Picture this: I’m at the local tip, getting rid of old crap when a cheerful chap pipes up, “You into speakers? Got these for you” - and hands me a pair of battered 1970s beauties—miles of tangled wire still attached. Straight away I spotted the wonky B&O badge peeking through the grime. Could these be worth saving?
Fast forward a nearly a year, and I’m proud to share the resurrection of the B&O HT3702.
Configuring the DSP was a learning curve—hours of measurements and tweaks—but now these speakers deliver full-bodied sound down to 30 Hz in my room. The AlNiCo woofers can handle a surprising amount power (5 mm Xmax). They have the punch of sealed boxes whilst delivering some real bass when needed. I'm a bit of a convert to sealed boxes now
I keep wondering: How would they stack up against a pristine original B&O setup? What about a current "HiFi" wireless system? It’s a comparison I’ll never experience—but for me, hearing these once-dead drivers roar back to life is reward enough.
Fast forward a nearly a year, and I’m proud to share the resurrection of the B&O HT3702.
The Challenge
- Condition on arrival: Properly scratched and scuffed cabinets; woofers with collapsed spiders and foam so rotten it had literally evaporated and a busted tweeter.
- Goal: My lad said, "Could you fix these up for my student house"? Sure can! So original look and warm 70s sound, but with modern connectivity via AirPlay.
The Rebuild Journey
- Cabinet Revival
- Paint-stripper and sanding to get rid of the original clear coat.
- Some fresh black and a simple rattle-can clear coat on the veneer. Honestly, even with my very much DIY technique these look great.
- Woofer Resurrection
- Foam surrounds came from RepairYourSpeakers.com and dust caps plus spiders from AliExpress (8 mm version of this).
- Printed a custom 3D pole-piece shim to perfectly center the voice coil.
- Reassembled with JB Weld KwikWeld at the spider-to-voice-coil joint, and Aleene’s Tacky Glue for chassis and foam bond.
- Modern Amplification
- Ditched the passive crossover entirely in favor of an Arylic UpStream PlateAmp 2.1.
- This provides three independent DSP-controlled channels so can be tuned however we like, plus AirPlay and Bluetooth built-in and wireless stereo.
- Finishing Touches
- A quick vacuum and spray-clean for the grills, reattached using clear silicone.
The Payoff
Configuring the DSP was a learning curve—hours of measurements and tweaks—but now these speakers deliver full-bodied sound down to 30 Hz in my room. The AlNiCo woofers can handle a surprising amount power (5 mm Xmax). They have the punch of sealed boxes whilst delivering some real bass when needed. I'm a bit of a convert to sealed boxes now
I keep wondering: How would they stack up against a pristine original B&O setup? What about a current "HiFi" wireless system? It’s a comparison I’ll never experience—but for me, hearing these once-dead drivers roar back to life is reward enough.
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on your find and the exemplary effort in restoring them.