• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Infinity RS3A Project

Love-Vinyl said:
You might find this little back and forth interesting http://archive.audioreview.com/13/0EE90FAD.php as it explains a few things about the RSIIIb's specifically and their nature. In other reviews I've read about before they have been measured to go down as low as 1 ohm at high volumes on music that goes down low. I have to watch it if I use the Kenwood M2 (220w and will blow a fuse in the 2-3 ohm range) to drive them while the Hafler DH500 (255w but will handle almost anything down to 1) just flows along quite merrily. I'd certainly be cautious of your amp choices especially if you intend to play them loud.

This isn't the first time I've heard they need extra bracing, new caps and better internal wiring but as mine have been working just fine for the 10 years I've had them I don't want to play with them just yet. I've much to learn about this hobby and will be experimenting with other speakers to get more familiar before working on these. I have had to DeOxit the pots once in that time but that's all.
Click to expand...

I currently use an older Sansui B2101 power amp which claims 2 ohm stability (680wpc dynamic at 2 ohms, whatever that means) so that should be sufficient for anything my head can stand.

Eventually, I'll rebuild the innards with better wiring and crossover components if their sound works for my ears. I may hate them and want to go in a different direction... I'll soon find out!

Replacement woofers arrived today... :banana: Time to get to refoaming!!
 
Finished project - sorta...

Well... they're back up and running 100%. And WOW... they truly are impressive speakers! Glad I grabbed them when I had the chance. They may just kick the Vega VS-150's to the curb and become the primary speakers in the system. I tried them with a little bit of everything from Skrillex to Acoustic Alchemy to Neil Schon's "Late Nite". The woofers are still quite tight due to the refoam, but the bass is still surprisingly solid for having such thin gauge wire inside the boxes. In time this tightness can only improve. Crossover rebuild/improvement is now in my sights...

Finished speaker in it's semi-permanent location.

img0128wg.jpg


The new foam around the tweet/mid area. I'll likely re-do it over the winter as it's not properly centered and it got wrapped up in some screw threads when I was re-installing the mid. I finished these up this morning at about 8am in the garage before it got too hot out. The spray adhesive I used was incredibly grabby and didn't give me much of a chance to reposition things.

img0129xa.jpg


The woofers. I'm getting REALLY good at this type of stuff... a little glue overrun, but nothing that I'm embarrassed about!

img0130km.jpg
 
Last edited:
I just got some RS3b's that I'm going to re-build. Looks like I'm in for some fun, according to your thread. Thanks for the link to the mid/tweeter foam, and what about a good woofer surround?
 
I like simply speakers... ultra fast shipping and they have really decent cement in their kits, not the white elmers glue like stuff.

These are the absolute best pair of speakers I've ever owned. Haven't owned any of the ultra hi-end stuff before, but these are definitely staying in my home.
 
Last edited:
Foghead, nice work on the resurrounds, look better than factory.
 
Last edited:
foghead said:
I like simply speakers... ultra fast shipping and they have really decent cement in their kits, not the white elmers glue like stuff. I can sell you enough foam to make a pair of surrounds for the mids/tweets. Maybe like $6 or so shipped?

These are the absolute best pair of speakers I've ever owned. Haven't owned any of the ultra hi-end stuff before, but these are definitely staying in my home.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll check them out and probably order some surrounds for several sets of speakers I have waiting.

And I might get that foam from you, but I was also thinking about going a different route. It's not original, but I was wondering how a sheet of velvet would look instead of the tweeter/mid foam? It should do the same thing sonically, and it should last 10x longer!
 
Thank you....

crazy-in-az said:
Lookin' good foghead:thmbsp:
Click to expand...

SicMan said:
Good luck with those .. they look great ..
John M
Click to expand...

mech986 said:
Foghead, nice work on the resurrounds, look better than factory.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the kind words... When you look closely in person, there's a little bit of glue overage but not much. Most folks probably wouldn't notice it but I'm REALLY particular. I've done an awful, awful lot of foam repairs for myself and other people. Biggest secrets? Take your time making sure everything is cleared of all former surround material and glue. Also, that white glue is horrible - don't use it... they didn't use it when they were originally made, don't do it now! :no:
 
Looking good!


I am in the middle of a four woofer refoam, myself. Finally find some RSIIIa's so I was glad to see this thread! :yes:
 
Could you tell me what you did to remove the tweeter foam surround? Did you learn anything you would have done differently? I want to do a really clean rebuild and I am not sure how to remove this foam without ruining the delicate speckled undersurface.
 
lightfall said:
Could you tell me what you did to remove the tweeter foam surround? Did you learn anything you would have done differently? I want to do a really clean rebuild and I am not sure how to remove this foam without ruining the delicate speckled undersurface.
Click to expand...

gotta scrape it off and refinish front...it comes off hard...
 
Seppo said:
Wow, funny, these are my RS-IIIa's, bought from 'foghead' last March...small world :)
Click to expand...

Seppo = a great guy! Glad they went to you as I know you've gotta be loving them! And yes.... this is a very small world indeed. :music:

Removing the old foam... I remember just carefully scraping as much as I could with a razor blade and not worrying a whole lot about the surface underneath as it was going to be covered by foam again. Used DanTack or 3M automotive headliner adhesive to get the new foam stuck.

The biggest challenge by far was trying to get the new foam cut cleanly and straight... it's pretty tricky to cut as it's not all that rigid. Knowing what I know now, maybe make a thin plywood template in the outline you desire, sandwich the foam in between the template and a larger/thicker plywood scrap and then trace using a fresh x-acto blade.
 
Last edited:
that is exactly my concern. Back in the day when I used to do a lot with computer building I used a product that looked like the stock foam. It was dense and not very thick, I wonder what it was called and if I could buy a machine cut square of it. I would not mind a square if it was a perfect cut.

I looked up dynamat bit it has a shiny metallic membrane and hideous logos on one side.
 
is there foam in the dome tweeter like the foam from the cones that rotted? I can't quite tell.

how do you get the crossovers and terminal out of these anyway? I was told there may have been fuses somewhere and I need to check the caps as well.
 
lightfall said:
is there foam in the dome tweeter like the foam from the cones that rotted? I can't quite tell.

how do you get the crossovers and terminal out of these anyway? I was told there may have been fuses somewhere and I need to check the caps as well.
Click to expand...

No tweeter surrounds to repair, thankfully. Going back a ways in memory now, but I don't think they had a fuse in them... possibly a thermal circuit breaker for the tweeters, but I don't recall much else.
 
lightfall said:
that is exactly my concern. Back in the day when I used to do a lot with computer building I used a product that looked like the stock foam. It was dense and not very thick, I wonder what it was called and if I could buy a machine cut square of it. I would not mind a square if it was a perfect cut.

I looked up dynamat bit it has a shiny metallic membrane and hideous logos on one side.
Click to expand...

Dynamat :no: :thumbsdn:

The stuff I used was open cell foam that wasn't as dense as the original, but not far off. The way I understand it, the foam was there to prevent high frequency reflections from oscillating back and forth between the grill cloth and the speaker cabinet face, so any tighter open cell stuff should work. I found mention of the stuff I used buried someplace in the AK forums... do a search and you'll likely find it....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom