Refurbishing older speakers
April 14, 2008
I have a pair of Presage Model 5 speakers. I had them
hooked to a nice Harmon Kardon receiver back in the late ‘70s. I am interested in
refurbishing them, but have little info.
The driver complement is a 10" woofer centered at the
bottom, an 8" above it to the left of the cabinet and a 4" and 3" next to
that one above the other. The cabinet finish is oak and measures 26”H x 15W” x
12D”. There are tone controls on the back for treble and midrange, adjustable from
-6dB to +6dB. They were made in Nassau, NH.
The oak cases are really nice -- heavy duty. What would it
cost (ballpark) to replace all components in these speakers to bring them back to life? I
would love to give them to my teenage daughter if it can be done without breaking the
bank. (She is using the original Harmon Kardon receiver now with some cheap speakers.)
Mark
I’ve never heard of Presage speakers. The only
reference I can find for them on the web is from a fellow that says he paid $10 for a pair
at a yard sale -- not much to go on. So unfortunately, I think refurbishing them might be
far more trouble than it is worth. You’re not likely to find any of the original
components, and therefore just getting the right parts for the application would be next
to impossible. You might be able to get the surrounds on the drivers re-foamed, but beyond
that I would not spend too much time and money on them. For less than it would likely cost
to have someone match new drivers and crossovers to those cabinets you could surely go buy
a new set of speakers that would seriously outperform them. Speaker technology has
improved quite a bit since the ‘70s, and your dollar will go a long way with modern
loudspeakers.
Archives?
April 11, 2008
I remember seeing a review of the Trends Audio UD-10.1 USB
audio converter, but can’t find it now. Where is the link to the site’s older
reviews? Thank you.
Mark
There are is an Archives link at the top, right-hand
corner of the current
equipment review. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see the link to the Trends Audio
article. You can also bookmark the SoundStage! Network’s equipment review
database on the SoundStage!
A/V site. That way you’ll have easy access to all of the reviews across our
whole family of sites.
Bookshelf speaker placement
April 8, 2008
Is there a good rule of thumb as to where you should place
bookshelf speakers in relation to the wall behind them?
Thomas
It depends on a few factors. Generally, a front-ported
speaker can be placed a bit closer to the wall behind than a rear-ported one; a larger
room can usually accommodate near-wall placement better than a smaller room; a speaker
that plays lower in the bass will generally need to be placed farther away from the wall.
These are simply suggestions and not hard-and-fast rules. A speaker’s placement in
relation to the wall behind it is always a tradeoff: the closer to the wall, the more the
room will reinforce the bass response of the speaker; the farther away from the wall, the
more the speaker’s soundstage will be allowed to develop. You have to experiment by
moving the speakers to and fro until you get the best balance for your listening tastes,
room, and particular speakers. If you have the space, start at least a couple of feet from
the wall and go back and forth in small increments from there.
Virtual surround?
April 3, 2008
I have seen several virtual-surround processing modes on
the receivers that I am looking at buying. Do these really work? I’d love to get away
with just two stereo speakers and a subwoofer. How much will I lose by going this route?
Doug
Virtual surround does add some sense that sonic events
are happening to the sides and behind you. Think of it as a greater sense of spaciousness.
The caveat is that it only seems to work for centrally located listeners and not as well
for those seated off to the sides. Don’t expect it to sound identical to having
dedicated surrounds and you may be happy with it. It is a compromise, though, and in my
experience does not fully satisfy like having the actual speakers behind you. I’d say
it is worth experimenting with, but don’t expect miracles.
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