Boston Acoustics?
- Thread starter CarverPower
- Start date
Toasted Almond
RIP 1952-2016
Well I'm delighted to be wrong if it's going to cost you less. The $55, 7" replacement woofs were for model CR-8 speakers. That price did include shipping but I doubt shipping added much to the unit price.
I remember being up in New Hampshire around 1990 on the job. One of the other guys asked me to go to a hi-fi shop with him and help him with stuff. We auditioned BA A-40's directly against something else that was pretty popular, and a ported design. The demo guy just switched between the two models with no volume adjustment. Naturally, the ported job was spitting out quite a few more decibels than the A-40's, sounding a little livelier and more upbeat.. I asked him to give the A-40's a little more roast beef. Once he did that it was a no-brainer decision. The A-40's really came to life, outdid the port on the low end, and the salesman had to be content with the small profit margin on the A-40's. He did give it his best try to get the largo profit margin though. It just wasn't his day. It was mine.
It's pretty common knowledge that as humans A-Bing two pair of speakers, we will always like what appears to be the louder of the two. Unless of course the louder one is bottoming out or audibly screeching. Matched output is a must when auditioning speakers.
TA
I remember being up in New Hampshire around 1990 on the job. One of the other guys asked me to go to a hi-fi shop with him and help him with stuff. We auditioned BA A-40's directly against something else that was pretty popular, and a ported design. The demo guy just switched between the two models with no volume adjustment. Naturally, the ported job was spitting out quite a few more decibels than the A-40's, sounding a little livelier and more upbeat.. I asked him to give the A-40's a little more roast beef. Once he did that it was a no-brainer decision. The A-40's really came to life, outdid the port on the low end, and the salesman had to be content with the small profit margin on the A-40's. He did give it his best try to get the largo profit margin though. It just wasn't his day. It was mine.
It's pretty common knowledge that as humans A-Bing two pair of speakers, we will always like what appears to be the louder of the two. Unless of course the louder one is bottoming out or audibly screeching. Matched output is a must when auditioning speakers.
TA
jbproducer
New Member
My 1989 BA A60's need re-foaming. Got the stuff to do it, but am having difficulty removing the positive connector from the woofer. The negative slipped right off. Don't want to force it. Any thoughts, ideas? Thanks.
krimney
Super Member
screwdriver
I assume you mean the connector on the back of the woofer. It slides onto the flat part . I've used a flat screwdriver to spread the sides apart a bit, it usualy works. small set of needle nosed pliers will help get a grip on the wire end of the connector so you avoid pulling on the wire itself.
I assume you mean the connector on the back of the woofer. It slides onto the flat part . I've used a flat screwdriver to spread the sides apart a bit, it usualy works. small set of needle nosed pliers will help get a grip on the wire end of the connector so you avoid pulling on the wire itself.
A70 Sound is impressive
I just bought a pair of A70's on Ebay that had been refoamed...and am very impressed with the quality...I use them in my basement exercise area which is unfinished concrete with a berber rug on the floor, have them mounted perpendicularly about 5' off the walls and I was truly impressed with the sound!
I just bought a pair of A70's on Ebay that had been refoamed...and am very impressed with the quality...I use them in my basement exercise area which is unfinished concrete with a berber rug on the floor, have them mounted perpendicularly about 5' off the walls and I was truly impressed with the sound!
Have three sets now - A150, CR9 that are both working (thanks to Gordon for a tweeter for the A150) and a set of T830 that need surrounds. Both of these are great sounding speakers. They both have a great low end and sound good stacked.
I can't wait to hear the T830s.
Alan
I can't wait to hear the T830s.
Alan
sydsfloyd67
Contributor
I had rotated Boston A70 among GenesisI, EPI-100, Braun A-700, and EPI 150, on a Marantz 2270, and the A70s were the first to move on for some reason. As may be obvious, I like the sound of an acoustic suspension 2-way. Perhaps the positive response most listeners have to the A70 relates to the success of that particular design? With an ~8" woofer? I imagine there they are better matched to another receiver than the one I listened with, perhaps a Yamaha CR? -sf
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OvenMaster
Baby, you're my winterblue
I have always wanted to hear T830's! When you get them re-surrounded, please let's have a review! I'd like to know what you think.abpeep said:
Tom
Hi all, original owner of a pair of rotting A60s. Paid $160 many moons ago.
Anybody have any suggestions as to which is the best refoam kit to buy?
It appears simple enough, but it is hard to do?
Local speaker outfit wants $70 each to do the job, and they still have a backlog. No thanks.
Another alternative is to order new woofers from BA for $40 each.
Anybody have any suggestions as to which is the best refoam kit to buy?
It appears simple enough, but it is hard to do?
Local speaker outfit wants $70 each to do the job, and they still have a backlog. No thanks.
Another alternative is to order new woofers from BA for $40 each.
I can either send you surrounds (the surrounds themselves will run $6 each, and you just use plain Elmers glue or something similar), or I can do the whole job, for $25 per woofer.
I can't imagine why anyone would charge $70 EACH to do Boston woofers. Of course, if they're still swamped with business at that price, obviously SOMEBODY is willing to pay. Doesn't seem too sensible to me, from a customer standpoint...
In any case, the Boston 8" woofers are pretty darn easy to refoam, especially if it's the earlier paper-cone woofer. The later poly-cone drivers are a little more "picky" about alignment (tighter voice coil clearances), but even those are pretty much a cakewalk, compared to other stuff...
Also, be aware- if you've got the earlier paper cone woofer A60s... the new replacement woofers from Boston are ALL poly cone now... which will CHANGE the sound of an early A60 a bit. They're now using the same cone assembly (the one from the A60-II) in all the 8" replacement woofers. That's fine... except that the crossover in the second-generation stuff is slightly different, to tune it for that different woofer. I've used the replacements in the earlier stuff, and IMHO, I liked the paper cone woofer better than the replacements, by a slight margin. Other people may disagree, of course... it's an "editorial decision", really...
Regards,
Gordon.
I can't imagine why anyone would charge $70 EACH to do Boston woofers. Of course, if they're still swamped with business at that price, obviously SOMEBODY is willing to pay. Doesn't seem too sensible to me, from a customer standpoint...
In any case, the Boston 8" woofers are pretty darn easy to refoam, especially if it's the earlier paper-cone woofer. The later poly-cone drivers are a little more "picky" about alignment (tighter voice coil clearances), but even those are pretty much a cakewalk, compared to other stuff...
Also, be aware- if you've got the earlier paper cone woofer A60s... the new replacement woofers from Boston are ALL poly cone now... which will CHANGE the sound of an early A60 a bit. They're now using the same cone assembly (the one from the A60-II) in all the 8" replacement woofers. That's fine... except that the crossover in the second-generation stuff is slightly different, to tune it for that different woofer. I've used the replacements in the earlier stuff, and IMHO, I liked the paper cone woofer better than the replacements, by a slight margin. Other people may disagree, of course... it's an "editorial decision", really...
Regards,
Gordon.
OvenMaster said:
I'll let you know how they sound when I get a listen to them. Picked these up recently for $25 at the Goodwill. Very nice cabinets but the surrounds were totally shot and one of the mids was partially out - the screws had pulled out of the particle board. I would bet the speaker fell on its face and the impact made the mid pull out - it's pretty heavy. Had pulled out some wood so I had to fill with epoxy wood filler and drill new holes. Looks like new.
If they sound anything like the other pairs of Bostons I have, they will have been well worth repairing. All my Bostons have been acquired in the last few months and I have had lots of enjoyment out of them over that period.
Alan
Roypercy
Super Member
I just gave a pair of A60s to some friends as part of a vintage setup I made for them. I used the Bostons myself for a couple years before that. Very nice speakers, good bass for their size, really lovely high end. I did refoam them.
Also had a pair of newer NA speakers once, I think HD9 (?) - can't remember. A larger speaker with a passive radiator, but the sonic signature was remarkably consistent with the A60s.
And years ago I had a gargantuan pair of A400s, wonderful speakers but just didn't fit in my apartment.
I highly recommend them.
Also had a pair of newer NA speakers once, I think HD9 (?) - can't remember. A larger speaker with a passive radiator, but the sonic signature was remarkably consistent with the A60s.
And years ago I had a gargantuan pair of A400s, wonderful speakers but just didn't fit in my apartment.
I highly recommend them.
H2s04
auralmicitisis
I have a pair of A60's that I'm about to post about in a few minutes (I have a seperate question about refoaming and sound quality)
I picked them up at the dump about two months ago, and the original foam is still intact, but is begining to deteriorate in a lower-right section of one of the drivers. I like them alot, but seemed a bit "bright" during certain frequencies.
I picked them up at the dump about two months ago, and the original foam is still intact, but is begining to deteriorate in a lower-right section of one of the drivers. I like them alot, but seemed a bit "bright" during certain frequencies.
GordonW said:
Unfortunately, I don't reside in GA, otherwise I'd give you the job! The $70 quote I received wasn't for a specific speaker, just a general quote for bare drivers. And if you can believe it, they charge another $30 to R&R the driver from the cabinet if you bring them the whole speaker!
I have the original A60s, not the Series II. In what manner would the poly drivers change the sound? I'm curious and might actually prefer it...
Thanks for the tips -- especially about the difference in drivers.
If all this works out, I'm thinking about finding a pair of A40s to act as surrounds for my new receiver.
