DBL bass driver rebuild

Does the official DBL gasket 'kit' come supplied wth other parts, in addition to the actual gaskets?

Debs

From what I remember it comes with a tube of silicone sealant and some nice plastic wrapping. 

Ron -- no harm in having a proper naim kit even if i can recover the one in use. The driver rebuild should see another decade or more of life in the speakers

I shouldnt have gone to the cymbiosis site -- I appear to have had a little shopping accident on an ex dem XPS2DR for my ndac. I have something to drive the ndac with which deserves the best chance. Hence improving the psu. 

I hope you did not misplace the slippery 'spacers' that are inserted between the mid-bass cabinet and the mothership...without those it is impossible to gently lower the cabinet onto its silicone bead. DBLs are much easier to take apart than to put together...but then again-what isn't?

i think the spacers come in the dbl pack -- i still have them though, I think

Ron Toolsie posted:

Try gasket tape...you can buy it from DIY stores by the roll for the price of a pint. I used it with one of the DBLs, and it passed the 'driver compression test' and was indistinguishable from the genuine gasket in that regard. Why spend near 200 quid for tar that can be gotten for a ha'penny ;-)

Out if interest I tried the gasket tape initially without the silicone sealant....it failed the compression test. After the required sealant bead was applied it was as good as new. 

What kind of gasket tape would that be Ron ? (Neoprene Sponge, PVC foam, ...)

Mine are fine but good to know.

jon honeyball posted:

i think the spacers come in the dbl pack -- i still have them though, I think

I've a pair you can borrow if you're stuck Jon.

sbilotta posted:

Ron Toolsie posted:

Try gasket tape...you can buy it from DIY stores by the roll for the price of a pint. I used it with one of the DBLs, and it passed the 'driver compression test' and was indistinguishable from the genuine gasket in that regard. Why spend near 200 quid for tar that can be gotten for a ha'penny ;-)

Out if interest I tried the gasket tape initially without the silicone sealant....it failed the compression test. After the required sealant bead was applied it was as good as new. 

What kind of gasket tape would that be Ron ? (Neoprene Sponge, PVC foam, ...)

Mine are fine but good to know.

I think I used the neoprene one. It may be a bit more durable than the PVC one. But like any other gasket replacement, the trick is to get the bead of silicone sealer just right and uniform. The gasket just supplies a compliant base for the sealant. And if it passes the driver poke test, it is doing its job. 

thanks tony

jon honeyball posted:

Update -- boxes have arrived from ATC -- look very strong and up to the job

Realised I need a DBL gasket kit just to be sure. 

Part number 01-006-0117 Gasket Kit, DBL. 

Which costs the princely RRP sum of £167.49.

Which elicited a "HOW MUCH???" from me. Out loud. Heard across the lab.

Everything was going very nice until this!

Words fail.

jon honeyball posted:

Update -- boxes have arrived from ATC -- look very strong and up to the job

Realised I need a DBL gasket kit just to be sure. 

Part number 01-006-0117 Gasket Kit, DBL. 

Which costs the princely RRP sum of £167.49.

Which elicited a "HOW MUCH???" from me. Out loud. Heard across the lab.

Nevertheless, I need it, so have placed order with my dealer, Cymbiosis

jon

Almost as good value as the y-splitter for the S-600 (when running actively using 2 amps not three) that are essentially two pieces of flat plate metal for the princely sum of £149.

atc phoned -- drivers have been rebuilt, will be with me tomorrow

they have returned looking splendid

jon honeyball posted:

they have returned looking splendid

But more importantly, what do they sound like?

no idea - they are in the cartons at the moment! rebuilding the speakers tonight

And are sounding fabulous already -- maybe a little leaner at the extreme LF, but the timing is still rocking.

Oh and note to naim service (and other dibble customers). The foam seals in the kit are getting to be *very* old. Getting the white backing off without it pulling off the glue layer too is nigh on impossible. 

Hi Jon,

Odd as I believe we had some new stocks cut not long ago so they shouldn't be old - I can have replacements sent out to you. Drop me a message privately...

Phil

its ok phil, we sorted it -- but you might want to check one in stores to see what you think?

here is a LF cabinet after applying the new acoustic foam; looks really neat and cool 

Wow looks good, who supplied the acoustic foam? naim?

Mario.

Hi Mario, that was quite a struggle !

Naim didn't have it. I tried many UK and non websites, some of which Naim advised, but they either didn't have it or would sell only to trade customers... at the end I found a shop in Rome who would order for me a minimum amount at nearly the exact spec Naim gave me (in terms of PPI and height), and even using a bit more than what was strictly necessary I had four times the amount that I needed... but the old foam really did need replacement to keep its acoustic characteristics; after more than 10-15 years it just starts to crumble, like the foam grilles, and starts to loose its acoustic absorption characteristics.

This is what remains of the foam sheet.

Thanks Sbilotta, I have sent you an email.

Mario.

Great news, have heard Jon's Dibbles sound wonderful on a couple of occasions, so hope to hear them again now they and the BTW have had some TLC lavished on them.

FYI - Naim no longer have plates for DBL tweeters, the tweeters themselves cost £230.00 each.