NCD - a derelict Sunn project.

[itu]

125 W - 250 W - 500 W - 1 kW 

 

There's a 3 dB step everytime you double the power. Most likely this will be in the 8 dB area, which is quite a lot. If the drivers are more sensitive than the originals, the change will be even more, maybe 10 - 12 dB. And that is a lot. 

[Jackroadkill]

1 minute ago, itu said:

125 W - 250 W - 500 W - 1 kW 

 

There's a 3 dB step everytime you double the power. Most likely this will be in the 8 dB area, which is quite a lot. If the drivers are more sensitive than the originals, the change will be even more, maybe 10 - 12 dB. And that is a lot. 

 

Crucially, the new drivers will not be blown, either!

[Downunderwonder]

9 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

Crucially, the new drivers will not be blown, either!

I would still exercise caution with the 500W Ampeg and the bass knob. You might not be able to melt them but 250W per driver is still a fair poke in the ribs if it's bass heavy.

[Jackroadkill]

Right, the new speakers are here and I've degunked the internals of the cabinet in preparation for fitting them.  Whilst doing this I looked at the cabling and wondered if it's going to be up to the job or potentially going to melt under the workload.  It wouldn't be a big job to replace the existing wiring with some heavier-duty copper, after all, so I may well invest in some for this project.  What do the BC hive mind think?

 

Once it's all together I'll get the Tolex cleaned up; the grille cloth is also disgusting (it's had 40 years - minimum - of spit, beer and bodily fluilds rained down upon it, so that's coming to work for a pressure wash and trauma counselling before it goes back on.

 

 

Side by side comparison.

 

 

 

A (nearly) clean interior; whatever has caused the splashes in the bottom port isn't keen on coming off with water and elbow grease so I may have to get a bit medieval on it.

 

 

 

This is the wiring; do we reckon it's up to the task?  

 

 

 

800w each at peak power should be enough....  Sprung connectors, though.  I might need to do something about those to ensure that the wiring stays attached.

 

So, things are coming on, and hopefully I can get the drivers (which actually fit in the holes cut in the baffle!) fitted soon.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

1 hour ago, Jackroadkill said:

 This is the wiring; do we reckon it's up to the task?  

It's far larger than the wire in the voice coils. 😎

[Jackroadkill]

11 minutes ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

It's far larger than the wire in the voice coils. 😎

Ha, yeah, I didn't think of that..!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Neither do audiophools who spend a fortune on oversized cables that don't do anything other than depleting their bank accounts. 😉

[Richard R]

Nothing useful to add, just following with interest.

🙂

[Jackroadkill]

42 minutes ago, Richard R said:

Nothing useful to add, just following with interest.

🙂

 

No worries, Richard; I was hoping to have something more exciting to show you by this evening but have encountered issues with my soldering iron (as in, it's knackered) and so I've had to order another.

 

I have, however, come up with a plan for the connection of the drivers - tin the cables up, run them through the spring connectors and then heat-shrink them (carefully) into place.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

[JottoSW1]

12 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Neither do audiophools who spend a fortune on oversized cables that don't do anything other than depleting their bank accounts. 😉

Indeed,  some of the Speaker Cable tomfoolery defies credulity. And Power cables.

Edited 18 hours ago by JottoSW1
Autocorrect corrected !!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

3 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

I have, however, come up with a plan for the connection of the drivers - tin the cables up, run them through the spring connectors and then heat-shrink them (carefully) into place.

Don't. Spring connectors work by deforming the copper wire, which prevents it from vibrating out. If tinned it's too stiff to deform. I've been using spring connectors for at least 30 years, have yet to have the wire pull out. 

Quote

some of the Speaker Cable tomfoolery defies credits. And Power cables.

Victor Wooten lost all credibility when he started endorsing huge, and hugely expensive, power cables that don't do anything. I'm surprised he doesn't have a Shakti Stone atop his amp. Maybe they can't afford him? 😮

[JottoSW1]

5 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Don't. Spring connectors work by deforming the copper wire, which prevents it from vibrating out. If tinned it's too stiff to deform. I've been using spring connectors for at least 30 years, have yet to have the wire pull out. 

Victor Wooten lost all credibility when he started endorsing huge, and hugely expensive, power cables that don't do anything. I'm surprised he doesn't have a Shakti Stone atop his amp. Maybe they can't afford him? 😮

Maybe he should check out Gwyneth Paltrow's Jade Egg 😄😄 She can definitely afford him !

[spyder]

18 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Neither do audiophools who spend a fortune on oversized cables that don't do anything other than depleting their bank accounts. 😉

When I worked in the retail side of the hifi industry an old wise manager said.

" Those cables  make a difference to the amount in the till. "

[W1_Pro]

This looks like a completely magnificent project. I hope it ends up sounding as formidable as it looks! 

Bill makes a very good point about cable nonsense. I'm reminded of an event I worked on a few years ago at the opera house in Covent Garden. It was aimed squarely at obscenley rich people, and one of the featured attractions was a display of insanely expensive hifi. The mains blocks they plugged into were a sight to behold. Massive curly mains leads going into twenty amp powercons plugged into these amazing looking six gang plug boards with power conditioning and martindales built in. All of this apparently really helped the transients on the bottom end, the noise floor, etc etc etc etc.  I followed one of these cables behind the set flats, where it was daisy chained into a white plastic four gang which was obviously bought from a pound shop. 'What tangled webs we weave', I thought.....

[rwillett]

Also don't forget to run the cable in the right compass direction to get the best sound. Depends if the copper was laid east/west or north/south when it was made. Also check the moon phase, you will find it makes a clearly obvious sound difference. I had a some speaker cable and changing how it lay so it aligned with the Feng Shui in the living room made such a difference. I also only play the bass when I am orientated NW now because of this. 

 

Ask the retailer for the cable direction and orientation information. All the retailers have it, but they pretend they don't and tell you it's nonsense. You need to keep asking, if you went into the shop with a special hat made of Bacofoil, but make sure its shiny side in and not out, that immediately tells them you are special and can be trusted with the truth. Trust me on this.

 

Let me know how it goes

 

Rob

[Jackroadkill]

20 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Don't. Spring connectors work by deforming the copper wire, which prevents it from vibrating out. If tinned it's too stiff to deform. I've been using spring connectors for at least 30 years, have yet to have the wire pull out. 

 

I think the cables are steel, Bill.  Not sure if that makes any difference?  Still, thanks for the tip; all knowledge gratefully received.

 

I managed to clean the grille cloth today.  After some umm-ing and ahh-ing, I took the agricultural approach and pressure-washed it, which worked a treat!

[stevie]

The cable's probably tinned copper. I wouldn't be happy using 40-year old wire when it's easy enough to replace with some new stuff. 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Steel is highly unlikely, tinned copper is common.