Mach One 4024, 4024A, 4029 Information and Upgrades!
- Thread starter Raddek
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maxhifi
Addicted Member
So did you have to pay more than you sold them for?
These were the pair I gave my friend to use in his cabinet shop, basically payment for letting me build two sets in his shop. I gave 125.00 for them locally. I'm listening to them now having them out in the garage blasting throughout the house. I have the door leading into the house open while I'm grilling some steaks on the porch. They are the ultimate party speakers, so cool to see that they have held up all these years. I hooked my Soundcraftsmen amp to them currently.
maxhifi
Addicted Member
Sounds like a good time! Still snow on the ground here, I had to check your location after reading that! I've had a couple sets of Mach One over the years. I tend to let them go fairly easily because they sell easily and they're common enough you'll be able to find another set pretty easily.
It was January 2013 (post 1603 in this thread) when I assembled these, god how time flies!
Yeah, my friend Bob came up with that feature on top along with the stain color for the bottom panel. He was staining a guitar body he maid with that color and had extra.
Just finished VideoLady mods on a pair of 4024's. Cut three 4" holes, replaced all the Caps and Coils with the correct spec'd ones (Daytons, used 15UF instead of 14). Did the mid-horn mods, braced and sealed the cabinet. Super glued the woofers and sprayed a little Deoxit on the controls.
Did one speaker at a time and compared the VL modded one with the original... What a huge improvement. Just finished the second speaker a few minutes ago.
Thanks, VideoLady wherever you are.
Currently listening to MacArthur Park instrumental and the horns are blowing me away.
Dire Straits up next.
These sound better than my Klipsch Reference Premier 6000F's. More bass, smoother and almost as detailed. Wow!
Did one speaker at a time and compared the VL modded one with the original... What a huge improvement. Just finished the second speaker a few minutes ago.
Thanks, VideoLady wherever you are.
Currently listening to MacArthur Park instrumental and the horns are blowing me away.
Dire Straits up next.
These sound better than my Klipsch Reference Premier 6000F's. More bass, smoother and almost as detailed. Wow!
I was trying to figure out what Receiver or integrated Amp to use with the VL modded Mach 1's. Tried an Akai, Pioneer and a Yamaha. Between the 30W Akai and 85W Yamaha, I had to go with the clarity of the Yamaha ax-500, even though I like the warmth of the Akai. The pioneer was kind of muddy.
So a Wiim Pro plus through a Yamaha ax-500, into the modded Mach 1's and it sounds like a $3-4000 modern system, all for maybe $500.
Love it. What are others using to power them?
So a Wiim Pro plus through a Yamaha ax-500, into the modded Mach 1's and it sounds like a $3-4000 modern system, all for maybe $500.
Love it. What are others using to power them?
I found out that these modded Mach 1s need at least 80 wpc to really shine. Currently running them on my Souncraftsmen gear with 250 wpc, bass is out of this world good.
I found the bass to be similar on the 30wpc Akai vs. The 85wpc Yamaha. Maybe Akai's are way underrated. Or maybe I'm not cranking the volume high enough. Or I need 200+ wpc
I have always found Yamaha gear to be a bit bass shy sometimes. Room acoustics matter a lot too though.
I saw these pop up on Facebook marketplace. These are designed how I think the Mach 1 should have been done with the mid closer to the woofer, tweeter on the top for better soundstage. I know the looks are not the same, but it would have a full grill covering all the drivers. Interesting that the mid horn looks nearly identical to the Mach 1's.
If I ever mod another pair, I want to try this layout.
If I ever mod another pair, I want to try this layout.
Those look interesting. The horn really looks identical to the Mach 1. I wonder how they sound?
socrates75
Well-Known Member
Has anyone tried this yet? i just opened one of my speakers and found mine are indeed upside down, and if anyone has tried this or understands what he is explaining, could you explain it to me on how to arrange the connections right as im having trouble following what he is suggesting lol even a drawing would help lol
EDIT
Ok figured out what he was saying and tried it on one of the speakers, it sounded so much worse, muted and the sound stage completely narrowed, so not sure what he is talking about but i put it all back the way it was and sounds great again....would not recommend
Last edited:
Copa1934
My ears are bleeding
Here we go again. It's in this thread, I know because I've posted, many times. 4024, Foam surrounds (treated), base of cabinet is finished walnut, lifetime warranty. 4024a, std foam surrounds, 5-yr warranty, early units shipped with walnut base, later changed to painted (grey? I'm color blind). Both shared the same components and the 8-screw L-pad/Tweeter plate. 4029 introduced the ferrofluid mid/tweeters and 6-screw L-pad/tweeter plate. This plate is also dimensionally different. Not going into detail, working off memory at this point (everything is still packed away).
Components are ALL interchangeable, though the crossovers ARE different in the 4029. However, the VL crossover design has been confirmed to work with the 4024(a), by myself and others. Woofers, specifications are all the same, even the Mach Two, though they likely will have different part numbers. Radio Shack made a practice of reusing components in other speakers or carrying into newer models, so it's not surprising for a early woofer to show up in a later model.
It's important to remember, people swap out components all the time, mids and tweeters especially due to burn out or the ferrofluid turning into tar. Finding true virgin speakers, given they are in excess of 50 years old, is getting more and more challenging. Don't assume your's are correct, or for that matter mismatched components. What's installed may actually be from the factory. Also, because RS was really good honoring warranties, components could have been swapped out. It's very possible a 4024 could have had later model mids or tweeters installed. So do NOT assume.
On a side note, I've designed an adapter so that an aftermarket compression driver can be used in place of the factory midrange WITHOUT any further modification to the horn. Took me years to locate a stock pair of Mach One speakers, but I haven't found the time to do the comparison testing since acquiring them, yet. Hope to soon.
As stated, working from memory so not even going to attempt to address any other questions. Beside, I'm tired, need to break for lunch and just chill.
Components are ALL interchangeable, though the crossovers ARE different in the 4029. However, the VL crossover design has been confirmed to work with the 4024(a), by myself and others. Woofers, specifications are all the same, even the Mach Two, though they likely will have different part numbers. Radio Shack made a practice of reusing components in other speakers or carrying into newer models, so it's not surprising for a early woofer to show up in a later model.
It's important to remember, people swap out components all the time, mids and tweeters especially due to burn out or the ferrofluid turning into tar. Finding true virgin speakers, given they are in excess of 50 years old, is getting more and more challenging. Don't assume your's are correct, or for that matter mismatched components. What's installed may actually be from the factory. Also, because RS was really good honoring warranties, components could have been swapped out. It's very possible a 4024 could have had later model mids or tweeters installed. So do NOT assume.
On a side note, I've designed an adapter so that an aftermarket compression driver can be used in place of the factory midrange WITHOUT any further modification to the horn. Took me years to locate a stock pair of Mach One speakers, but I haven't found the time to do the comparison testing since acquiring them, yet. Hope to soon.
As stated, working from memory so not even going to attempt to address any other questions. Beside, I'm tired, need to break for lunch and just chill.
Copa1934
My ears are bleeding
I'm not aware of any "production error". Sounds bogus to me. What you experienced sounds correct, changing polarity changes the behavior of the speakers, notably. As you confirmed.