| Audio Tweaks - Tweak Ref. 369 |
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| Silicone
resin used inside cabinet for maximum clarity. |
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| 369 |
Morgan |
The
Best |
$30.00 |
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| Sculpture/casting
supply houses |
PlatSil |
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| This
stuff is a two part silicone casting resin kit. PlatSil is
safer than TinSil because the tin catalyst can be toxic. The
resin cures to a moderately soft, totally stable gel. |
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| Remove
the drivers from your cabinets, take out any foam or
stuffing. Turn the cabinets upside down. Mix up two pounds
of silicone for a smaller cabinet, such as my Monitor (about
8x10 inches of top surface) or equivalent for larger
cabinet, so you get around 1 1/2 inches of depth when you
pour it in. |
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| The
silicone resin is poured into the top of the cabinet, where
many resonances disturb the behavior of the tweeter. This
will set up in 24 hours. When it has set , feel the silicone
to make sure. It should have a firm gel feeling with no wet
spots. Turn the cabinet back over and put it back together. |
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| Awesome
increases in image focus and tonal accuracy. My assistant
and I did this to Monitor 50s driven by Cello amps. Then we
went to the showroom and listened to watt/puppies. The w/p
sounded confused and blurred by comparison. |
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Test your cabinets first. If they make a ringing or woody
tone when you give the top a sharp rap, then the cabinet is
a problem. After silicone, the top should have a soft thud
at most, with no decay or ringing. Superexpensive speakers
use similar methods, but why pay a small fortune for what
you can do for $100-$150? |
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| Tony |
Would
it be alright to use silicone sealants readily available
in tubes? Thanks! |
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| Morgan |
It
possibly may. Silicone caulk is much stiffer and won't
flow into a space the way "kit silicone" will.
Also, one part silicones, such as caulks, release a lot
of acetic acid when they harden. This is the acid that
gives vinegar its aroma and bite. You may be placing a
lot of acid vapors into the wall of you cabinet. The
best result is from a soft grade of silicone resin that
will pour out like uncooked pudding and will self level
into a perfectly smooth lake of resin in the head (or
bottom too) of the cabinet. When it sets up it should be
soft, almost fleshy feeling, but solid, with no gooey
spots. You must mix the hardner very thoroughly to make
sure that no uncured gooey pockets will be in the final
state of the resin. |
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| Julian |
Sounds
like a far more economical alternative to the
rubber-like panels available for lining the inside of
speaker cabinets albeit without ringed surface. |
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