SL2 re-torque

Hi Ken,

I check mine about once a year.  I'm sure some will say this is excessive, and others will tell me that at the very least it should be once a month...

It's easy to do for yourself.  Just buy a decent recently calibrated torque driver that covers the required range (3.6Nm) and a suitable fitting hex bit set. 

Once a year for me too, if you use them at enthusiastic levels it' s a good idea to do so.                                              I' m now wandering if Ovator goes  down the same routine.

Regards

Roberto

I do mine a couple of times a year. Usually takes a couple of clicks on the torque wrench and does tighten up the bass so worth doing. Draper do a reasonably priced 1-5Nm wrench which works well and is easy to adjust. As Richard said you need a hex bit set to go with it.

Definitely need checking regularly. I used to retorque mine every six months & they generally needed an extra tweak. Beware of overtightening though Ken; not only can it ruin the thread insert in the speaker but I'll adversely affect the sound quality. As long as you use a torque wrench you'll be fine as long as you stop tightening as soon as it clicks.

Richard and Roberto -- many thanks for quick response! it would seem that mine are desperately overdue 

i have a German made "Torcofix K"  *UK5550)  -- its 1 to 5Nm so covers the 3.6 required for SL2. I bought this "with good intentions" quite some time ago, but never got round to using it -- i suspect i dont have the suitable fitting hex bit set -- so first step is to get that.

something i found out sometime ago -- my wooden floor is NOT level -- the imperfection is most pronounced on the right hand speaker where is have had to somehow compensate to ensure that the spikes into the floor are not too different in length. i did what i consider a reasonable job sometime ago -- but just wondered whether you experts might have a better idea? if so, looking fwd...

enjoy...

ken

Jonn posted:

I do mine a couple of times a year. Usually takes a couple of clicks on the torque wrench and does tighten up the bass so worth doing. Draper do a reasonably priced 1-5Nm wrench which works well and is easy to adjust. As Richard said you need a hex bit set to go with it.

My God, where have i been?  I already have a torque wrench -- just need to hex bit set.

enjoy

ken

tonym posted:

Definitely need checking regularly. I used to retorque mine every six months & they generally needed an extra tweak. Beware of overtightening though Ken; not only can it ruin the thread insert in the speaker but I'll adversely affect the sound quality. As long as you use a torque wrench you'll be fine as long as you stop tightening as soon as it clicks.

i've been a bad boy! havent checked mine for at least 5 years!!! thanks for the warning re-overtightening Tony.

Noddy time!!! Can you guys advise which and where fixings that need to be tightened are located. i know about the faceplate over the tweeter?

My SL2s sound OK to me -- but from recent experience -- you never know what performance you are missing till you have optimised as much as you can, of course being careful to avoid neurosis taing over...

enjoy...

ken

It's most important to check the bolts holding the interface plates (top and bottom), and the ones holding the mid/bass driver - they should be at 3.6Nm.  Leave the tweeter alone.  

Hi Richard,

What about Ovators ? In a couple of weeks i 'll receive a pair of S600 just fettled by A naim engineer, is there a maintenance routine for them ?

Regards

Roberto

Richard Dane posted:

It's most important to check the bolts holding the interface plates (top and bottom), and the ones holding the mid/bass driver - they should be at 3.6Nm.  Leave the tweeter alone.  

Richard, many thanks...

enjoy...

ken

rsch posted:

Hi Richard,

What about Ovators ? In a couple of weeks i 'll receive a pair of S600 just fettled by A naim engineer, is there a maintenance routine for them ?

Regards

Roberto

Roberto, I don't know - best ask Naim for the info on Ovators.

Ok, Thanks

Regards

Roberto

My non-Naim speakers don't loose torque so much,  I check annually & have done so over the last 5 years & only today (this thread was the prompt) did I get some movement,  but no more than 1/16th of a turn & only on some screws until the torque click.

2nd question -  I run the speakers with the grills on & its surprising how much dust gets settled around the drivers over time;  I hate using a vacuum cleaner - a little Dyson battery thing & despite Dyson's advertising hype, its not exactly a big sucker - so my question is does anyone have any tips on another & maybe safer way to de-dust speakers.

Mike-B posted:

My non-Naim speakers don't loose torque so much,  I check annually & have done so over the last 5 years & only today (this thread was the prompt) did I get some movement,  but no more than 1/16th of a turn & only on some screws until the torque click.

2nd question -  I run the speakers with the grills on & its surprising how much dust gets settled around the drivers over time;  I hate using a vacuum cleaner - a little Dyson battery thing & despite Dyson's advertising hype, its not exactly a big sucker - so my question is does anyone have any tips on another & maybe safer way to de-dust speakers.

Mike, its interesting you should ask this question. i know for a fact that my SL2 sound better to me when i de-dust the grills. How do do that? in the case of SL2s, i just peel off the grills and beat them againt my knee (doesnt matter left or right knee ). not only do the grills look darker after this treatment -- the SL2s also sound better for it...

enjoy...

ken

Richard Dane posted:

It's most important to check the bolts holding the interface plates (top and bottom), and the ones holding the mid/bass driver - they should be at 3.6Nm.  Leave the tweeter alone.  

What is the interface plate - is it the piece at the top with four bolts that you can move around to ensure that the tweeter is central?

HH, the interface plates are the big (and very flat) aluminium plates with the hole in the middle that are affixed to the top of the lower box and the bottom of the upper box (which also holds the PAR filter).  Ensuring these are perfectly torqued up is critical.  However, do not under any circumstances over-tighten the bolts holding the interface plates - doing so can ruin the speakers.

Thanks for the reply (& amusement) Ken,  its not so much the grills - mine are acoustic cloth over wood frames - & a vacuum (even the little Dyson mini) is prefect.  My question was concerning working the dust on & around the drivers,  I normally gently go around first with the mini vacuum cleaner,  then wipe around the wood driver baffle & the driver cages with a lint free cloth dampened with a spray polish.  Then with the damp cloth bunched up in a fluffy ball, gently around the drivers cones.  I don't feel happy doing this around sensitive cones & domes.   ----------  is there a better way ???

Richard Dane posted:

HH, the interface plates are the big (and very flat) aluminium plates with the hole in the middle that are affixed to the top of the lower box and the bottom of the upper box (which also holds the PAR filter).  Ensuring these are perfectly torqued up is critical.  However, do not under any circumstances over-tighten the bolts holding the interface plates - doing so can ruin the speakers.

Thanks Richard, I didn't think the wooden plates at the top were critical. I bought the speakers last September and was told that all torque settings were checked. I guess I need to get hold of a torque driver at some point - it's a shame I sold it when I swapped from Naim speakers to PMC. Ah well.

Mike-B posted:

Thanks for the reply (& amusement) Ken,  its not so much the grills - mine are acoustic cloth over wood frames - & a vacuum (even the little Dyson mini) is prefect.  My question was concerning working the dust on & around the drivers,  I normally gently go around first with the mini vacuum cleaner,  then wipe around the wood driver baffle & the driver cages with a lint free cloth dampened with a spray polish.  Then with the damp cloth bunched up in a fluffy ball, gently around the drivers cones.  I don't feel happy doing this around sensitive cones & domes.   ----------  is there a better way ???

I use a camera lens brush which has very fine bristles.

Hungryhalibut posted:

Thanks Richard, I didn't think the wooden plates at the top were critical. I bought the speakers last September and was told that all torque settings were checked. I guess I need to get hold of a torque driver at some point - it's a shame I sold it when I swapped from Naim speakers to PMC. Ah well.

HH, not wooden plates - aluminium (aluminum for our friends across the pond).  And rather special aluminium at that;  perfectly flat to a very tight tolerance - expensive stuff.  

No, no, I realise that the interface plates between the boxes are aluminium precision jobs. I was referring to the wooden bit at the top that goes round the tweeter - that's what I thought you initially meant by interface plate, and why I was surprised that it might need particular torque settings. 

Ah, OK, no.  I think there was a torque figure of 1Nm put about at some point for the top box fascia - So long as it's not loose and not overly tightened you should be fine.  You just want to prevent it rattling or buzzing.

Jonn posted:        I use a camera lens brush which has very fine bristles.

 

I have a few to experiment with,  a big fat fluffy brush & a puffer that are a bit bush-battered & need replacing anyway.   But an idea comes to mind is with my "Visible Dust" tool,   a brush specially allocated for speaker cones is hardly a bank buster.   

And, for completeness, are there also torque recommendations for the vertical and the horizontal part of the tweeter arm?

Not that I'm aware of.  The horizontal part shouldn't be touched unless absolutely necessary.  And the bolts holding the arms in the vertical should be tight enough to hold the arm as rigidly as possible without stripping the threads or ovalling the hex head sockets.  You need to be careful when tightening these that the arm doesn't ry to move upwards - if you let this happen then aligning everything becomes very difficult indeed!