Sbl`s
Posted by: Big Ears on 12 April 2002
and experiment!. My question is can anyone advise me on the setup procedure to get the best out of them before my woman says that she doesn`t like them. By the way i hope that the myth of the Sbl`s not having bass is not true as i like rock!
Regards Gary
The correct sealant comes with a gasket kit. You can either have your dealer do it, or research your way back using the search engine and do it yourself. It's all about attention to detail. If you do it yourself ensure you buy the kit.
My friendly dealer ["give it up for Mr Murphy at Real Music Company!!! Thanks Chris! 
] came over and installed mine yesterday - I was lucky to learn more about SBL's, despite having set up a few pairs in the past. We made a couple of small but significant tuning improvements to the system setup also. The net result (please forgive stream of conciousness) ...
So I sat listening for about an hour after Mr Murphy left, noticing how the system was slowly improving in half-hour chunks. Cable burning in, drivers running in after so many months in a box in transit from UK, silicone bead settling/curing. Returned 45 mins later and sounding better still. Started playing loads of disks, Nenah Cherry - the track with Michael Stipe awesome, that dirty guitar riff penetrating my brain through the left ear - almost hard-wired. Then each of the vocals come in, and then the bas, and WHAM the drums... and everything in the mix holds together. Oh god I love this. "Hmmm - is there a bass cancellation effect in this room?" ... I found the chimney from the wood-burner resonates, will have to sort this out (perhaps some stick-on lead weights for mag wheels?)... then found Massive Attack - Protection. no bass probs - the little man in the system had been swinging off of the BASS CONTACTOR lever switch - and from the first couple of notes - CLUNK - he switched it in. I played "Heat Miser" very loud, and never before had I sat there *wearing* the breathing apparatus. Awesome. Had to tear mysself away to go catch a bus in to town. left the system on (10 oclock vol) repeat. When we got home later it was even better, starting to flow and groove more. I can't wait for the settle-in to finish - this is without a doubt the best music I've ever had in my own lounge. There are further improvements to be made - the spur and earth, the cable-dressing etc, clean the mains plugs... god what will a 52 do in there???
So in summary? Well set up SBL's can tranform listening to music into boundless passion and enthusiasm for your music collection, and your kit. Greeny, I hope you're reading this!!
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio
quote:
So is it so hard to set up these speakers or is just a matter of taking your time and being carefull?
No, it's not difficult, it just takes some time and care. The gasket kit comes with all that you need as well as some excellent instructions.
If you have a fax No. let me know if you want a copy of the 'destructions'
Have you searched the forum? There is quite a lot of good advice on SBL set up already available.
Cheers
Andy
Like most kiwi houses, ours is timber framed construction, bevel-backed weatherboards, steel roof. This isn't rimarily for economy, more that these materials are less likely to kill you in an earthquake than more permanent materials.
We have a double-brick boundary wall (quite unusual here) - this is the wall against which the SBL's stand. There is an additional timber-framed gib-board (thats drywall for you guys in N.A.) wall in front of this, however the (small) cavity between them is filled with fibreglass insulation. It is a pretty solid wall.
The rest of the room is timber framed + gib-board also (walls and ceiling). All walls & ceiling in this room are again, fibre-glass insulated. The large bay-window is double-glazed, which adds some rigidity, along with massive bracing (in its reigid design, and the support of this bay). The workshop added below the room shows very heavy duty timber bearers supporting the floor (overkill to most minds - the guy that made the additions was a construction industry project manager). This is an area for improvement - following Ron Toolsie's recent thread about improvements wrought from sorting out cavities, I will be filling the floor voids soon. It is an odd-shaped room - I will try and sort out a room diagram soon. I am yet to install the power spur, curtains, more furniture (still completing the redecoration).
And on to some SBL setup tips.
Two tips I learned (amongst others) in Friday's setup. 1. When fixing the PAXO x-over to the cabinet, turn the screws only until they touch the rubber grommets, but do not compress them. 2. BassMid driver torque 3.6 nM. Mine took between 1/4 and half turn (!). One of the benefits of having your dealer in is that he/she should have a suitable torque-driver with which to make this adjustment.
Other random thoughts (most of which will come in searching the archives and reading the instructions - not revelations) - do use dishwashing liquid on the gaskets, facilitates easier release later. Do take time on sorting out those pads. press down (as in hold down) the mid-bass assembly for a few minutes after you've placed it atop the silicone bead - ensures it spreads and that the box is resting on the spikes, rather than suspended on the silicone bead.
My system ain't perfect, and there's some way to go to get every ounce of performance out of it. I am however very pleased with the starting point this particular SBL setup has provided. Nitin Sawhney's "prophesy" leaves my spine tingling. That in itself is a huge bonus. The bottom line is its sounding pretty good, and playing music. 
Rico - SM/Mullet Audio