• Please note that Audiokarma will be offline briefly for updates early on Monday morning, September 28th.

Unexpected project...Infinty IRS Beta

O.K., I officially hate you :D
I would say that you have too many great speakers for one man to enjoy, except that's impossible. The "too many speakers" part that is. Enjoy :music:

My door is always open to share the wealth! Hell, if anybody in the area wants to borrow/foster some Altec 19's give me a shout. I could use the room!
 
I don't hate you.
But officially I do worry about you and the promise of future audio conquests beyond this:)
 
I will be watching with envy :)

Great find man, I have always wanted to hear a pair.

+10 :banana::banana::tresbon::tresbon::banana::banana:

Cut it out....you bastards are gonna' make me cry. :D

Far too generous with the compliments, gentlemen, but thank you just the same.

heh, you deserve it, a karmatic transaction, everyone happy on both sides.

My door is always open to share the wealth! Hell, if anybody in the area wants to borrow/foster some Altec 19's give me a shout. I could use the room!

I bet there will be plenty to take you up on that, assuming they've got a small U-Haul or full size pickup and some strong friends to load them in.

As for my suggestion, if not endangering the accelerometers, probably would suggest shimming and replacing all the dust caps with new - most of them look like they're pushed in so may as well get it all done at once. Marking and labeling each driver with orientation and placement is such a great idea and well worth the effort.

once you get all the drivers out, the woofer towers will be so much easier to work on and move around! Do these have a shiny finish to them or are they an oiled natural finish - not having seen very many of this series in the flesh, I ask out of curiosity.

Agree with the clean up - looks like you'll need plenty of swiffers, compressed air, and cotton wipes. wonder if there's a product that reduces static attraction of dust you could use on the mid/tweeter panels, like Rain-X for dust instead of water?
 
As for my suggestion, if not endangering the accelerometers, probably would suggest shimming and replacing all the dust caps with new - most of them look like they're pushed in so may as well get it all done at once. Marking and labeling each driver with orientation and placement is such a great idea and well worth the effort.

once you get all the drivers out, the woofer towers will be so much easier to work on and move around! Do these have a shiny finish to them or are they an oiled natural finish - not having seen very many of this series in the flesh, I ask out of curiosity.

Agree with the clean up - looks like you'll need plenty of swiffers, compressed air, and cotton wipes. wonder if there's a product that reduces static attraction of dust you could use on the mid/tweeter panels, like Rain-X for dust instead of water?

Indeed, those original dustcaps will have to go. I pulled one out but it was still creased in several places. I'm not the slightest bit hung up on keeping the originals but certainly would be unhappy with bumpy dust caps.

The finish is clear urethane over Brazilian Santos. It's furniture grade stuff. Very nice. The QLS-1's are oiled walnut and you can kind of see the difference in gloss in the pics.

I've read you can wipe a surface down with anti-static laundry softener sheets for the dryer and it will reduce static charge. I'm gonna be real careful with compressed air around those planar membranes. My vacuum cleaner has a hose end attachment with a real small tip that I'll probably employ. Then I'll go over them with a painters tack cloth and follow up with the appropriate surface cleaner. Murphy's for the wood and some secret sauce I use down at the shop for painted surfaces.
 
Indeed, those original dustcaps will have to go. I pulled one out but it was still creased in several places. I'm not the slightest bit hung up on keeping the originals but certainly would be unhappy with bumpy dust caps.

The finish is clear urethane over Brazilian Santos. It's furniture grade stuff. Very nice. The QLS-1's are oiled walnut and you can kind of see the difference in gloss in the pics.

I've read you can wipe a surface down with anti-static laundry softener sheets for the dryer and it will reduce static charge. I'm gonna be real careful with compressed air around those planar membranes. My vacuum cleaner has a hose end attachment with a real small tip that I'll probably employ. Then I'll go over them with a painters tack cloth and follow up with the appropriate surface cleaner. Murphy's for the wood and some secret sauce I use down at the shop for painted surfaces.


Be careful with the vacuum cleaner- they can harbor large static charges. In the computer world, they are a big no-no for the insides of computers (compressed air is king).

Also, super jealous! Those are my favorite looking Infinitys. I love those big Watkins woofers.
 
I was just thinking about how these are my favorite infinities next to the IRS V. You are a very lucky man.
 
Be careful with the vacuum cleaner- they can harbor large static charges. In the computer world, they are a big no-no for the insides of computers (compressed air is king).

Also, super jealous! Those are my favorite looking Infinitys. I love those big Watkins woofers.

Great point on static buildup. Down here at the shop when we vacuum up the dust in the grit blasting area if the vacuum isn't grounded and you touch it it'll plumb knock you on yer ass! Not sure if such a discharge would damage the planar drivers but I sure don't want to risk it.
 
Last edited:
Artillery rounds

Got all the woofers removed late one night earlier this week. Cabinets are nicely constructed with 3/4" MDF and veneered on the inside as well...though it doesn't appear to be Brazilian santos like on the outside (looks like Philippine mahogany/luan). Between each driver hole is a rectangular cross brace that ties all four sides together. Each cross brace has a 12" diameter hole in the middle. Wiring is all by Monster and from what I remember was 14g. All connections were soldered.

picture.php


They're pretty nasty looking there with all the dust and deteriorating surrounds....but you know as well as I these are diamonds in the rough. Gonna be great to see them all fresh, clean and mean. Which shouldn't be too far away as I took them over to dc270's on Wednesday and he's already hard at work on 'em. :yes:

- Michael
 
The refoam progress is somewhat slow, perhaps methodical. The remains on these woofers is a challenge to get off, especially on the cone and dustcaps.

I hand scrape with a putty knife the biggest parts off, then use a gentle solution of agrreeable paint solvent that does not harm the cone or other parts- only soften the foam remains. Then scrape that off and dose it once again to get the final remains. All is wiped down several time with alcohol and finally windex, front and back. A good 2 hours per driver counting the inner frame foam rings to clean up.

They do look a lot better now, MSound is suppling the correct foams and the
4.25" felt dustcaps. I will write the DCR on the back of each driver for general information. These are vry nice drivers, note the accelerometer stacked on top of the VC- slick!
DC
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0007.jpg
    IMG_0007.jpg
    22.2 KB · Views: 105
  • IMG_0006.jpg
    IMG_0006.jpg
    52.3 KB · Views: 117
  • IMG_0004.jpg
    IMG_0004.jpg
    45.2 KB · Views: 117
  • IMG_0001.jpg
    IMG_0001.jpg
    43.2 KB · Views: 94
Woah, eight 12'' drivers to refoam and you have to replace the dustcaps...lots of work. I've done six of those IMG drivers and I can attest to the fact that removing the old foam and glue is indeed a PITA. I just did a pair of 8'' drivers from a pair of Snell Type J speakers I snagged cheap and boy were they easy. Everything just kinda fell into place on those. On the Kappa 8s and 6s I've done it was a lot more work.
 
They use a 4" foam dudt cap, can't locate those. The glue is a real nut to crack, like black glue on the dust caps and thick white glue on the foams is my best guess.

I will use a 4.25 light weight felt dust cap when I go back
DC
 
They use a 4" foam dudt cap...
I will use a 4.25 light weight felt dust cap when I go back

DC

You can't use felt dust caps unless you coat the inside of them with something non-porous. The OEM foam DC does not breath.

With the vent-holes in the driver cones (as well as the air-gap on the VC) you need to keep the acoustic suspension intact by utilizing non-breatable dust caps. Somebody was making them for a while and selling on ebay. They had the Infinity epsilon logo embossed in them, but they are 4" as well. Lightweight felt and brush-on silicone or similar is prolly your best bet as long as the overall DC weight remains about the same.
 
You can't use felt dust caps unless you coat the inside of them with something non-porous. The OEM foam DC does not breath.

With the vent-holes in the driver cones (as well as the air-gap on the VC) you need to keep the acoustic suspension intact by utilizing non-breatable dust caps. Somebody was making them for a while and selling on ebay. They had the Infinity epsilon logo embossed in them, but they are 4" as well. Lightweight felt and brush-on silicone or similar is prolly your best bet as long as the overall DC weight remains about the same.

Thanks for the heads up here! I can spray them with a sealer and take care off the "breathing" situation- I have seen those embosed Infinity dust caps, they were pricey! The basic black felt looks good with those IMG cones!

Have any idea for an IMG cone polish?

Thanks agin,
DC
 
Foams got here early!!! Looks like a foamie marathon will now ensure- that and juggling my other new L33 project as well!! Got to get cracking......
DC
 
Back
Top Bottom