Assembling SBLs and silicon

Posted by: JohnS on 11 July 2001

Hello

Looking for advice here - I recently got given a pair of SBLs as a hand-me-down from a friend. There was no manual but the assembly seems pretty straightforward except that I was a little reluctant to put any silicon sealant on the gasket between bottom and middle boxes until I got some advice from the Naim Forum denizens. Could anyone tell me (1) which silicon sealant to buy and (2) exactly where it goes.

I wish they were cherry (like my old Triangle Zephyrs) instead of black frown

Posted on: 11 July 2001 by Jo Sharp
Get Naim Audio North America to send you a gasket pack and instructions; should include new gaskets, aluminium pads and silicon sealant to do a full rebuild. Should only cost a few dollars.

Jo

Posted on: 12 July 2001 by Bruce Woodhouse
Great friend!

Does he have anything else he doesn't want?

My SBL's were installed yesterday by my dealer. watching the performance it all seemed pretty straightforward and as per the instructions so once you get the right mastic i would not fret too much.

They sound delicious-and its very early days yet

Bruce

Posted on: 12 July 2001 by woodface
Bruce, make sure that you give the SBL's some volume after the first 48-hours. This will really bring them out, 10 o' clock position on LP or 9 on cd. I thought mine sounded great until after I had cranked them up at a party - afterwards they were just so much more open.
Posted on: 12 July 2001 by Rico
Jo's dead right. There'll be instructions for the kit in with it too.

Spend your time while you wait for this by VERY carefully levelling the bottom boxes so there is absolutely no rocking whatsoever, and cleaning off the old gaskets, removing the old pads if they're pierced out so that the spikes munt out the timber below. Ensure they're as close as possible to the back wall with no toe-in. Equal distances to back wall preferable.

So hey, does this mean you'll get hand-me-down DBL's in a decade or so?

Rock on.

Rico - let them eat Kans.

Posted on: 12 July 2001 by Bruce Woodhouse
Thanks Woodface for the tip about giving them a bit of a blast. They are ex-dem so I suspect they are already fairly loose. No reason not to give them some welly though!

Brce

Posted on: 12 July 2001 by Mark Gilbert
Congratulations!!! I consider that a Fantastic hand-me-down!
They are simple and "easy" to assemble but I haven't seen anyone mention in this thread that during assembly you need to be Gentle to avoid putting more than a small dimple in the aluminum pads that are on the top of the bass chamber. This will be clear in the instructions you receive if you follow the recommendation to get new gasket/pads/silicone but I wanted to include it here in case you want to try anything before you receive new parts.
EnJoy!
Mar
Posted on: 12 July 2001 by Martin M
Put some washing up liquid (dish soap in the US) on the top of the gasket between the mid/bass driver cabinet and bass box, and on the bottom of mid bass box where the silicn will touch it before you put the silicon seal on. This will make disassembly easier and prevent you trashing the gasket and the mid/bass cabinet's veneer.

Make sure the the tweeter's 'connecting arms' are done up nice and tight on the bass box (but without crushing the 'eyes' of the socket) this makes a big difference to the treble quality.