GD70
Lunatic Member
Hey all!
My friend who's KEF 104.2s I restored several years ago asked me to get his BBSMs working again if I was interested, well, hell yeah!
He use to be in sound in TV and Movies. These came from one of the studios he had worked in that closed its doors. He told me a lot of stuff was being tossed in the dumpster, and he grabbed three of these. Left-Right-Center channel. 6th order crossovers! Every component was measured and noted on small labels so everything matched. I read they take about a week to build the crossovers! I didn't touch them! All top quality caps, coils and resistors. I counted 13 caps, 11 coils, 6 resistors. I pretty much takes up the entire back panel which is removable.
There's thick, proprietary, heavy damping soundproof compound on every surface including the driver baskets. The crossover components and wiring are covered with silicone so nothing moves. This creates a complete inert box, essentially a cement block! They are not that large, but weigh a ton!
Speaker info off the web:
The Westlake Audio BBSM-6 is a legendary three-way, passive, reflex-loaded studio monitor featuring a distinctive horizontally aligned driver arrangement. [1, 2, 3]
Key Specifications
Performance & Usage
I tested all the drivers, and the tweeters were dead. They are Audax, and I ordered the correct equalivents (newer improved) from Madisound. Also ordered 2
lbs of "Fill" from Madison to replace the stinking fiberglass.
The mids have flat surrounds and I sourced them from Audiofriends in the Netherlands.
Lastly I needed a soundproof compound to put on the new tweeters magnets like the originals, and used Titebond Acoustic Sealant.
The cabs needed some minor repairs, one corner was smashed in a bit. I used JB WeldWood to build it up and shape to the original contours. These are painted black, so I wasn't worried about matching veneer.
When I removed the drivers, there's a rubber gasket under east, and it had some kind of oily stuff on them, I suppose to keep them from drying out, and easy driver removal. Every thing is soldered, no clips.
Once I had everything completed and reassembled, they sounded great, though I would say they are not great for home HiFi, these are clinical, revealing studio monitors for mixing.
Extremely detailed, dimensional. Bass is there, but not chest thumping at all.
Here's pics!
Cheers, Glenn
My friend who's KEF 104.2s I restored several years ago asked me to get his BBSMs working again if I was interested, well, hell yeah!
He use to be in sound in TV and Movies. These came from one of the studios he had worked in that closed its doors. He told me a lot of stuff was being tossed in the dumpster, and he grabbed three of these. Left-Right-Center channel. 6th order crossovers! Every component was measured and noted on small labels so everything matched. I read they take about a week to build the crossovers! I didn't touch them! All top quality caps, coils and resistors. I counted 13 caps, 11 coils, 6 resistors. I pretty much takes up the entire back panel which is removable.
There's thick, proprietary, heavy damping soundproof compound on every surface including the driver baskets. The crossover components and wiring are covered with silicone so nothing moves. This creates a complete inert box, essentially a cement block! They are not that large, but weigh a ton!
Speaker info off the web:
The Westlake Audio BBSM-6 is a legendary three-way, passive, reflex-loaded studio monitor featuring a distinctive horizontally aligned driver arrangement. [1, 2, 3]
Key Specifications
- Type: 3-way, passive, stand-mounted, front-ported nearfield/midfield reference monitor
- Drive Units: Two 6" plastic-cone woofers, one 3.5" pulp-cone midrange, and one 1" soft-dome tweeter
- Frequency Response: 60Hz–18kHz (±3dB)
- Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms (minimum 2 ohms)
- Sensitivity: 91dB/W/m
- Dimensions: 10.75" H × 22" W × 13" D (27.3 × 55.9 × 33 cm)
Performance & Usage
- Design Purpose: Built for high SPL, low phase distortion, and precise stereo imaging in professional control rooms and broadcast suites. [1]
- Reputation: Praised by engineers for accurate translation across mixing and tracking environments, though proper heavy-gauge speaker wiring and careful amp pairing (such as classic Bryston amplifiers) are recommended due to the demanding 2-ohm minimum impedance load. [1, 2]
- Variants: The standard BBSM-6 featured a black utility finish, while the BBSM-6F version came in an oiled walnut veneer.
I tested all the drivers, and the tweeters were dead. They are Audax, and I ordered the correct equalivents (newer improved) from Madisound. Also ordered 2
lbs of "Fill" from Madison to replace the stinking fiberglass.The mids have flat surrounds and I sourced them from Audiofriends in the Netherlands.
Lastly I needed a soundproof compound to put on the new tweeters magnets like the originals, and used Titebond Acoustic Sealant.
The cabs needed some minor repairs, one corner was smashed in a bit. I used JB WeldWood to build it up and shape to the original contours. These are painted black, so I wasn't worried about matching veneer.
When I removed the drivers, there's a rubber gasket under east, and it had some kind of oily stuff on them, I suppose to keep them from drying out, and easy driver removal. Every thing is soldered, no clips.
Once I had everything completed and reassembled, they sounded great, though I would say they are not great for home HiFi, these are clinical, revealing studio monitors for mixing.
Extremely detailed, dimensional. Bass is there, but not chest thumping at all.
Here's pics!
Cheers, Glenn
