Advent speaker overhaul

[techguy0192]

Please read this first before commenting. Yes, I’m aware that more time and money went into these speakers than they are likely worth. With that said read on to learn why.

This pair of Advent Baby II speakers were owned by very good friend of 12 years. My buddy is in his early 60s and with me still in my 30s, he has really provided a lot of great advise and wisdom over the the past decade plus. Recently, I was helping him move and clear out a building he is in the process of selling, and “purchased” them from him. To make a very long story short, he has had an extremely difficult time, on all fronts (especially health), over the past 18 months. The good news is he is on an up swing.

What my friend doesn’t know this that he’s getting his beloved Advent speakers back and performing better than ever. He is the originally owner. The speakers are stamped internally with an August 1988 build date. I cannot wait to see the look on his face when I give these speakers back to him. I hope he gets as much enjoyment from listening to them again as I did in doing this for him.

Fast forward several weeks and the speakers are finished and sounding fantastic. I’m honestly very impressed with how they’re performing…great little speakers with surprising bass.

When I was starting out on this project, I originally had plans to totally strip and refinish the wood end caps and replace the grill cloth. However, I decided to take a sympathetic approach to restoring the finish. In the end I decided to make them better without totally removing all the patina because I want my friend to see them and say….wow those are “my” speakers. The grill cloth is in exceptional condition with no rips. Other that some fine trimming, with super sharp and thin scissors, to hide a slight pull (fuzz) in a couple of areas, they look excellent. The only other thing to do was ensure the Advent logos are aligned properly.

The foam surrounds were long gone and the tweeter plastic bezel was cracked at most mounting points, further crumbling when removed. All the original drivers did test good, so he will now have a backup pair of tweeters.

Parts list:

• Foam repair kit from Simply Speakers.

• A pair of NOS original Advent tweeters.

• Upgraded crossover from Dayton that matches the original crossover frequency.

• A pair of Mills, 2 Ohm, resisters for the tweeters. (Dayton crossover missing this part).

• All internal cables were replaced with Belden 9497 (16 awg).

• New 5 way binding posts.

• Howard – Restore-A-Finish

• Howard – Wax-N-Feed

Now on to the pictures. Please forgive the less than professional photography work.....

 

[techguy0192]

 

[halkaloogie]

Nice job, I'm sure he'll love them.

I did something similar last year with my neighbors old Boston a100's. She's single and in her late 70's and has tens of thousands of records and never listened to them because her speakers were worn out. I offered to give her a pair of Dahlquist DQ20's that I had, but she really wanted the Bostons back, so I completely rebuilt them for her on my dime just because I wanted her to be able to listen to her music again. I walk by her house regularly now and hear her blasting Supertramp and Styx and it makes it worth every penny I spent.

 

[peerson]

You are a Great friend! And, I think they look really nice, too. He's a lucky guy.

 

[Tim D]

Nice job, I'm sure he'll love them.

I did something similar last year with my neighbors old Boston a100's. She's single and in her late 70's and has tens of thousands of records and never listened to them because her speakers were worn out. I offered to give her a pair of Dahlquist DQ20's that I had, but she really wanted the Bostons back, so I completely rebuilt them for her on my dime just because I wanted her to be able to listen to her music again. I walk by her house regularly now and hear her blasting Supertramp and Styx and it makes it worth every penny I spent.

Awesome that you did that. I find it interesting that someone of that age would be listening to Supertramp and Styx. I'm 60 and that was my age group.

When I hear stories such as this it warms my heart. It's good to hear that there are still people that are altruistic in this day and age.

 

[halkaloogie]

Awesome that you did that. I find it interesting that someone of that age would be listening to Supertramp and Styx. I'm 60 and that was my age group.

When I hear stories such as this it warms my heart. It's good to hear that there are still people that are altruistic in this day and age.

I share a driveway with her and when we see each other we are cordial but I had never been in her house, one day she asked if I'd help her move something from the house to the back of her car and when we went into the first room from the garage it was a 20'x20' room stuffed to the gills with records, then a hallway that opened up to the most perfectly preserved 70's time machine room. Shiny popcorn ceiling, shag carpet an orange teardrop hanging fireplace, crackle gold mirrors, a wet bar, beaded drapes, I mean the works and in that room was her stereo that she said hadn't used for almost 5 years because the speakers didn't work. As we were talking that day she mentioned that her favorite band was Supertramp and that her favorites were 70's prog rock. Quickly looking at what she had it was a who's who of 60's and 70's rock. I was staggered and offered give her the pair of Dahlquists I had, but she didn't want them and said that the Bostons were her favorite speakers and that she had custom mounts for them and only wanted her speakers. So I told her I'd fix her speakers, how could a sane person not feel for her and want her to be able to listen to that huge collection.

I don't know if I'd heard the A100's before, but she had them custom soffit mounted into the walls and I'll be damned if they weren't great rock speakers. Super punchy for a big 2 way speaker.

And because I'm still a jerk and a sleazeball I keep dropping hints to her that if she ever wants to try and get rid of some of her records I am there for her. She did come by with a handful of Herb Albert, Anne Murray, and Jim Nabors records after I did the speakers and told me if I wanted her records I could have these because someone gave them to her and she didn't want them, which made me like her even more.

 

[Tim D]

I share a driveway with her and when we see each other we are cordial but I had never been in her house, one day she asked if I'd help her move something from the house to the back of her car and when we went into the first room from the garage it was a 20'x20' room stuffed to the gills with records, then a hallway that opened up to the most perfectly preserved 70's time machine room. Shiny popcorn ceiling, shag carpet an orange teardrop hanging fireplace, crackle gold mirrors, a wet bar, beaded drapes, I mean the works and in that room was her stereo that she said hadn't used for almost 5 years because the speakers didn't work. As we were talking that day she mentioned that her favorite band was Supertramp and that her favorites were 70's prog rock. Quickly looking at what she had it was a who's who of 60's and 70's rock. I was staggered and offered give her the pair of Dahlquists I had, but she didn't want them and said that the Bostons were her favorite speakers and that she had custom mounts for them and only wanted her speakers. So I told her I'd fix her speakers, how could a sane person not feel for her and want her to be able to listen to that huge collection.

I don't know if I'd heard the A100's before, but she had them custom soffit mounted into the walls and I'll be damned if they weren't great rock speakers. Super punchy for a big 2 way speaker.

And because I'm still a jerk and a sleazeball I keep dropping hints to her that if she ever wants to try and get rid of some of her records I am there for her. She did come by with a handful of Herb Albert, Anne Murray, and Jim Nabors records after I did the speakers and told me if I wanted her records I could have these because someone gave them to her and she didn't want them, which made me like her even more.

You're not a jerk or a sleazeball. If you don't let others know your interests you'll never know if they have something they might drop your way.

I got back into the hobby about 4 years ago by trash-picking a Dynaco ST-70 and KLH Sixes from the neighbors curb. I mentioned it to the widow that put them out there weeks later and she said, "Do you want some more?". I ended up with a pair of Technics SB-6060's on that one. They are very very nice speakers - although a lot of people don't know that Technics had a line of high-end speakers.

 

[wmgwizard]

Audio Karma at its finest

 

[techguy0192]

With around 50 hours of burn in time, between test tone sweeps and using them in the living room, I gave the Advents a proper test drive the other night. Streaming Tidal with a Node2 to an Audio Research tube preamp, into a McIntosh amp they were given to opportunity to shine.

Tusk by Fleetwood Mac put a smile on my face for sure. Shortly after Whitewash by Buckethead made my jaw drop. Are these top reference class speakers? No. But they certainly represent great performance and value. Hopefully, my buddy will be back in town a few weeks from now to be reunited with them.

 

[Airjmax]

With around 50 hours of burn in time, between test tone sweeps and using them in the living room, I gave the Advents a proper test drive the other night. Streaming Tidal with a Node2 to an Audio Research tube preamp, into a McIntosh amp they were given to opportunity to shine.

Tusk by Fleetwood Mac put a smile on my face for sure. Shortly after Whitewash by Buckethead made my jaw drop. Are these top reference class speakers? No. But they certainly represent great performance and value. Hopefully, my buddy will be back in town a few weeks from now to be reunited with them.

The song that made me a believer in the Baby Advents was "Fearless" by Pink Floyd, from the Meddle album. Give that a run!

 

[WillMeyer]

Nice work on the Babies.
If you get a chance, that a look at a thread I just posted on Advent Legacies - Wood Refinishing.
I'd love to have to have my Legacies come out like these Babies, but since I have to remove the original finish to blend out some warpage, I'm not sure this apprach would work for my situation.
Thx