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Varmint260
November 4th, 2009, 06:52 PM
Howdy, folks. I'm a big fan of the ability to make the floor shake with my music (and possibly annoying neighbours) and so here's a thread about my speakers, and yours if you like.

Well, I am fairly amateur in the field of being a "sound enthusiast" but I recently came into ownership of a couple old speakers that are in fairly good condition, and I wanted to (a) show them off and (b) ask if anyone knows anything about speaker repair.

First thing that happened was I found an old tube receiver in the basement.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/Varmint264/SansuiG-7500.jpg
A Sansui G-7500 stereo receiver. It seems to be in fairly good condition; pumps some awesome clean sound through the speakers, and everything on it works as it should. No problem.

I got some speakers from my Dad awhile ago, some little Pro-Linear Stage 30s in mint condition. They're rather small, I must admit. I got a couple of bigger speakers from a friend, and the sound is much bigger.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/Varmint264/ESeventyR.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/Varmint264/E70Back.jpg
Two Wharfedale E.Seventy speakers. As I understand it, the E is for "efficient" and the 70 is for the volume of the cabinet in liters.

Now, my only problem with them is that the top-most small speaker (tweeter?) tends to vibrate a bit. Looking at the inside, it looks like the spider has become loose from the cone. Anyone know if there's a way to re-glue it to stop the vibrating without wrecking the sound?

Any info would be welcome, and please feel free to post your awesome sound setups!

flibitijibibo
November 4th, 2009, 08:52 PM
If you glue it, use the smallest amount of the lightest glue possible. Like, near-water glue. And apply it with the finger, lightly and nearly parallel to the surface you apply it to. Just enough to where you use as little pressure as possible, but not enough to muffle things to hell. I had to do something similar with some old (read: bad) speakers; took ages to do for each one, but all was well afterwards.

Also, I just have Z-5500's at home. Had them since 2006, makes any Bose setup sound like shit for a fraction of the price, especially when combined with an X-Fi. At college, I have X-240's. Not terrible, but I sure do miss my subwoofer...

Warsaw
November 4th, 2009, 11:02 PM
Could go for Z-2300s for the uber 2.1 setup dude...

I've got some Logitech X-530s; they are a good, solid choice for a 5.1 build. The bass could be less muddled, but it's better than some CreAtive systems I've heard. Highs are somewhat lacking (no tweeters), but that's only on the very top of the spectrum. If you are on a budget and must have 5.1, I'd readily recommend their updated counterparts, the X-540s, over the Logitech G-51 and the CreAtive T-61; just make sure you get a sound card. Anything with 24-bit and at least 96kHz will do. I need a new one since mine fried itself somehow, and believe me, you notice the difference.

Phopojijo
November 4th, 2009, 11:36 PM
You know I'm growing to hate my X-Fi... sounds great but I can't seem to find a damn driver that just fucking works. The latest thing that seems to go wrong is that the microphone jack pulses on and off -- and is not recognized by Team Fortress 2 or Left 4 Dead -- but is recognized by the sound control panel... and is set as default. Sorry for thread hijack -- that post just reminded me of the woes I have with my X-Fi.

Varmint260
November 5th, 2009, 02:32 AM
Like, near-water glue. And apply it with the finger, lightly and nearly parallel to the surface you apply it to.

Finger might bit a little difficult as it's a fairly small unit (4") but I can definitely try. What do you mean by a "near-water glue" though? I'm guessing the glue should be something that remains really flexible after drying or the tweeter could pull it right apart again.

As for getting a sound card that can do at least 24-bit 96kHz, my Realtek on-board supports (supposedly) 7.1 channels at 24-bit 192kHz. Of course, I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to hear the difference since most of what I listen to is 44.1kHz mp3s. I have an HD-DVD copy of the Eagles with 5.1 DTS-MA audio, though, and it sounds absolutely fantastic at 16-bit 48kHz or at 24-bit 192kHz. Mind you, my previous sound setup was a 2.1 Cyber Acoustics and the old tube receiver with the E.70s makes it sound like absolute crap.

EDIT: Additional: Seems to me that the best way to get a decent sound system these days is through a set of small high-range speakers with one subwoofer, as in any setup with a .1 on the end. I always preferred the stereo and quad mixes that involve two or four speakers, each with a full-range setup (having both high-range and subwoofer built in). Am I just crazy?

SnaFuBAR
November 5th, 2009, 02:45 AM
rockin' a cerwin-vega 8" powered sub and technic sb-2740's

Varmint260
November 5th, 2009, 01:08 PM
Pics, anyone? Love to see how some people set up their sound.

blind
November 5th, 2009, 01:49 PM
Those speakers look diiiiirty, shame they dont work up to par.
:(

Varmint260
November 5th, 2009, 02:58 PM
Up to a certain volume level, they sound absolutely fan-fuckin'-tastic. The top tweeters only buzz on certain songs. It's usually older rock'n'roll where the bass quality is a bit muddled, and it transfers from the sub driver up to the tweeters where something is loose... I've had a closer look at the spiders and I'm no longer quite sure they're the problem.

I'll pull them apart again and crank up something bassy, see what's happenin'.