Leak 3090 loudspeakers?

[doucanoe]

Totally worthy looking speakers -- nice score. :thmbsp: Love to hear a pair of those. I have a large (but not as large as those!) pair of Leaks hiding around here somewhere; I think they are a very underrated brand, for sure.

Those woofers are the aluminum-sandwich variety, are they not? What are the surrounds made of? Looks like they are foam or rubber from here. The woofers in mine are of the now not-so-flexible cloth type, and I've not had a whole lot of luck in keeping them supple. Was considering trying foam, but didn't really want to try the cloth-to-foam replacement thing. If these drivers have it as a surround, though... :scratch2: Do you have a pic of the back of one of the woofers? They look nearly identical from the front.

I really should of taken a pic of the back of the driver when it was pulled out. Both are going to come out again to get at the x-overs , so when I do I will post another pic :thmbsp:

RC

 

[2DualsNotEnough]

Those look like serious sound reproducers!I bet a quality amp and source are a must for those babies.
Nice,very nice.
Jimmy

 

[doucanoe]

Those look like serious sound reproducers!I bet a quality amp and source are a must for those babies.
Nice,very nice.
Jimmy[/QUOT

Thanks Jimmy and I agree. I really need to just flat out replace the L-pads in these with the correct replacements and recap the x-over networks. With how they sound now, the effort will be well rewarded.

RC

 

[2DualsNotEnough]

Being a big British speaker fan,I guess Ill have to add Leak to my list of must-tries.
Jimmy

 

[Skinley]

Very nice speakers, I nearly bought some 2075's a while ago, never heard of the 3090's till now.

 

[Redboy]

For how big they are, they did a wonderful job of hiding themselves soundwise in the room.

Wow, those are big. They'd have to hide themselves more than soundwise to pass muster in my house...

What's in there for damping material? It looks a little like you found Little Bo Peep's missing sheep!

I imagine the highs are coming in as the old caps reform somewhat. New caps in there would probably give you a really different experience! Looks like a lot of them to replace, though. It could get to be a spendy proposition.

 

[doucanoe]

Wow, those are big. They'd have to hide themselves more than soundwise to pass muster in my house...

What's in there for damping material? It looks a little like you found Little Bo Peep's missing sheep!

I imagine the highs are coming in as the old caps reform somewhat. New caps in there would probably give you a really different experience! Looks like a lot of them to replace, though. It could get to be a spendy proposition.

Possibly, but well worth the effort I'm hoping. A schematic would be helpful.

RC

 

[Beobloke]

Absolutely beautiful. I am insanely jealous!!

 

[doucanoe]

Absolutely beautiful. I am insanely jealous!!

Thanks, You would think that you would be the guy to find a pair or these and not me. I have never come across a pair of Leak speakers around these parts ever before this pair.

Im am finding them to produce a very addictive sound. They do have a somewhat laidback personality that could be described as "British" in nature. Im reluctant to really even say that. A more accurate description would be that they fall further into the East Coast sound camp than West Coast.

Just a full, velvety tone that is detailed and articulate but not at all in your face forward. I have been listening to many different recordings but I keep playing 2 Diana Krall CD's over and over. Not that Im a huge Krall fan but her stuff is usually very well recorded and It seems that these 3090's were designed and built for Diana Krall playback.:yes: Absolutly incredible.

Another big this that Im amazed by is their ability to completly dissapear in the room. You can see by the impromptu set-up, they were not positioned for anything other than thats where I had available space. If I could get away with it, I would just leave them where they sit but I think my wife would have something to say about that.

RC

 

[Redboy]

Maybe I missed it, but what are you driving these with, Ron?

 

[doucanoe]

Maybe I missed it, but what are you driving these with, Ron?

Just a Sony TA-F444 ES integrated and a Marantz CD65 SE changer for the moment. Im looking forward to throwing some tubes at these soon. In fact Aaron is going to be returning my Mitsubishi SS amp so that I can pull the Allen #75 "blast furnace" monos out of my main system. They are fine at the moment but as the summer heat keeps increasing, they would be heating up the room too much.

He was going to bring it by yesterday but I have a killer cold and was pretty much out of it Sunday so I told him to hold off until I felt better. Maybe tonight.

The Allens will be driving the Leaks by weeks end I'm sure.

RC

 

[Redboy]

Yeee-haaw!! I'd like to heat that! This weekend's out as I've got my folks in town, but maybe next?

I'm nearing completion on the 2A3 project, so a listening session is in order at my place soon, too!

 

[doucanoe]

Yeee-haaw!! I'd like to heat that! This weekend's out as I've got my folks in town, but maybe next?

I'm nearing completion on the 2A3 project, so a listening session is in order at my place soon, too!

Im in! :thmbsp:

RC

 

[DelanoJoe]

Very Nice Ron! I saw that post as well - didn't have a clue what they were. They sure look pretty - guess I'll have to start doing more investigation!!!

On another note, got the Mach 1's hooked up on Sunday and listened to them and they sound - OK. Of course I had the A/B switch to go back and forth on my JBL CF-150's, so maybe it's just me, but they sound kind of hollow. Should it matter that one set is sealed and the other has baffles? I'm wondering if I shouldn't pull em apart and do a recap on the x-overs?
One other question, did the original Mach 1's have rubber surrounds, because these are foam (probably been refoamed)?

Might have to stop by some time to see those Leaks in action and pick up some pointers on finding that elusive speaker system that will make my system sing!!!!

Have a good one - hope the cold is better,

DelanoJoe

 

[bully]

All the Mach 1's I've seen had foam surrounds.
I have a pair of Mach 2's and a pair of CF150's. Both bought new. I have really enjoyed the Mach 1, and think they are worth the money they bring, if not more. But the CF series JBL are very good, and not just for rock--I listen to a lot of classical through the CF150 and they sound great!

 

[doucanoe]

Very Nice Ron! I saw that post as well - didn't have a clue what they were. They sure look pretty - guess I'll have to start doing more investigation!!!

On another note, got the Mach 1's hooked up on Sunday and listened to them and they sound - OK. Of course I had the A/B switch to go back and forth on my JBL CF-150's, so maybe it's just me, but they sound kind of hollow. Should it matter that one set is sealed and the other has baffles? I'm wondering if I shouldn't pull em apart and do a recap on the x-overs?
One other question, did the original Mach 1's have rubber surrounds, because these are foam (probably been refoamed)?

Might have to stop by some time to see those Leaks in action and pick up some pointers on finding that elusive speaker system that will make my system sing!!!!

Have a good one - hope the cold is better,

DelanoJoe

I Guess I would have to see them to get a better idea as to what you are referring to "baffle" wise. Mine were sealed cabs if i remember correctly and the surrounds were a very heavy foam type.

RC

 

[DelanoJoe]

Sorry - didn't post it correctly - the CF-150's are not sealed - they have dual tubes in the back for the bass - the Mach 1's are sealed. I figure it's like Bully said - the CF-150's are a very nice sounding speaker and to compare might not be fair, but I'd swear my Kenwood KLA-700's sound better than the Mach's, so I'm thinking something must be awry. I've heard nothing but positives on these so maybe I'm being overly critical.

Of course the CF's are twice the size of the Mach's, so again, probably not a good comparison.

Joe

 

[doucanoe]

Sorry - didn't post it correctly - the CF-150's are not sealed - they have dual tubes in the back for the bass - the Mach 1's are sealed. I figure it's like Bully said - the CF-150's are a very nice sounding speaker and to compare might not be fair, but I'd swear my Kenwood KLA-700's sound better than the Mach's, so I'm thinking something must be awry. I've heard nothing but positives on these so maybe I'm being overly critical.

Of course the CF's are twice the size of the Mach's, so again, probably not a good comparison.

Joe

Maybe we should have a look. Mine were surprisingly good and I was shocked when I first heard them. I remember Dolan saying that he needed to find a replacement woofer for one of them and finally did. Maybe your experiencing a phasing issue that came about when he replaced the driver. If so your bass will be all out of whack. If its the mids or highs it might be time for a good L-pad cleaning. Could be a cap or connection also, just have to trouble shoot it. We will figure it out :thmbsp:

RC

 

[DelanoJoe]

That would make sense - the highs are fine and both mid/high adjustments work without any scratching - the low end sounded hollow - don't know how to explain it. Maybe I'll pull the woofers and have a look...

Thanks Ron,

Joe

 

[doucanoe]

- the low end sounded hollow - don't know how to explain it. Maybe I'll pull the woofers and have a look...

Thanks Ron,

Joe

Sounds like a out of phase problem to me. Now that I think about it, he might of replaced both I can't remember. My guess would be that.

RC