Advent Maestro Speakers Purchase Question

[cwelch]

First of all, greetings all! This is my first post on this forum, but I have spent around a month trolling (as in to "carefully and systematically search an area for something") various threads in order to learn about speakers. I currently do not own any speakers of any note, but am currently in the market for a pair. I recently saw an ad on my local CL for a pair of Advent Maestro (3 way) Speakers for $25 (I found the specs here : http://edsgoodstuff.com/edscart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4972). However, the woofer on each speaker needs to be refoamed, an some previous owner painted over the wood cabinet with white paint for some reason (see image at bottom of post). I figure refoaming and restoring them will be a good learning experience for me, but I guess I have a couple of questions:

1) Are these speakers even worth buying at this price point? (keeping in mind the need to refoam the woofers)

2) Am I biting off more than I can chew taking on a project of this magnitude (keeping in mind my nonexistent experience with speakers and speaker repair)

Any sage advice would be appreciated!

 

[blhagstrom]

Buy them.


Now.



They are excellent speakers but are best with a big amp, 100+wpc.


Easy to refoam (for me anyway) and every old Advent needs to be refoamed.

Be careful of the body foam. It gets soft and rotten like the surround. Just don't touch it.
It can be cleaned off, I've never done it and it looks like a major job.

If you don't have 100+wpc, they will be OK and good trading stock for something else.

 

[gdmoore28]

Yes! These are quite good speakers. I love those mid ranges. Price is quite good.

GeeDeeEmm

 

[MyHeresyIsMe]

cwelch, did you buy them (Advent Maestros)? If so, how did they turn out? Thanks.

 

[leftfielder]

I'd say yes also. I have a pair w/ one that is shedding the bezel foam which is pretty messy if played with. The other side is ok. You heard it they do need a more powerful amp than an AVR to sound their best. I couldn't see(your pics) if someone messed w/ the pecan wood trims, that would be a sin. Getting the sides back to black would not be that hard. At $25 and a foam kit they are worth it.

 

[roadrunnerx]

For that price, yes! Test the drivers first if you can low power so as not to damage the woofers.
If someone ran them hard without foam, the woofers are likely damaged. Ask the seller about usage.

 

[Oerets]

No way they would not be home by now if I was aware of them. Great sounding speakers!



Barney

 

[Pavementfan]

I saw a pair of these at salvation army.. I sat in my car and looked them up , and found this thread.

I have am waiting for the 10" surrounds and trying to figure out what to do about the rotted baffle foam.

I'm excited to compare these to my Advent heritage towers.

 

[ajfink]

@Pavementfan

Did you ever do that comparison between the Maestro and Heritages? I've been looking to replace the set of Heritage towers I sold before a move and have regretted since, and there's a pair of Maestros nearby I might snag.

 

[blhagstrom]

Heritage sound good on anything, Maestros are lame until you hit them with 100+ watt amps.

 

[Tube Radio]

I just got a pair of Maestros.

They indeed sound very lame at low power levels.

In my attempt to get mine sounding right I noticed the midrange and tweeter are wired opposite polarity of the woofer.

Also based on the crude way I measured the impedance and the crossover schematic I found that someone who rebuilt their pair made, the crossover seems to be all wrong far as component values go.

That's probably why they suck at low power levels.