i'll try to upload one tomorrow.
Watkins woofers in quantum line
- Thread starter meridian
- Start date
i'll try to upload one tomorrow.
bobrown14
Super Member
+1 on Millersound. I got all my QLS speakers that needed work done there. I live about 10 miles from them so I just dropped them off. Nice folks and more importantly they do mighty fine work at reasonable prices.
Cheers,
Bob
how much is "reasonable"? not much info on their web site.
slimpikkins
Super Member
If you email Bill he will get back to you very quickly sometimes the same day. If you tell him exactly what you need done I'm sure he will give you an honest quote.
My last visit to his shop I took a pair of Infinitesimals 0.1 with a buzzing watkins woofer. On the way out he gave me a cool dvd to watch about the photography of classic album covers called "Under the covers". A week or so later I got an email saying my speakers were ready. He aligned both woofers and swapped out an Emit that was not in spec. (said to save the old one for a spare in a pinch) and ran them through some tests and said they were perfect all for 80 dollars. Also thru in 30 foot of 12 gage ar speaker wire he had for free as I was heading out the door. I think that is why so many people like the Legalls. You will have to pay for their services but will get more in return plus what they do is top notch speaker repair. This is my experience and no, he's not a buddy of mine who I'm trying to help out and I don't work for them.
Jim
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slimpikkins
Super Member
Not sure what they would charge to fix the mid range. He may even have one in his shop. He has a lot of infinity stuff. I know a person who had a new diaphragn replaced on a kappa 9 mid range a while back. Don't know what he charged but the guy was very pleased with the job.
Jim
bobrown14
Super Member
I forget what he charged me, I do know I'm a cheap sob so I would have done it myself if it wasn't reasonable. I think like $60 per woofer for a re-foam, just going from memory. You should be able to call and get a quote for sure.
Cheers,
Bob
The re-foam job is pretty easy, you shouldn't
have a problem just make sure you center the voice coil, I use the 18 hz tone which I have on a CD and use my amps to drive the speaker when glueing it to the basket. I don't like cutting out the domes to center the coils. Now that mid-domes those are a pain, I would take Sicmans offer, as repairing them is a pain, I did 12 of them on my QLS-1's and it was a job. I also have a pair of the QLS-5's they are a nice sounding pair of speakers. To my ears I don't know why all the people go banana's
over HPM100's or JBL 100's when for much less money you can get the QLS-5's when they pop up, I think they sound much better. Deeper tighter bass, sweeter midrange, and the upper end EMIT's blow the Pioneers, and JBL dome tweeters away. Not to mention, the QLS-5's use the nicest veneers on their cabinets, I think that since they are the smallest line in the Quantum line up, they used there best hand picked veneers, they really are superb.Good luck!
I'd be interested. Can you fix the one that I have? Would be a shame to trash it the VC seems fine. It just needs new leads.
I see what you mean about the veneers. They are THICK. These boxes have some serious water damage. Any other veneer would have curled up and cracked but these are just faded. It's really the tops that are in bad shape. The rest can be sanded and refinished.
I'm glad to hear that you like this line. I had Qa's a last year and couldn't stand the sound. Lots of bass and nothing else. And the EMITs were good. Just an odd sounding speaker. I am hoping this one, with the beefy x-over components and midrange is a more well-rounded sound.
jimreeves
Poopy & Me
Is that a Rick Cobb kit?
Be sure to check the condition and glued edges of the spider at the coil and frame when you're at it. My spiders had a bit of sag after 30+ years so it took some adjustments to get the voicecoil centered during the refoam. In other words, centering the cone and surround in the basket didn't center the coil, so I had to shift it a little to avoid scrubbing.
Did you get a 30Hz test tone CD with it?
Be sure to check the condition and glued edges of the spider at the coil and frame when you're at it. My spiders had a bit of sag after 30+ years so it took some adjustments to get the voicecoil centered during the refoam. In other words, centering the cone and surround in the basket didn't center the coil, so I had to shift it a little to avoid scrubbing.
Did you get a 30Hz test tone CD with it?
It is.
And I did!
Thanks for the advice. I'll give this a shot tonight. Already started cleaning one driver. Then will attach the surround to the cone and let it dry overnight.
jimreeves
Poopy & Me
It'll setup faster than that, I did both the same day with about 1 hour setup time for each glue joint. I'd bet money that the glue is Aleene's Tacky glue, anyway it works great for poly or paper woofers and foam. I didn't play them for a day though, just to be on the safe side.
Question:
One of the cones has water stains, like someone spilled something on it year ago. I am thinking of using a black or dark walnut wood stain on the cone to even off the finish. Good idea?
And yes, the glue will set faster, I just won't be able to get back to it until tomorrow.
One of the cones has water stains, like someone spilled something on it year ago. I am thinking of using a black or dark walnut wood stain on the cone to even off the finish. Good idea?
And yes, the glue will set faster, I just won't be able to get back to it until tomorrow.
I have already hi-jacked this thread to the highest degree, so I will keep it going. Hopefully someone will find it useful with this sidebar input.
I started the restoration process on the Watkins woofers:
Before Pictures (I may still replace the dust cap on this one)
A little rust on the baskets and screws. I brushed and painted the baskets and screw heads with POR15, then sprayed a flat black on top for the desired look.
I then took a small foam brush and applied a thin coat of Minwax Ebony stain/sealer. I figured the extra weight on the cone would be negligible and the texture of the material wouldn't be compromised like a spray paint. This evened out a lot of the staining from the POs "beer spills."
After this picture, the new surround was placed gingerly on the cone and set aside to dry. I hope to have the cones completely realigned by the w/e.
Can someone explain to me why the magnets are a different color?
I started the restoration process on the Watkins woofers:
Before Pictures (I may still replace the dust cap on this one)
A little rust on the baskets and screws. I brushed and painted the baskets and screw heads with POR15, then sprayed a flat black on top for the desired look.
I then took a small foam brush and applied a thin coat of Minwax Ebony stain/sealer. I figured the extra weight on the cone would be negligible and the texture of the material wouldn't be compromised like a spray paint. This evened out a lot of the staining from the POs "beer spills."
After this picture, the new surround was placed gingerly on the cone and set aside to dry. I hope to have the cones completely realigned by the w/e.
Can someone explain to me why the magnets are a different color?
the white ring is just the glue. i was letting it tack up, with the the surround upside down, while taking the picture.
i ran the 30Hz signal and some "white noise" and the cone seems to line up fine. will glue it all down before the weekend.
Also, I used the stain on the paper spacers as well, so when those go on, it'll all look new and uniform.
I don't think the stain did any damage. It's such a thin coating, and dries so quickly that it doesn't add really any weight and doesn't soak in enough to cause delamination of the paper cone. If anything it will make it hard for dust to stick to the cone. And the textures of the materials underneath still show through. Sort of like using a black permanent marker, but with more consistent results.
i ran the 30Hz signal and some "white noise" and the cone seems to line up fine. will glue it all down before the weekend.
Also, I used the stain on the paper spacers as well, so when those go on, it'll all look new and uniform.
I don't think the stain did any damage. It's such a thin coating, and dries so quickly that it doesn't add really any weight and doesn't soak in enough to cause delamination of the paper cone. If anything it will make it hard for dust to stick to the cone. And the textures of the materials underneath still show through. Sort of like using a black permanent marker, but with more consistent results.
Excellent work! Now I can learn from you, thanks for leading the way!