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amrzs
New Member
I've been very impressed with the m&k 2vb sub & sat setups. The 2sbs kind of remind me of ads speakers. And the 2vb is the subwoofer that I still use most for my everyday listening. As far as powerful home theater subwoofers there are many better than the 2vb, but for a subtle and musical subwoofer that blends incredibly well in a stereo setup the 2vb fits the bill.
cwh
33
Any issues with the amp board?
Speaker level inputs? I'll be using vintage. Never owned a powered sub.
Freddymac2
Super Member
I do not know what your mechanical talents are, but re-foaming isn't too bad on most speakers. The speaker placement is important with small satellites, most sound better off the wall a bit and elevated 3' on stands, but with a good woofer they can be impressive. Actually I think the older units are made with better quality components, unless you are buying a $500
SVS.
SVS.
twiiii
Lunatic Member
M&K speakers can be great if you have clean power and listen in a fairly small space at close listing distances. Less than 8 t0 10 ft has been my experience when listening to them in our sound rooms/ I have a set driven by my NAD HT receiver in the motor home that do a great job. Only the 150 and 300 series work well in larger spaces. We used to stack pairs or triplets of 150's to get the projection we needed in rather large spaces where listening distances could approach 30 ft from the front speakers. M&K re not very efficient so need tons of power in larger spaces, but the tweeters are not very tolerable of high levels, so be care flu. There later subs are terrific units, but their earlier units can be compromised not staying with the pitch of the music.
cwh
33
Picked up the M&Ks and beginning a thorough cleaning. I expect the cabinet's veneer will respond well to Howard's restor-a-finish and some feed-n-wax.
I'm a bit bummed as the sub is a little more banged up than I thought. Nothing critical but the edges of the particle board show some minor cracking, bottom edge dents, etc...
As I already knew the sub will need foam. I found the dust cap isn't adhered well but that just seems to be an adhesive issue and not external trauma.
Sats look good. Stands are ok. Few rounded corners on the bases, small dents, I think after a cleanup they'll be decent.
I'm a bit bummed as the sub is a little more banged up than I thought. Nothing critical but the edges of the particle board show some minor cracking, bottom edge dents, etc...
As I already knew the sub will need foam. I found the dust cap isn't adhered well but that just seems to be an adhesive issue and not external trauma.
Sats look good. Stands are ok. Few rounded corners on the bases, small dents, I think after a cleanup they'll be decent.
cwh
33
The M&Ks cleaned up nicely with the Howard's products. Very presentable. Stuff is great, always recommend using them on tired finishes as they work well given the outcome measured against little amount of effort. Renaissance wax is another great product for finishing and so much more.
The particle board edge grain on black woofer side was showing cracks. I was touching up areas with a sharpie but still had some deeper wood fiber showing. I tried some ebony stain and it worked well. Wet rag over and clean wipe off and it looks factory fresh. Figuring what the hell, I ragged over the faded speaker grill cloth with decent results. Fading is muted, less apparent. Will it hold up as a good fix?
Woofer foam is on order. Looneytune2001 on ebay didn't have them listed so I went with Simply Speakers. Hope that was an ok choice.
The particle board edge grain on black woofer side was showing cracks. I was touching up areas with a sharpie but still had some deeper wood fiber showing. I tried some ebony stain and it worked well. Wet rag over and clean wipe off and it looks factory fresh. Figuring what the hell, I ragged over the faded speaker grill cloth with decent results. Fading is muted, less apparent. Will it hold up as a good fix?
Woofer foam is on order. Looneytune2001 on ebay didn't have them listed so I went with Simply Speakers. Hope that was an ok choice.
cwh
33
Week later with new foam doing some on the floor testing. Brought up HK 330b to use pre amp output.
Issues!
-Transformer hum, increases with bass level knob turn. Same 60hz buzz felt felt on woofer.
-With music the speaker will occasionally make a nasty noise. Quick needle across record sound. More volume = increased occurences. I don't think I have an issue with voice coil rub.
Could this be an issue with the plate amp?
Issues!
-Transformer hum, increases with bass level knob turn. Same 60hz buzz felt felt on woofer.
-With music the speaker will occasionally make a nasty noise. Quick needle across record sound. More volume = increased occurences. I don't think I have an issue with voice coil rub.
Could this be an issue with the plate amp?
Porkloin
Oscar Heil Groupie
By your description, it sounds like a plate amp looking to cross the Rubicon.
I'll catch hell for saying this, but plate amps are such crap. For every one regular power amp failure I know of, I've heard of 10 subwoofer plate amp issues. It doesn't take Bob Carver's smarter brother to simply look at the construction differences between the two to know which one will have the shorter lifespan. Some say life behind a big thumping driver is not conducive to longevity either.
If you've got a preamp or HT receiver with good subwoofer control, a $50 Kenwood power amp off of Craigslist would do the job better and longer.
If I had a photo of Porkloin Plate Amp Generation 1 from the inside, it would pretty much look like it does on the outside - four posts and two fuse holders.
I'll catch hell for saying this, but plate amps are such crap. For every one regular power amp failure I know of, I've heard of 10 subwoofer plate amp issues. It doesn't take Bob Carver's smarter brother to simply look at the construction differences between the two to know which one will have the shorter lifespan. Some say life behind a big thumping driver is not conducive to longevity either.
If you've got a preamp or HT receiver with good subwoofer control, a $50 Kenwood power amp off of Craigslist would do the job better and longer.
If I had a photo of Porkloin Plate Amp Generation 1 from the inside, it would pretty much look like it does on the outside - four posts and two fuse holders.
cwh
33
Yeah makes sense. Reason why it was thrown out rather than the bad foam. I'll mess around some more and maybe pull the amp and take some voltages. I'd like to fix as this will be used for 2 ch listening. I'd like to know more about why they're tough to service as I've gleaned from a few internet mentions.
cwh
33
Think I might've been wrong about the speaker not being source of noise. Used signal generator to test. No rubbing on voice coil but a still a vc issue. I unplugged one of the leads (dual vcs) and the noise pretty much went away. If I cranked it I'd get some crackle buzz. It's probably a sure sign of ________ but I don't know what I'm looking at.
Speaker shows 4 ohm at both terminals. The amp hum reduced without speaker connected.
Speaker shows 4 ohm at both terminals. The amp hum reduced without speaker connected.
Can you get a better shot of the satellite backs, the part above the "SEE INSTRUCTIONS"? M&K sats had two sets of jacks on the back, but they were not intended to be used simultaneously; they were used to connect to different points on the crossover. How do you have the wires from your amplifier run?