SBL set-up help

Hi Clive,

I personally would buy the kit from Naim. It is expensive for what you get, unless you factor in peace of mind which is priceless. With diy you just never know...

Huge fan of SBLs since 89 and have just bought a replacement pair of Mk2s. Good luck, once set up they are superb.

Stu

Thanks, Stu - I probably would buy the kit from Naim but I understood they don't market it any more. Have you bought a kit from Naim recently for your MK2s? I think its cost from Naim jumped at one point from about £20-30 to nearly £100 shortly and was then discontinued. My evidence for this is gleaned from various online sources, so may not be reliable!
Clive

Tom Tom list the kit at about £130. With a £20,000 stereo that is doubtless affordable, rather than bodging it up with stuff from B&Q. 

Thanks for your opinion, Nigel. Even if I were to buy the Tom Tom kit, which I don't rule out, some of my questions would still stand. 

Clive

With the kit you've got, I'd go for the real deal.  It's over priced, but you'll know it' right. Ha'p'orth of tar and all that.

The job can be done with Loctite 595, self adhesive 5mm neoprene foam sheet and pads cut from a biscuit tin lid.  Plus Ronseal High Performance wood filler and fairy liquid. (Gleaned from reading many & various things from JV's own recommendations to just experienced SBL users).

Whether the performance would be the same as with the proper kit I have no idea.  Similarly staple guns.

Hi again. My dealer had a kit at about £80. Naim were also able to provide a brand new paxo for about 200 so it would be worth emailing Naim to check availability. I also have new grills from Tom Tom which are excellent (£174).

As Nigel says, small investments in the grande scheme of things. Especially if you love SBLs, nothing new out there gets close in my view before you are spending big money.

Stu

Many thanks for the further advice. I have ordered the Naim kit from my dealer - it's expensive, but I'm willing to pay that for the proper kit. I have no idea why I was convinced that it wasn't available from Naim any more. I had thought that Tom Tom had stepped into the breach and were selling a kit made up by them, which was probably confused extrapolation from their provision of replacement grilles.

As for the pads, advice just received from Naim after expressing worries about shooting staples into sensitive parts of the speakers, was that the pads are self-adhesive and that should be sufficient in the circumstances.

When my dealer ordered the new tweeters from Naim a few weeks ago, they asked about the crossovers and were told they were not available.

Clive

Hi Clive,

Pleased for you about your acquisition of a pair of iconic transducers :-)    I was rather luckier than you, just needing Loctite 595 and pads.

It's worth taking the time levelling the bottom boxes (with spikes as short as poss) and filling any holes in the mid-box before you assemble gasket etc. imo. (Forgive me if this is not news).

Re: the crossovers, I personally wouldn't sweat over them unless they are really old and the SQ is poor.

I've had a look at your set in your profile and we share some similar elements though your choices have been rather more upscale than mine. Um, there is no easy way of saying this, but you are missing an FM radio.

Best, Chris

Thanks, Chris. They are sounding pretty good now with the new tweeters so I don't think there is a problem with the crossovers. I hope another step up will come once they are properly sealed with the new gaskets.

I did have a Leak tuner a long time ago, but I didn't listen to it a great deal - I think I have too many records and CDs. My radio listening is now on a Muso QB, but that's not really the same thing!

 Clive

SL2 cross overs are still available and will work well with SBLs.

There are lots of threads on SL2 xover for SBL a search should turn them up.

They stopped making SL2 crossovers before SBL crossover production ceased, unfortunately. There was an official notice about 12 months ago.

CDB, I expect you'll be quite surprised by how positive the impact of a good re-seal is if you've never done it before and your SBLs are currently compromised.

Thanks, Dave - I should get the kit next week and look forward to an improvement. My only worry now is about getting the old staples out without doing any damage!
Clive

I prised mine out with the flat of a screwdriver under the pad, not the staple. Bit of twisting and she's a good un.

C.

That's helpful - thanks. I had a screwdriver in mind but would have attacked the staples rather than the pads.
Clive

Yup, that's what I thought too. But then I saw how the staples had been driven into the pad with an industrial stapler so that they became embedded. So I went under the pad instead.

C.

Don't forget to pick up some of the Ronseal filler I mentioned. As well as filling any holes caused by the spikes, it can fill staple excision damage. Go careful and you should be ok.

Also a good idea to get some white spirit or somesuch for removing any adhesive the old gaskets leave behind.

Yes, many thanks, Dave - I have the filler ready! And I have anticipated using white spirit to clear the old gaskets. Just waiting for the kit...
Clive

Well yesterday I took the SBLs apart, removed the pads, filled the holes, fitted new pads and gaskets. But have I created a proper seal? The test seems to be the amount of time it takes for the bass drivers to come out if they are gently pushed in. Both drivers react in the same way, but there is no difference from my previous attempt at sealing them. I have been told they could take ten seconds to come back out, which seems unlikely given the short travel involved. Otherwise I have seen 1 or 2 seconds as what is required. I realised in retrospect that I was stupid not to try this before they were sealed, then I would have had a benchmark. More advice, please!

Clive

Hi Clive.   I've just tried mine and the time for the drivers to return to their original position is about the same time as you are saying yours are,  I would think that the slow return movement is down to the vacuum caused by the boxes being sealed. If there was a quick return to norm then I would think that the seals where not sealing correctly, I would use them and listen,  

when my pair where not sealed correctly the base sound wasn't as controlled and I would think you'd notice something wasn't quite right. 

You welcome to pop over to my abode and try/see mine if your worried 

  Steve  

Hi Steve - thanks for your comments. Someone else has said much the same, so I think I do have them properly sealed now. I'll email you further later on.

Clive

Is there still a niff of solvent from the Loctite 595 in the air?! Oh, and how is the music now?

C.

naim_nymph posted:

Presumably this is what you had in mind!

Christopher_M posted:

Is there still a niff of solvent from the Loctite 595 in the air?! Oh, and how is the music now?

C.

Actually it was the remains of the Ronseal wood filler that filled the air this evening wafting out the rubbish bag.

The music sounds good but because I probably had successfully sealed them the first time round, the same as before! Replacing the faulty tweeter was an entirely different matter! Now I know they're working properly and set up reasonably well I can start getting used to the different presentation from the Harbeths - let's say the Harbeths and the SBLs manifest different strengths.

Clive

naim_nymph posted:

These?