Phase Linear (Andromeda) Phase III speakers -familiar with these?
- Thread starter SpeakerLabFan
- Start date
harleyrider
Super Member
BankShot
A Work In Progress
I have this old Module from the late 70s , it was from my cousins set as you have pictured. Very nice as i can remeber, yours looks great and i bet they sound even better.
HarleyRider - Are you wanting to sell your module by chance. If so let me know how much you want for it.................
Thanks.........Terry
PS: I ride an '07 Deuce and just got back a short while ago from a great ride.............
I don't need to go all that far to listen to them, the guy invited me over to audition them, I am trying to break my leg to keep from going over there and listening to them as the last thing I need is another pair of big speakers! And thanks for the link to the Carver repair site, I will contact them about my PL 700 II amp and I am having a problem with my PL 4000 II preamp. I had to purchase another preamp for the time being, I found a good deal on a Carver CT-4000 preamp, and it sounds very good, it just doesn't quite match all my old Phase Linear silver faced stuff. I only pair 200 dollars for it and its very clean, I can't beleive I got it for that price to be honest with you. I figured I would have to pay at least double that.
I contacted them today and I was happy with the tech's attitudes and answers, seemed very capable. I will box up an amp that I am having problems with and send it to them. They also claimed that they would have no problems fixing some of my SAE gear. Maybe they can fix my SAE A class.
Thanks very much for the link!
New Ak member here, looking for help.
Hey Guys,
First of all let me tell you how excited I am to see that someone else in the world has heard of the Phase 3 panels. I have talked to quite a few self-proclaimed audio files in the past couple weeks, and none of them had heard of Phase Linear speakers, they all think that the Carver Silver series were the first Bob Carver speakers..
Anyways, I recently bought a pair of these from my dad, kinda like buying your inheritance I suppose, dad bought these brand new in 1980, when I was just a baby, I grew up with these awesome speakers. Dad was powering these things with a Phase 700 series 2 amp, which he threw in for free (although it is in need of repair). I lucked up the next day and found a Sunfire Theater Grand 2 preamp on CL for dirt cheap, so now I need to get some things together.
My desire is to do some minor refurbishing on these panels and on the sub module, they have taken a bit of abuse over the years and have some problems. On my first diagnostic I tried to test the impedance on the back of the panels, does anyone know what this should read? I get open circuit on both!... I Thought it should read around 6 ohms. I noticed that one of the crossovers has a melted piece, it is black and looks like a cap? What I really need is a factory service manual and a parts list. I was thinking that the ohm reading was not right, so I checked the drivers individually and they all ohmed out between 4 and 8 ohms - So I think the crossovers may just need an overhaul. But this is why I am asking you guys, what do you think? And what kind of experience have you all had with these? ANyone ever tested the ohms at the poles just for giggles?
Thanks in advance for any help. I look forward to introducing my little boy to home audio the way that God and Bob Carver intended!
Hey Guys,
First of all let me tell you how excited I am to see that someone else in the world has heard of the Phase 3 panels. I have talked to quite a few self-proclaimed audio files in the past couple weeks, and none of them had heard of Phase Linear speakers, they all think that the Carver Silver series were the first Bob Carver speakers..
Anyways, I recently bought a pair of these from my dad, kinda like buying your inheritance I suppose, dad bought these brand new in 1980, when I was just a baby, I grew up with these awesome speakers. Dad was powering these things with a Phase 700 series 2 amp, which he threw in for free (although it is in need of repair). I lucked up the next day and found a Sunfire Theater Grand 2 preamp on CL for dirt cheap, so now I need to get some things together.
My desire is to do some minor refurbishing on these panels and on the sub module, they have taken a bit of abuse over the years and have some problems. On my first diagnostic I tried to test the impedance on the back of the panels, does anyone know what this should read? I get open circuit on both!... I Thought it should read around 6 ohms. I noticed that one of the crossovers has a melted piece, it is black and looks like a cap? What I really need is a factory service manual and a parts list. I was thinking that the ohm reading was not right, so I checked the drivers individually and they all ohmed out between 4 and 8 ohms - So I think the crossovers may just need an overhaul. But this is why I am asking you guys, what do you think? And what kind of experience have you all had with these? ANyone ever tested the ohms at the poles just for giggles?
Thanks in advance for any help. I look forward to introducing my little boy to home audio the way that God and Bob Carver intended!
SpeakerLabFan
< speakerlab 7's
Welcome to AK! :wave:
You're among friends here, enjoy those speakers!
I have the Phase Linear Andromeda service manual. Send me a PM if you can use some scanned pages. :thmbsp:
Pl3s.
Hey guys, thanks for the warm welcome. I will send off an email to Bob here in a few minutes. I had another question to post here about these speakers, does anyone know if I could find 2 pairs of stands? Dad never used his stands and now they are lost, so you kind of have to lean these things against the wall. I suppose I could probably fabricate some, I do have a vague memory of how they were designed, but I would love to find some originals.
I was also wondering if anyone had a line on a good supplier of foam surrounds, especially for those 4" mids, I have a couple that look brittle, and one that is missing a piece.
One thing I would love to know, what are the factory specs on these PL3s, I was especially wanting to know about the power handling. Dad always ran them with a Phase 700 series 2 amp, and it never seemed to run out of power.
Thanks again everyone.
Hey guys, thanks for the warm welcome. I will send off an email to Bob here in a few minutes. I had another question to post here about these speakers, does anyone know if I could find 2 pairs of stands? Dad never used his stands and now they are lost, so you kind of have to lean these things against the wall. I suppose I could probably fabricate some, I do have a vague memory of how they were designed, but I would love to find some originals.
I was also wondering if anyone had a line on a good supplier of foam surrounds, especially for those 4" mids, I have a couple that look brittle, and one that is missing a piece.
One thing I would love to know, what are the factory specs on these PL3s, I was especially wanting to know about the power handling. Dad always ran them with a Phase 700 series 2 amp, and it never seemed to run out of power.
Thanks again everyone.
Welcome waynedb,
You have been raised on some wonderful speakers and equipment. Lucky you. And your son, lucky him. I guess that SpeakerLabFan has hooked you up with the specs that you need. There are some very knowledgeable folks here to be sure. If you still have questions after getting the info SLF sent you, please ask away. I can get the measurements for the stands for you if you wish but you might have to fab. a pair.
Recommended power 50-350wpc for Phase III's.
Surrounds I can't help you with but there are others on AK that probably can.
You have been raised on some wonderful speakers and equipment. Lucky you. And your son, lucky him. I guess that SpeakerLabFan has hooked you up with the specs that you need. There are some very knowledgeable folks here to be sure. If you still have questions after getting the info SLF sent you, please ask away. I can get the measurements for the stands for you if you wish but you might have to fab. a pair.
Recommended power 50-350wpc for Phase III's.
Surrounds I can't help you with but there are others on AK that probably can.
Hello again everyone.
So I just received my amp, I decided on a Pm 1.5 Carver - picked it up on ebay for less than $200, great amp with more power than these Pl3s will ever need. I am using a Sunfire TGP2 preamp, and wow this is a great setup. I have 2 problems, and I need everyones help with these....
1. Seems like I have a 12" sub that is dead, actually makes a scratching sound when you manualy move the cone and it blew the 4 amp fuse. Anyone know where I can either find a replacement or get it reconed? I have been searching for the specs on the CTS 12g that Bob used, so maybe I could find a similar replacement. I am sure 30 year old technology has got to have a far superior modern day replacement. Any ideas?
2. My Sunfire Preamp has balanced (XLR) outputs, my Carver pm 1.5 has balanced inputs. I hooked them up with the xlrs, but I realized that I am cutting out the control module, my question is - this Sunfire is pretty nice, with holographic imaging and various other EQ controls (I am not a fan over Over-EQing a stereo) it has rca outputs as well, do you guys think I should hook this system up with the Rca patchs and put the control module back in the mix? My amp has the 1/4" mono inputs and I have a set of the 1/4" mono to rca adapters, so it would not be difficult to wire it up as such.
Even with one sub down and a 4" mid that has a bad surround, this system blew my wifes hair back when I fired it up for the first time tonight. And my little boy danced around the living room, kinda like his dad did almost 30 years ago. Can't explain how it feels - kinda cool to say the least.
So I just received my amp, I decided on a Pm 1.5 Carver - picked it up on ebay for less than $200, great amp with more power than these Pl3s will ever need. I am using a Sunfire TGP2 preamp, and wow this is a great setup. I have 2 problems, and I need everyones help with these....
1. Seems like I have a 12" sub that is dead, actually makes a scratching sound when you manualy move the cone and it blew the 4 amp fuse. Anyone know where I can either find a replacement or get it reconed? I have been searching for the specs on the CTS 12g that Bob used, so maybe I could find a similar replacement. I am sure 30 year old technology has got to have a far superior modern day replacement. Any ideas?
2. My Sunfire Preamp has balanced (XLR) outputs, my Carver pm 1.5 has balanced inputs. I hooked them up with the xlrs, but I realized that I am cutting out the control module, my question is - this Sunfire is pretty nice, with holographic imaging and various other EQ controls (I am not a fan over Over-EQing a stereo) it has rca outputs as well, do you guys think I should hook this system up with the Rca patchs and put the control module back in the mix? My amp has the 1/4" mono inputs and I have a set of the 1/4" mono to rca adapters, so it would not be difficult to wire it up as such.
Even with one sub down and a 4" mid that has a bad surround, this system blew my wifes hair back when I fired it up for the first time tonight. And my little boy danced around the living room, kinda like his dad did almost 30 years ago. Can't explain how it feels - kinda cool to say the least.
BankShot
A Work In Progress
Hi all you PL Andromeda III affecionados. Been a while since I posted anything on this speaker system but after last night felt I had to let everyone know what an incredible listening experience I had with mine. I recently purchased the Nils Lofgren "Accoustic Live" CD and have listened to it several times at lower volume levels due to others being around. Well last night I was alone and in need of a PL Andromeda "fix" so in went the CD, up went the volume control to my "room filling" level, out went the lights and I settled in to listen to Nils do his stuff. Incredible performance with some incredible realness coming from this system. Like he and his small group were right there in the room with me playing live up close and personal. This system just continues to impress and amaze me to this very day. The ability it has to duplicate the sound of a guitar and vocals is purely phenomenal. Okay so I am being a bit biased here of course but I can honestly tell everyone that over the many years I have owned this system I have only heard two other systems that I would consider trading for it. One was a custom made and installed system that cost more than my house, the other an original Inifinity IRS system that had been professionally installed and tweaked to the owner's sound room. My meager Andromedas weren't even in the same ballpark as those two systems but they still sounded as good to my ears in my room. That's it, just wanted to chime in here and do my thing and keep the PL Andromeda thread/s alive...................
Good listening to all............Terry
Good listening to all............Terry
SpeakerLabFan
< speakerlab 7's
It's fun to revisit one of my favorite threads about one of my favorite speakers. I have had my Andromedas back in the main system for about a month now, driven with a big Crown amp and splitting time with the JBL monitors.
Sorry to hear about the issue with the submodule's driver Wayne, and I hope that you have sourced a replacement. I don't have a specific suggestion for either of the issues, for #2 try listening with and without the PL Control Module. I am not an EQ / Tone control / Loudness guy, and I haven't seen any drawbacks to using the control module in the system. I got a kick out of your description of the response from your wife and son to the Andromedas. :thmbsp:
:yes: I find these speakers do alot of things right to my ears. It may be that I'm predisposed to like them because I grew up listening to conventional drivers, which Carver used here while, in the words of Tom Brennan early in this thread, "trying to get the spacious sound of planar dipoles using conventional drivers but also with lower distortion and better dynamics". I've listened to the spacious sound of Magnepans and Carver Amazings, and I've been very impressed but I find myself coming back to the Andromedas - and that could be due to my room setup or my sources or my predisposition to like the sound that Carver acheived here with the conventional drivers. but, any case, it's a lot of fun. :thmbsp:
Here's an updated picture of my Andromedas - I pulled the grilles off to inspect the drivers - all is well, confirmed by my ears.
Sorry to hear about the issue with the submodule's driver Wayne, and I hope that you have sourced a replacement. I don't have a specific suggestion for either of the issues, for #2 try listening with and without the PL Control Module. I am not an EQ / Tone control / Loudness guy, and I haven't seen any drawbacks to using the control module in the system. I got a kick out of your description of the response from your wife and son to the Andromedas. :thmbsp:
:yes: I find these speakers do alot of things right to my ears. It may be that I'm predisposed to like them because I grew up listening to conventional drivers, which Carver used here while, in the words of Tom Brennan early in this thread, "trying to get the spacious sound of planar dipoles using conventional drivers but also with lower distortion and better dynamics". I've listened to the spacious sound of Magnepans and Carver Amazings, and I've been very impressed but I find myself coming back to the Andromedas - and that could be due to my room setup or my sources or my predisposition to like the sound that Carver acheived here with the conventional drivers. but, any case, it's a lot of fun. :thmbsp:
Here's an updated picture of my Andromedas - I pulled the grilles off to inspect the drivers - all is well, confirmed by my ears.
BankShot
A Work In Progress
- WAYNEDB - I don't know where you reside but I recently had to have my Andromeda Bass Module re-coned simply due to age. Found a guy in Sacramento who did an excellent job on it. And he doesn't charge an arm and a leg either. Fortunately I live driving distance to Sacramento so it was easy for me to load the module into my truck and take it to him. He took it all apart and tested it all out after the job was done. He charged me $75 per woofer and $40 labor. I thought that was pretty reasonable in today's world. You can also send him the woofers via UPS/FedEx if you live out of state, etc. He has a quick turnaround too. Hope this helps if you are unable to locate someone in your area to do the job. Let me know if I can help you in this matter if you need me to. No problem helping a fellow PL Andromeda III owner...............
- Regards.............Terry
It's good to see this thread being used again. Good description of the sound as well as your wife and sons reaction. Congrats on the new amp. btw.
BankShot
A Work In Progress
I forgot to tell you Andromeda fans that I am currently working on a deal to pick up a second set of them. I have been wanting to do this for some time so I can try hooking up a second bass module into my existing system and find out if it will further balance the bass in the room out even better. From everything I have read and been told, if placed properly and run with an equal amount of power, it will. I have drawn up a schematic as to how I will hook it up using my existing equipment and I hope I am doing it correctly. Bottom line I plan on using one module for each channel and using a single SAE P500 amp to run everything. It should for sure have the power to do this. I "think" I have it figured out but am open to any suggestions anyone might have to accomplish this. Anyway, I am getting excited right about now as I am close to making a trip to check this system out and make sure it is working. No doubt the bass module will need re-coning based on age alone but thankfully I have found a guy who can and will do this. Other than that, all is well in my world and I am continually amazed after all these years at the sound that comes from this system. Those of you who own it know what I am saying...................
Regards, Terry
Regards, Terry
Last edited by a moderator:
djv8ga
Super Member
Are these Andromeda's For $20.00?
I have no affliation with this ad.
Check these out...
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/ele/1837635197.html
I have no affliation with this ad.
Check these out...
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/ele/1837635197.html
BankShot
A Work In Progress
I have no affliation with this ad.
Check these out...
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/ele/1837635197.html
Looks to be pretty trashed but if the individual speakers are still good they are certainly worth $20 for the pair. Wonder if it includes the bass module? Doubtful as I would think the seller would have stated there was another piece with it and also included it in the picture? Hope somebody in the area can jump on these and grab them up to use as parts perhaps? I sure would if I lived near Phoenix...............
Regards, Terry
I think I would also. The screens look like they have seen better days but the panels and drivers look to be in not to bad a shape. Hope some AKer gets them and they work as they should. Good luck Terry in getting your 2nd set. Please keep us posted.
I called the phone # and left a message. Hope the person will ship just the individual drivers and the feet. Lets see what happens.....