , you can use any kind of wood including  MDF or Appleply which is USA made birch wood  , it makes no   sound difference whether MDF or BB , MDF is used in the industry because it's cheaper  and  straight as an arrow for veneer jobs .

 

 

btw these  Heresy II  MDF  cabs  can be repaired with Bondo , then sanded down , and you can even  laminate 1/4 inch MDF over the existing panels 

 

[Marvel]

I would not spend too much time on them other than making sure they are airtight. Spend your time and money to make new cabinets out of BB or Appleply.