mace Posted March 2, 2003 Share Posted March 2, 2003 Well, the family is away for a few days so I've had time to futz with all things audio. I went ahead and tried Dean's recomended rope caulking of the Cornwall woofer bins. I used Freeze King rope caulk, which came in a strip consisting of eight 3/6" wide strands. I used 4 strands per wrap. I covered it pretty much like Dean in his picture (large and small diameters and radial supports). I did one speaker first, then set them up in the middle of the room and set my amp to mono. I could then A/B them without going back and forth in the room. I put the back on the caulked speaker with 4 screws so both speakers had backs on. At lower levels the difference was subtle, and may have been in my head. At higher volumes, in the 95-100 dB range, the difference was noticable. With Mark Knopler's latest (Sailing to Philidelphia , HDCD) the caulked speaker produced a more defined vocal and rhythm guitar. There was less of a halo around the voice than on the speaker without the caulk. On some Dream Theater tracks (metal type rock, more or less) the bass and low ryhthm guitars were also more defined, not as bloomy. For some Beethoven 9th, last movement with the vocals, I thought the difference was less obvious but there was more definition in the caulked speaker. So, I caulked the other one and left it at that. I never really experienced the "collapsing" above 90 dB that Dean described. However, the speakers do have a bit more definition now. (Everything else in the Cornwalls is stock). All in all, it took about 60-90 minutes (including comparison listening). I wouldn't call the improvement dramatic and I'm only about 75% sure it's not just in my head ("I changed something... therefore it must sound different"). If nothing else, it was worth it to satisfy my curiousity. Maybe I'll try wrapping the squaker horns a bit next, just to see what happens. Mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 3, 2003 Share Posted March 3, 2003 I have it bad too, "I think, therefore it is". There is also a little trick I used to get this stuff on that I didn't mention. After wiping the basket down with IPA, I got a small bowl of water, and I would keep my fingers damp as I pressed and smoothed the caulk on. I think I actually used 6 strips per speaker, and pressed it on hard -- big time. My hands were sore when I got done. I also used one strip, and placed it all the way around the back (again, pressed down and smoothed out), on the same plane as the screw holes. I even used a strip around the front of the squawker when I put it back in. Did you actually do this 95/100db 'test' with only four screws in place? Believe me, you gotta have that back on tight when you do this -- or you're going to lose much of the benefit of the tweak. My next step is to replace the back with some MDF covered with Spectra Dynamics Deflex Panels. Money permitting, I'd like to do most of the inside of the cabinet. You can see this stuff in Mike Percy's catalog www.percyaudio.com At some point, I'll do my 'shortcut' riser tweak (see the Cornwall riser thread somewhere below). I'm undecided about the crossover. If I do anything at all, I'll probably stay with the type B design -- but upgrade the quality of the oils and change out the inductor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mace Posted March 3, 2003 Author Share Posted March 3, 2003 ---------------- On 3/3/2003 6:52:13 AM DeanG wrote: snip Did you actually do this 95/100db 'test' with only four screws in place? Believe me, you gotta have that back on tight when you do this -- or you're going to lose much of the benefit of the tweak. snip ---------------- Hmmm... maybe using only using 4 screws hold the back on the was the real improvement!! Yes, I really did the A/B comparison listening with only 4 screws in place on the caulked speaker. If I bother to try to caulk the squak I'll maybe give a listen to 4 screws vs. all, just for kicks. I could also set up a design of experiments to compare the placement of just 4 screws! OK, maybe not... Mace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted March 3, 2003 Share Posted March 3, 2003 Dean, I good friend of mine who is one of my "Audio Guru's", told me that installing Deflex panels in his Klipsch La Scala's was one the most astounding mods he has ever done to a speaker (He builds his own amps, speakers, etc.). I look forward to hearing how they work out for you. Regards, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.