The parts I used to upgrade my KEF Q350s can be found below. Amazon Basics sound deadening material: amzn.to/421NpDl Polyfill: parts-express.sjv.io/3JkZnd Sonic Barrier 3/4" foam damping: parts-express.sjv.io/qzW09b Inductor .9mH 18AWG (2x): parts-express.sjv.io/6ykdOG Mills 1.5 ohm resistor (2x): parts-express.sjv.io/Bn5y6q ClarityCap Copper Connect Capacitors 2.2uF (4x): www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/claritycap-csa-capacitor-250vdc/claritycap-2.2-mfd-csa-copperconnect-poly-cap-250v/ Supra Series Speaker Cable: www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/speaker-wire/supra-classic-1.6/bulk-cable-per-foot-15-awg/
Maybe a tip from a car audio nut…Use a hairdryer or heatgun to pre-heat the butyl Amazon basic stuff..Makes it more elastic and usually there wouldn’t be a need for extra glue..
I did this with BOTH my NOS Energy RC-10 bookshelf speakers and my PSB Imagine XB bookies. Even though both are built pretty well (for mass-produced speakers), the cabinets are where the FIRST compromises happens in virtually ALL mass-produced speakers. Strategically-placed, self-adhesive butyl sheets combined with a 3/8" or 1/2" round dowels across the sidewalls of each speaker (10mm - 13mm) - and a bit more open-cell foam or Rockwool as damping material - goes a LOOONG way towards stiffening up the cabinets to reduce cabinet resonances and vibrations, which all leads to a slightly lower/more linear bass-reflex tuning, significantly tighter/damped mid-bass output, and much clearer mid-ranges/vocals. Cheap, easy, effective, and good for just about any mass-produced speakers - win, win, win, win - IMHO......
Remember that when changing out iron core inductors with air core to keep the same DCR. If you don't do this you'll lower the output of the midbass driver thus changing the phase relationships between the midbass and tweeter. Matching the same DCR as an iron core almost always means having to use a very large, thick gauge and expensive inductor.
Interesting. I upgraded all crossover parts in my Martin Logan motion lx 16 speakers and I think I’ve experienced this. May have to look into trying larger inductors…and yeah they do get pricy.
On my two way stand mount speakers, the DCR on the new air core is 50% higher than the factory iron core inductor. To offset this, I added more resistance to the tweeter circuit and it sounds great.
I am using a 3rd Order 2kHz XOver designed by Hifialex a few years back, additional bracing below the Terminal and 15mm self adhesive Felt on Top, Sides and Back, the Stock Damping Material on the Bottom. Almost perfect Constant Directivity pattern because of the reduced overlap, 0.8-10kHz vs 1.3-3.5kHz and much improved in Room response. I‘ve spent 70€ and 1.5 hours per Speaker. I have also mixed different quality MKP Capacitors for the Tweeter, 20% of the value in good quality.
Hi Pete! Yeah, that's a great idea and I remember doing that back in the day when all I had were cheap speakers. I don't think the speaker basket is the source of the resonance but I could be wrong. The reason I say that is because the engineers at KEF used Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to develop the speaker basket so it would be equal in rigidity to a cast speaker basket. I think the resonance at under 200Hz has to do with the big Z-Flex surround that KEF uses on their drivers. I have heard this is pretty common on KEF speakers? When I get more time maybe I'll do some testing to see if I can find the source of those resonances.
Great job. Very interesting. I'd like to see more of these upgrade videos on budget speakers. I think the Heco Aurora 700's and the Cerwin Vega LA series speakers would be good candidates if you still have them.
The Heco Aurora 700 is definitely a speaker I want to tinker with. I already have a new tweeter in mind for it but now I'm just waiting on Dayton Audio to come out with their new measurement microphone and software package. I can't dial in the tweeter without these tools. Hopefully it will be out soon so I can buy it and start playing with my Aurora 700s again.
Switching to a 14ga. air-core inductor made a huge improvement in bass. It's deeper, faster, and more impactful. I switched the 4.4 uF cap for two Audyn Q4 2.2uF caps in parallel and changed the sandcast resistor for a Mills resistor. I feel the highs are more refined . I also added damping to the cabinet. A very worthwhile investment- these speakers sound HUGE.
Ah. I wish you would have shared the after measurements to see what happened. I love these sort of diy hacks and really want to know. I wouldn't expect all resonances to be fixed since kef apparently needs to do some crazy stuff to get the resonances out of the driver with the meta mat on their uni-q drivers. Well. Thanks for the efforts. Have a good holiday!
Hello! I did share the after measurements of the cabinet. I was able to eliminate the cabinet resonances that were taking place at 300Hz and also the one between 6 and 700Hz.
@@generationbehindhifi Oh Nice! I was curious visually how different the resonance was, and the graph didn't show that range. If you're saying totally gone, then I get pretty excited about doing something in the future with some low cost KEF's sitting on top of a pair of some monster sealed subs (JTR, SB17, Ultimax 18ii) crossed over at somewhat high like 2-300Hz, as I think most of these smaller 2-way KEF's just start getting muddy. Maybe that's a video idea ;)
Yes! Thank you! Not sure it will tackle my particular issue without minor change to crossover point, still very appreciative of your efforts. I may give it a try, what do you think?
No problem! Tinkering with speakers is a great way to learn about speaker design. If you really want to learn more about this hobby, then I highly recommend getting a copy of the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook. There are a lot of great proven design theories in that book that will you learn about good speaker design methodology.
Great Video. Thanks for doing this for us. What is the tool you used to check for resonance? Maybe do a video on that as well as how to use it properly. I would love to give that a shot on some of my speakers. Just don't know how to do it properly. Also, what's up with rolls of insulation stuffed into the corner of the cabinet? Does KEF not have any quality control? Geeze!
Sure. I might be able to accommodate your request. I'm using a Dayton Audio DATs v3 and its a must have tool if you like to tinker with speakers. I hear yea, the bunched up rolls of damping material are pretty low quality. I tried using them at the base of the cabinet where my crossover is but I was still getting a standing wave when measuring. I ended up throwing the KEF damping material out and purchased some nice polyfill which did the trick.
Great job. I did something similar with my Wharfedale Linton 85ths. I got them to sound a little more well balanced and it was worth the effort. It would cool to see a follow up video after a couple of months on wether or not you can hear any improvements after the crossover parts settle.
Thank you! During the entire process of upgrading these speakers I left one speaker untouched so I could hear the improvements as I upgraded components. Some had audible changes that were easy to hear and others weren't as obvious as I discussed at the end of the video. Overall I'm very happy with how these speakers turned out and had a lot of fun doing it. I have heard some good things about the Linton 85ths! Personally, I haven't heard a pair yet, but I think they are very cool speakers. Enjoy them!
Used some of the 3/4 inch three-layer sonic barrier in some old infinity bookshelves that i was working with. Very impressed with the product. Replaced caps and resistors at the same time, didn't replace inductors. Nevertheless, the changes were a nice, comprehensive and reasonably cost friendly upgrades.
Thanks for the video. Did you happen to assess the quality of the plastic port tube? On my speakers the tube was thin plastic which flexed when I squeezed it. So I wrapped it with hockey tape just like one does with the blade of a hockey stick. Yah, I from Canada. With the tape it sounds good, although I didn’t do a side by side comparison. For the uninitiated, hockey tape reduces vibrations emitted up the shaft of the stick. Since reducing unwanted vibrations was one of your upgrade goals, it may worth a try.
I did not do anything with the port. I did not see any issues with the original port, but I like your way of thinking! Usually with bass reflex ports you have problems with port chuffing because they are undersized. However KEF designed the port on the Q350 well enough where this isn't an issue. Thanks for the comment and keep tinkering!!!
there you go, was waiting for this. sometimes there are some nice used deals on speakers and i get the itch to improve them, building from scratch takes so long... this is faster. i wonder if you also can buy some cheap tubes and adjust the port tuning, with some eq and lengthening the port. i have also seen people experiment with rounding the corners on the box, placing half rolls on the outside.
That's the spirit! I like the way you think. I don't think the KEF Q350 would respond too well with a lower port tuning because the resonant frequency of the driver is so high (around 70hz+) but it would be fun to mess around with.
@sudd3660 no, the tuning frequency is already very low, way below the drivers resonance frequency. With a Qts of 0.55 that‘s not that much of a problem in this case, but I wouldn‘t go any lower. This is done to be able to put it closer to the wall without muddying up the low end too much and provide some nice punch when done so.
@@zappel52 that is why i mention dsp, in that case lower the port tuning by 15hz and see how it goes with the adjustment in equalization to compensate.
Can you hear a 1 - 2dB interior standing wave at said singular frequency whilst blasting - This Is War by Avenged Sevenfold? This is worse than Danny from GR-Research!
Your vid has inspired me to upgrade my Q150s. Ive already added foam sheets to the cabinet. Id like to ugrade the Inductors on the crossover next. How do I figure out what size to get? Can I get the same size you used on your 350s??
The Q150 uses a different size inductor on the low pass filter than my Q350. The Q150 uses a .8mH inductor on the low pass filter and a 3.7uF capacitor on the high pass filter. When you open up the speaker the parts on the crossover should have labels on them that tell you what size they are. Hope this helps! Happy tinkering! :)
Hasn't Kef been using iron core inductors for a very long time? My oldie Kef 104/2's have tons of them. I used to build speakers in my teens and always used open air inductors and even back in the early 1980's polypropylene capacitors for the tweeters, but they were a novelty back then and expensive. My first system were Nad 3020 and Peerless/Seas home made system. Anyway, debating with myself if I should buy the Q350 or not. Wonder how it pairs with my Class A 2*50W Luxman L-560 which I still like.
Hi very interesting video indeed As you say the boxy sound should come from box resonances to check for resonances the measurements to perform are those carried out by Stereophile with accelerometers strategically placed on the speaker panels I understand that this is a complex and expensive test Also stands can contribute to resonances I tend to prefer the more stable 4 legs type to the single column type that can have a flag pole effect when the speaker is shaken by some strong bass notes There is an easy way to check for boxyness Just play the music for a while leaving time for the system to stabilize In absence of boxyness the speakers should seem like disconnected from the system and the sound completely detached from them and coming from the space around You can also use specific tracks from test cds to evaluate the soundstage quality I strongly think that this depends quite entirely on the cabinet design and construction This Kef have some good point A thick baffle and internal bracing Thanks a lot and kind regards gino
He could also solder the connections to the speaker instead of using those slip on connections. He made a point about them to the binding posts, but then kept them in the speaker which didn’t make any sense to me.
I love my 802 Diamonds! I have been lusting after the 800 series from B&W since I was a broke college student in the early 2000s. I could do a video on them. Is there anything in particular you would like me to talk about?
@@generationbehindhifi Full disclosure: I also own the 802D2. I am always interested in other owners' opinions of these speakers (strengths, weaknesses etc). Have you heard anything newer in the 800 line and if so, would you like to upgrade? As regards myself, then I haven't heard any of the newer models. There is a big jump in price between the 802D2 and 802D3/802D4 models! In terms of weaknesses then I have found the 802D2 extremely fussy when it comes to speaker placement: a lot of care is needed to get the best out of these when positioning them. I also think they sound their best when played at higher volumes. As regards strengths then they sound awesome! But of course I'm biased (hence wanting to hear your opinions!)
@@antonchigurh4125 Sure. Prior to buying my 802D2 I had a pair of 803D1. In my opinion the 802D2 is more mid-range focused and is a bit warmer sounding than my 803D1. I loved my 803D1s but felt the 802D2 is a better balanced speaker overall, and they look so much cooler too! Shortly after the D3s came out my local dealer called me to see if I wanted a private demo of them and I said sure. During the listening session I immediately noticed how bright sounding the new D3 series is over my D2. To me it sounded like the new D3s were very high frequency focused and lacked authority in the bass department. After demoing the speakers for about 15 mins my salesman could see the disappointed look on my face. The other thing that bugged me with the D3 is the design of the new cabinet. The styling for the D3 and D4 have changed dramatically and IMO they aren't as pretty to look at over the previous generation. In my opinion the D3 is a turning point for the tonality of B&W's 800 series lineup. Instead of the warm sound that I was used to from the past, they have decided to take a more brighter sounding approach. I didn't really care for this new found brightness in the D3 series and found them to be fatiguing and unpleasant to listen to. This experience was quite the 180 from my past experiences with B&W's previous 800 series models. Even one of the popular review mags (can't remember which one) basically said something similar and was quite surprised by the forwardness in the upper frequencies and lack of bass that the D3s possessed. B&W could have changed all this in the D4 series, but I doubt it judging by the tonality I heard from their lower lines like the 600 and 700 series -- IMO these are very bright sounding speakers too. I haven't had the pleasure of hearing a pair of new D4 speakers but I do hope B&W is getting back to their roots. I'm still quite happy with my 802D2s and still think they are one of the best loudspeakers B&W has ever created. I'm surprised to hear you say the 802D2's are "fussy" with room placement. IMO I felt they were quite forgiving (within reason) thanks to the down firing bass reflex port. I was just at the dealer last month listening to a pair of $105k Flagship Linn 360 tower speakers and felt my $15k pair of 802D2s were better sounding in every way. As much as I love this hobby, I have learned over the years that higher prices don't always equate to a better sounding speaker. If you have the upgrade bug, then I would highly recommend going to several dealers and demoing new models in person instead of listening to online reviewers. This hobby is very subjective and what you like may be completely different from what I like or what those reviewers like. However, I think you will find that in order to beat the performance of the 802D2 you will have to spend a considerable sum more -- especially in this high inflationary environment where a set of 800 series bookshelf speakers now cost $10,000 a pair!! Crazy!
@@generationbehindhifi Thanks for your detailed reply. Wow! High praise indeed for the 802D2s! Thankfully, I wasn't looking to upgrade and reading your thorough and comprehensive reply has confirmed that decision! Yes, I definitely agree with the assertion that either 'more expensive' or 'newer' doesn't necessarily mean something is always better, regardless of what the magazines will try and tell you (and sell you...) Thanks again for your thought-provoking reply. Subbed.
I suspect that Kef wanted a warmer sound so boosted upper bass, and with minimal damping accomplished that. My only concern with added damping is that it will become thinner sounding when you lower the warmth and in turn, will probably emphasize the upper frequencies. My guess is that results would be leaner, cleaner and brighter. The ideal situation would be to have 2 sets of speakers and only modify 1 pair. That way you can live with both sets, long enough to be sure it's an upgrade over the original. Just my 2 cents worth. Appreciate your efforts, Thx.
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Actually an audiophile already created a new crossover design for the Q350 using high order slops for both the high and low pass filters. You can read about it here: www.hifialex.de/pimp-kef-q350/
@@generationbehindhifi Oh cool, thanks for sharing this! I might try this out, along with what you did in this video. The Q350s are incredibly versatile speakers. I would love to make them even better.
Another awesome video! I use that sound deadening material in several projects and purchased a cheap pillow for poly fill. Do you have a link to the Sonic Barrier damping material? Do you know what type of capacitor the stock crossover used? I want to compare to speakers I own and do some upgrades. Just got to work on soldering skills!
Thanks, Mark. I have links to everything I used in the description. The KEF Q350 uses a 4.4uF capacitor on the high pass filter. Hope this helps. Happy tinkering!
Great upgrade video! I think the radius behind the driver needs to be way bigger to have an effect. I would guess the radius needs to be 1/4 of the wavelength to have an effect. I've seen test from users on diy audio forum on the baffle edges that you need to have a pretty big radius to see an measureable affect on a sweep. And those were testing with 1 inch radius and even greater.. I also think getting rid of the iron core inductor is the fastest way to get rid of iron core distortions is the most noticeable upgrade people can do themselves. Just my 2 cents.
I decided to use both for my build. If you had to chose between one or the other, then I would choose Sonic Barrier. It's a 3/4" foam damping material with 3 layers built in and is really good at combating cabinet resonances. You can find it here: parts-express.sjv.io/qzW09b
I put SUPRA cable in my DIY JBLs a few years ago! I previously had some clear jacket 1990s wire ( SOUND KING ) and ( monster )., Some wire turned green and some was brown and sticky. My new rule., “ if the wire is see-through.. it’s crap”
Yeah, I agree. If the crossover already contains a MKP (metallized polypropylene film) capacitor, then upgrading to a more expensive MKP capacitor will likely yield no audible difference. I wanted to try this "upgrade" out anyways by replacing the factory MKP capacitor on the high pass circuit with a nice ClarityCap CopperConnect capacitors (MKP) to see if it yielded any difference. Spoiler alert, it didn't. Hopefully when people see this video they won't waste their money on fancy capacitors because the point of diminishing return is pretty evident. Where I found you get the most audible differences for the better is when you upgrade from an electrolytic capacitor or polyester film capacitor (MKT aka MET) to a MKP capacitor.
This Tweeter has Ferrofluid in it‘s Airgap, clearly visible in the impedance Plot. At least it is low viscosity, but still, I wouldn‘t go too high in capacitor quality.
Awesome video, think I will try the same with my Q250c, crossover in it appears identical to your Q350s. It is glued down to the cabinet on plastic pins , how did you get the crossover out? Doesn't the crossover generate heat, you appeared to bury it in the poly fill, is this not a bad idea to thermally insulate electronics which are giving off heat (don't want to burn my apartment down)
If you have a crossover generating enough heat to the point that it could be a fire hazard, then its time for a redesign. Yes, the crossover is installed on plastic stands that is glued in at the base of the cabinet. To remove it, I broke off all the plastic stands and then removed the crossover from the speaker. Once the crossover is removed there will be 4 holes at the base of the cabinet where the plastic stands used to be. I filled the holes with wood glue and put a wood screw in the center. Once the glue dries, you can unscrew the wood screw from the hole and now you have a threaded anchor to mount the crossover to. I also put two strips of sound deadening material (one on either side) on the back side of the crossover to act as a cushion. This will prevent any rattling noises that may happen when screwed to the base of the cabinet.
You've inspired me on two projects (1) I have a 40+ year old DIY speaker with massively damped cabinets that probably need capacitor & ferrite (popular in the 60s/70s) inductor upgrades, does ferrite suffer from sonic issues? (2) I presently have Q-Acoustics 3050s & I'm planning to check the signal paths for steel then solder connections, what is your opinion on steel & did you check this on the Q350s? P.S. if rated correctly laminated cores are unlikely to suffer saturation, I believe their problem is eddy current loss distortion.
Hello! Wow! I can't believe I left the ferrous materials out of this video. On the back of the terminal cup on the KEF Q350 are steel nuts that fasten the binding posts to the terminal cup. These steel nuts are ferromagnetic and I replaced them with nuts made from brass. IEEE did a white paper on ferrous materials being used in audio connectors and its a good read. Basically the study proved that ferromagnetic parts introduce passive intermodulation, aka 3rd-order harmonics distortion to the signal. If you have a IEEE membership you can read the white paper here: ieeexplore.ieee.org/ielaam/22/8681220/8632973-aam.pdf
Good to know I helped. How about ferrite vs laminated iron core sonics? I assume cost is the reason for the modern prevalence of iron. Dali YT videos regarding their SMC tech make a compelling case that others choose to ignore. Their experiments are instructive. Did you check the Q350 internal solder tags for steel?
@@trevorbartram5473 Honestly I have never done a deep dive into the claims of ferrite vs laminated. While some publications claim eddy current and saturation "is not a problem" I have read conflicting information that it still occurs even in modern designs. I would rather just spend the money on air core inductors to eliminate them as a possibility. As far as I know solder does not contain any ferrous metals. In case you are referring to the binding post tabs that I soldered my speaker cable to, then no those are not made from ferrous material. Hope this helps.
Interesting, did you played the speakers for a while before evaluating? The capacitor upgrade may take a few hours. For me it was if the speakers where sounding like they where new at the first week or two.......
Hello! Yes. I kept one speaker stock while I modified the other and each time I made a change I would compare them. I included shots with me doing this in this video. It's the shot of me sitting on a chair holding a box in my hand. That box I'm holding is a speaker switcher and it allows me to switch between the two speakers right on the fly so I can the differences much easier.
@generationbehindhifi The difference are bigger in the stage depth and with, also the layering, so with only one speaker upgraded I think you will not get the upgrade result you want.
Yeah. Me too. If you have heard the Q150 and the Q350 side by side, then its clear which one has a more authority in the lower bass frequencies and its the Q350 by a long shot IMO.
This was an awesome thought provoking and informative video!! Thank you! 🎉 Ps. Would be cool to see you compare upgraded 350 vs R3meta/concerto/ etc. 🎉
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I have listened to the R3 Meta many times and they are a very nice speaker. Even my modified Q350s are no match for the R3. The drivers being used in the R3 are much better than the driver in the Q350. I would bet the drivers in the R3 Meta have a much flatter impedance curve and a lot less VC inductance. Most higher end speakers do. As for the Concerto, my Q350s might have a chance against them? I sure would like to get my hands on a pair to find out, but it probably won't happen until next year. I bought a pair of KEF Q3 Meta and thought my Q350s were much better. Even most of my subscribers agreed when they listened to the sound demo of the Q3 Meta vs my Q350s. Thanks for watching!
It would have been much more informative if you had measured the response after each change, mat, foam, crossover. Appreciate the video and thank you for sharing your results.
It would be interesting to see the frequency response graphs on the before and after. From what I see, you greatly reduced the volume of the speaker cabinet, and very likely affected the tuning/port characteristics. I would expect that your bass extension was also reduced.
Sounds like you skipped through the video if you think I "greatly reduced the volume of the cabinet". Speaker Q (Qts) before the upgrades = .897. Speaker Q after the upgrades = .8745. This proves that the driver actually thinks its in a bigger cabinet after the upgrade. Port tuning also went down slightly by a few Hz. All of this data is in the video and can be viewed.
That may be true, as a function of the added poly, but physically, the empty cabinet has a volume of approx 720 in3 and just the 3/4" foam rubber on the inner sides of the cabinet take up 180 in3, or about 25% of the internal space. The port tuning must have been affected by that. Did you do a frequency sweep before and after the mods, and if so can we see the resulting graphs? If I missed them, I apologize.
@ No worries. Everything you are looking for is in this video. You can see the before after sweeps too. If what you said was true about losing internal volume, then Qts would have spiked and would be much higher. Same goes for the port tuning. I guess I just assumed most people who are looking at these graphs know what they are looking at. I'll try and do better next time.
No, no, no, I'm suggesting that you arent doing a good job, I really like the content you provide. I'm just wondering what the difference would have been if you had just used the thin material. I have done similar mods, but I used some old school car high density mat. Thin, heavy stuff. It worked well to reduce cabinet resonance but did not make a bad speaker into a good one🙁
Nice but no need to cover the complete walls with the sound deadening material. Covering the center of the biggest panels with let's say 4 pieces would have the same effect and eat up less volume 👍🏻
Well I, if I had those speakers I'd be using Norez as the cab dampening material it has a sound dampening layer behind its close cell foam layer. One of Online's most prominent Designers D. Richie who is an Electrical Engineer does free assessments of anyone's speakers doing full analysis then does redesign of the usual Cheesy crossovers. The analysis and redesign are free the only charge is if you want to buy the upgraded parts and tested against the original. His channel is GR-Researh or business that is.
Sonic Barrier has the same sound deadening layer built in too. It's actually a 3 layer system. I just chose to double up on the sound deadening material to ensure I would have no cabinet resonances -- as you saw in this video it worked. Yep, I'm well aware of GR-Research. He creates some cool content too. Personally I have never tried any of his designs but customers seem to be happy with them.
The Sonic Barrier product actually works a little better in this application because the cross section of the material is narrower and fits better into this tight cabinet. No-Res is a great product but is thicker in cross section making it less beneficial here for clearance purposes.
You are not wrong… but you are not improving speakers, you just making them to sound different… at the current state of technology there is non reliable way to reproduce sound the way it was originally recorded… so, good job for adding to the body of the knowledge 👍 …but at the end of the day it is all matter of preference 😉 …so, from another person perspective - you a likely deprived then from the “character” and made them sound “pristine” 😉
I am not entirely agree when u said the sound is altered. For me when you replaced a components with the same value but different quality, the sound resulted is the sound that it should be at the first place. Its like changing car tires to a same spec but higher quality you got the handling and comfort that you should have.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
The parts I used to upgrade my KEF Q350s can be found below.
Amazon Basics sound deadening material: amzn.to/421NpDl
Polyfill: parts-express.sjv.io/3JkZnd
Sonic Barrier 3/4" foam damping: parts-express.sjv.io/qzW09b
Inductor .9mH 18AWG (2x): parts-express.sjv.io/6ykdOG
Mills 1.5 ohm resistor (2x): parts-express.sjv.io/Bn5y6q
ClarityCap Copper Connect Capacitors 2.2uF (4x): www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/claritycap-csa-capacitor-250vdc/claritycap-2.2-mfd-csa-copperconnect-poly-cap-250v/
Supra Series Speaker Cable: www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/speaker-wire/supra-classic-1.6/bulk-cable-per-foot-15-awg/
Maybe a tip from a car audio nut…Use a hairdryer or heatgun to pre-heat the butyl Amazon basic stuff..Makes it more elastic and usually there wouldn’t be a need for extra glue..
Can share after you replace supra speaker wire inside how does it sound , i in doubt of replace or maintain the speaker wire ? tq
Man i would love to see a teardown of the new Kef Q11 metaa
Definitely looked like a fun project! I look forward to seeing more upgrade videos on your channel 👍🏻
I did this with BOTH my NOS Energy RC-10 bookshelf speakers and my PSB Imagine XB bookies. Even though both are built pretty well (for mass-produced speakers), the cabinets are where the FIRST compromises happens in virtually ALL mass-produced speakers. Strategically-placed, self-adhesive butyl sheets combined with a 3/8" or 1/2" round dowels across the sidewalls of each speaker (10mm - 13mm) - and a bit more open-cell foam or Rockwool as damping material - goes a LOOONG way towards stiffening up the cabinets to reduce cabinet resonances and vibrations, which all leads to a slightly lower/more linear bass-reflex tuning, significantly tighter/damped mid-bass output, and much clearer mid-ranges/vocals. Cheap, easy, effective, and good for just about any mass-produced speakers - win, win, win, win - IMHO......
Remember that when changing out iron core inductors with air core to keep the same DCR. If you don't do this you'll lower the output of the midbass driver thus changing the phase relationships between the midbass and tweeter. Matching the same DCR as an iron core almost always means having to use a very large, thick gauge and expensive inductor.
100% correct.
Yep. I'm well aware. thanks
Interesting. I upgraded all crossover parts in my Martin Logan motion lx 16 speakers and I think I’ve experienced this. May have to look into trying larger inductors…and yeah they do get pricy.
On my two way stand mount speakers, the DCR on the new air core is 50% higher than the factory iron core inductor. To offset this, I added more resistance to the tweeter circuit and it sounds great.
I am using a 3rd Order 2kHz XOver designed by Hifialex a few years back, additional bracing below the Terminal and 15mm self adhesive Felt on Top, Sides and Back, the Stock Damping Material on the Bottom. Almost perfect Constant Directivity pattern because of the reduced overlap, 0.8-10kHz vs 1.3-3.5kHz and much improved in Room response. I‘ve spent 70€ and 1.5 hours per Speaker. I have also mixed different quality MKP Capacitors for the Tweeter, 20% of the value in good quality.
Thanks for all of your hard work on this. You really went out of your way to determine the best value approach to this upgrade. Very cool.
Thanks, Ryan! I'm glad you liked it.
Your examinations and upgrade process 🔥
Great video! You should put some of that amazon basics butyl on the frame of the driver. That is probably where that ringing is coming from.
Hi Pete! Yeah, that's a great idea and I remember doing that back in the day when all I had were cheap speakers. I don't think the speaker basket is the source of the resonance but I could be wrong. The reason I say that is because the engineers at KEF used Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to develop the speaker basket so it would be equal in rigidity to a cast speaker basket. I think the resonance at under 200Hz has to do with the big Z-Flex surround that KEF uses on their drivers. I have heard this is pretty common on KEF speakers? When I get more time maybe I'll do some testing to see if I can find the source of those resonances.
Great job. Very interesting. I'd like to see more of these upgrade videos on budget speakers. I think the Heco Aurora 700's and the Cerwin Vega LA series speakers would be good candidates if you still have them.
The Heco Aurora 700 is definitely a speaker I want to tinker with. I already have a new tweeter in mind for it but now I'm just waiting on Dayton Audio to come out with their new measurement microphone and software package. I can't dial in the tweeter without these tools. Hopefully it will be out soon so I can buy it and start playing with my Aurora 700s again.
@ I look forward to that video. Keep up the great content.
Switching to a 14ga. air-core inductor made a huge improvement in bass. It's deeper, faster, and more impactful. I switched the 4.4 uF cap for two Audyn Q4 2.2uF caps in parallel and changed the sandcast resistor for a Mills resistor. I feel the highs are more refined . I also added damping to the cabinet. A very worthwhile investment- these speakers sound HUGE.
Ah. I wish you would have shared the after measurements to see what happened. I love these sort of diy hacks and really want to know. I wouldn't expect all resonances to be fixed since kef apparently needs to do some crazy stuff to get the resonances out of the driver with the meta mat on their uni-q drivers. Well. Thanks for the efforts. Have a good holiday!
Hello! I did share the after measurements of the cabinet. I was able to eliminate the cabinet resonances that were taking place at 300Hz and also the one between 6 and 700Hz.
@@generationbehindhifi Oh Nice! I was curious visually how different the resonance was, and the graph didn't show that range. If you're saying totally gone, then I get pretty excited about doing something in the future with some low cost KEF's sitting on top of a pair of some monster sealed subs (JTR, SB17, Ultimax 18ii) crossed over at somewhat high like 2-300Hz, as I think most of these smaller 2-way KEF's just start getting muddy. Maybe that's a video idea ;)
Great video, keep them coming!
Yes! Thank you! Not sure it will tackle my particular issue without minor change to crossover point, still very appreciative of your efforts. I may give it a try, what do you think?
No problem! Tinkering with speakers is a great way to learn about speaker design. If you really want to learn more about this hobby, then I highly recommend getting a copy of the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook. There are a lot of great proven design theories in that book that will you learn about good speaker design methodology.
Great Video. Thanks for doing this for us. What is the tool you used to check for resonance? Maybe do a video on that as well as how to use it properly. I would love to give that a shot on some of my speakers. Just don't know how to do it properly. Also, what's up with rolls of insulation stuffed into the corner of the cabinet? Does KEF not have any quality control? Geeze!
Sure. I might be able to accommodate your request. I'm using a Dayton Audio DATs v3 and its a must have tool if you like to tinker with speakers.
I hear yea, the bunched up rolls of damping material are pretty low quality. I tried using them at the base of the cabinet where my crossover is but I was still getting a standing wave when measuring. I ended up throwing the KEF damping material out and purchased some nice polyfill which did the trick.
Great job. I did something similar with my Wharfedale Linton 85ths. I got them to sound a little more well balanced and it was worth the effort.
It would cool to see a follow up video after a couple of months on wether or not you can hear any improvements after the crossover parts settle.
Thank you! During the entire process of upgrading these speakers I left one speaker untouched so I could hear the improvements as I upgraded components. Some had audible changes that were easy to hear and others weren't as obvious as I discussed at the end of the video. Overall I'm very happy with how these speakers turned out and had a lot of fun doing it.
I have heard some good things about the Linton 85ths! Personally, I haven't heard a pair yet, but I think they are very cool speakers. Enjoy them!
I have a pair of the Wharfedale Linton 85s, and out of interest what exactly did you do?
Used some of the 3/4 inch three-layer sonic barrier in some old infinity bookshelves that i was working with. Very impressed with the product. Replaced caps and resistors at the same time, didn't replace inductors. Nevertheless, the changes were a nice, comprehensive and reasonably cost friendly upgrades.
Thanks for the video. Did you happen to assess the quality of the plastic port tube? On my speakers the tube was thin plastic which flexed when I squeezed it. So I wrapped it with hockey tape just like one does with the blade of a hockey stick. Yah, I from Canada.
With the tape it sounds good, although I didn’t do a side by side comparison. For the uninitiated, hockey tape reduces vibrations emitted up the shaft of the stick. Since reducing unwanted vibrations was one of your upgrade goals, it may worth a try.
I did not do anything with the port. I did not see any issues with the original port, but I like your way of thinking! Usually with bass reflex ports you have problems with port chuffing because they are undersized. However KEF designed the port on the Q350 well enough where this isn't an issue. Thanks for the comment and keep tinkering!!!
there you go, was waiting for this.
sometimes there are some nice used deals on speakers and i get the itch to improve them, building from scratch takes so long... this is faster.
i wonder if you also can buy some cheap tubes and adjust the port tuning, with some eq and lengthening the port.
i have also seen people experiment with rounding the corners on the box, placing half rolls on the outside.
That's the spirit! I like the way you think. I don't think the KEF Q350 would respond too well with a lower port tuning because the resonant frequency of the driver is so high (around 70hz+) but it would be fun to mess around with.
The port on this one is already very long.
@@zappel52
do you mean its no more room inside to extend its length? because you can but as bend on it or let it stick out the back.
@sudd3660 no, the tuning frequency is already very low, way below the drivers resonance frequency. With a Qts of 0.55 that‘s not that much of a problem in this case, but I wouldn‘t go any lower. This is done to be able to put it closer to the wall without muddying up the low end too much and provide some nice punch when done so.
@@zappel52 that is why i mention dsp, in that case lower the port tuning by 15hz and see how it goes with the adjustment in equalization to compensate.
I sometimes tinker for the sake of it. Can i hear the differences? Maybe. Did i have fun? Heck yeah.
Can you hear a 1 - 2dB interior standing wave at said singular frequency whilst blasting - This Is War by Avenged Sevenfold?
This is worse than Danny from GR-Research!
Great video. How do you determine the iron core’s value?
I use my Dayton Audio DATs V3 to measure the inductance. Sometimes they will leave a decal on the part indicating its value.
Your vid has inspired me to upgrade my Q150s. Ive already added foam sheets to the cabinet. Id like to ugrade the Inductors on the crossover next. How do I figure out what size to get? Can I get the same size you used on your 350s??
The Q150 uses a different size inductor on the low pass filter than my Q350. The Q150 uses a .8mH inductor on the low pass filter and a 3.7uF capacitor on the high pass filter. When you open up the speaker the parts on the crossover should have labels on them that tell you what size they are. Hope this helps! Happy tinkering! :)
Hasn't Kef been using iron core inductors for a very long time? My oldie Kef 104/2's have tons of them. I used to build speakers in my teens and always used open air inductors and even back in the early 1980's polypropylene capacitors for the tweeters, but they were a novelty back then and expensive. My first system were Nad 3020 and Peerless/Seas home made system. Anyway, debating with myself if I should buy the Q350 or not. Wonder how it pairs with my Class A 2*50W Luxman L-560 which I still like.
Bonjour de la France........ très bon travail........
Thank you!
Methodically well done, nice job! Did the kitty agree with the upgrades?
Absolutely. Who do you think helped me with the upgrades? Speaker Kitty's ears are much better than mine. ;)
Hi very interesting video indeed As you say the boxy sound should come from box resonances
to check for resonances the measurements to perform are those carried out by Stereophile with accelerometers strategically placed on the speaker panels I understand that this is a complex and expensive test
Also stands can contribute to resonances I tend to prefer the more stable 4 legs type to the single column type that can have a flag pole effect when the speaker is shaken by some strong bass notes
There is an easy way to check for boxyness Just play the music for a while leaving time for the system to stabilize
In absence of boxyness the speakers should seem like disconnected from the system and the sound completely detached from them and coming from the space around
You can also use specific tracks from test cds to evaluate the soundstage quality
I strongly think that this depends quite entirely on the cabinet design and construction
This Kef have some good point A thick baffle and internal bracing
Thanks a lot and kind regards gino
You can place no-rez strips on the woofer basket and magnet to try and dampen that driver resonance.
He could also solder the connections to the speaker instead of using those slip on connections. He made a point about them to the binding posts, but then kept them in the speaker which didn’t make any sense to me.
Very good!!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video. Will you ever be reviewing or discussing your B&W 802Ds? I would love to hear your thoughts on those.
I love my 802 Diamonds! I have been lusting after the 800 series from B&W since I was a broke college student in the early 2000s. I could do a video on them. Is there anything in particular you would like me to talk about?
@@generationbehindhifi Full disclosure: I also own the 802D2. I am always interested in other owners' opinions of these speakers (strengths, weaknesses etc). Have you heard anything newer in the 800 line and if so, would you like to upgrade?
As regards myself, then I haven't heard any of the newer models. There is a big jump in price between the 802D2 and 802D3/802D4 models! In terms of weaknesses then I have found the 802D2 extremely fussy when it comes to speaker placement: a lot of care is needed to get the best out of these when positioning them. I also think they sound their best when played at higher volumes.
As regards strengths then they sound awesome! But of course I'm biased (hence wanting to hear your opinions!)
@@antonchigurh4125 Sure. Prior to buying my 802D2 I had a pair of 803D1. In my opinion the 802D2 is more mid-range focused and is a bit warmer sounding than my 803D1. I loved my 803D1s but felt the 802D2 is a better balanced speaker overall, and they look so much cooler too! Shortly after the D3s came out my local dealer called me to see if I wanted a private demo of them and I said sure. During the listening session I immediately noticed how bright sounding the new D3 series is over my D2. To me it sounded like the new D3s were very high frequency focused and lacked authority in the bass department. After demoing the speakers for about 15 mins my salesman could see the disappointed look on my face. The other thing that bugged me with the D3 is the design of the new cabinet. The styling for the D3 and D4 have changed dramatically and IMO they aren't as pretty to look at over the previous generation.
In my opinion the D3 is a turning point for the tonality of B&W's 800 series lineup. Instead of the warm sound that I was used to from the past, they have decided to take a more brighter sounding approach. I didn't really care for this new found brightness in the D3 series and found them to be fatiguing and unpleasant to listen to. This experience was quite the 180 from my past experiences with B&W's previous 800 series models. Even one of the popular review mags (can't remember which one) basically said something similar and was quite surprised by the forwardness in the upper frequencies and lack of bass that the D3s possessed. B&W could have changed all this in the D4 series, but I doubt it judging by the tonality I heard from their lower lines like the 600 and 700 series -- IMO these are very bright sounding speakers too. I haven't had the pleasure of hearing a pair of new D4 speakers but I do hope B&W is getting back to their roots. I'm still quite happy with my 802D2s and still think they are one of the best loudspeakers B&W has ever created.
I'm surprised to hear you say the 802D2's are "fussy" with room placement. IMO I felt they were quite forgiving (within reason) thanks to the down firing bass reflex port. I was just at the dealer last month listening to a pair of $105k Flagship Linn 360 tower speakers and felt my $15k pair of 802D2s were better sounding in every way. As much as I love this hobby, I have learned over the years that higher prices don't always equate to a better sounding speaker. If you have the upgrade bug, then I would highly recommend going to several dealers and demoing new models in person instead of listening to online reviewers. This hobby is very subjective and what you like may be completely different from what I like or what those reviewers like. However, I think you will find that in order to beat the performance of the 802D2 you will have to spend a considerable sum more -- especially in this high inflationary environment where a set of 800 series bookshelf speakers now cost $10,000 a pair!! Crazy!
@@generationbehindhifi Thanks for your detailed reply. Wow! High praise indeed for the 802D2s! Thankfully, I wasn't looking to upgrade and reading your thorough and comprehensive reply has confirmed that decision!
Yes, I definitely agree with the assertion that either 'more expensive' or 'newer' doesn't necessarily mean something is always better, regardless of what the magazines will try and tell you (and sell you...)
Thanks again for your thought-provoking reply. Subbed.
I suspect that Kef wanted a warmer sound so boosted upper bass, and with minimal damping accomplished that. My only concern with added damping is that it will become thinner sounding when you lower the warmth and in turn, will probably emphasize the upper frequencies. My guess is that results would be leaner, cleaner and brighter. The ideal situation would be to have 2 sets of speakers and only modify 1 pair. That way you can live with both sets, long enough to be sure it's an upgrade over the original. Just my 2 cents worth. Appreciate your efforts, Thx.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Would redesigning the crossover with higher order slopes have any benefit?
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Actually an audiophile already created a new crossover design for the Q350 using high order slops for both the high and low pass filters. You can read about it here: www.hifialex.de/pimp-kef-q350/
@@generationbehindhifi Oh cool, thanks for sharing this! I might try this out, along with what you did in this video. The Q350s are incredibly versatile speakers. I would love to make them even better.
Another awesome video! I use that sound deadening material in several projects and purchased a cheap pillow for poly fill. Do you have a link to the Sonic Barrier damping material? Do you know what type of capacitor the stock crossover used? I want to compare to speakers I own and do some upgrades. Just got to work on soldering skills!
Thanks, Mark. I have links to everything I used in the description. The KEF Q350 uses a 4.4uF capacitor on the high pass filter. Hope this helps. Happy tinkering!
Great upgrade video! I think the radius behind the driver needs to be way bigger to have an effect. I would guess the radius needs to be 1/4 of the wavelength to have an effect. I've seen test from users on diy audio forum on the baffle edges that you need to have a pretty big radius to see an measureable affect on a sweep. And those were testing with 1 inch radius and even greater.. I also think getting rid of the iron core inductor is the fastest way to get rid of iron core distortions is the most noticeable upgrade people can do themselves. Just my 2 cents.
Would I use only the Amazon deadening material to improve cabinet resonance or must I also add the foam? My speakers are the RP600M V.1.
I decided to use both for my build. If you had to chose between one or the other, then I would choose Sonic Barrier. It's a 3/4" foam damping material with 3 layers built in and is really good at combating cabinet resonances. You can find it here: parts-express.sjv.io/qzW09b
Thanks.
I put SUPRA cable in my DIY JBLs a few years ago!
I previously had some clear jacket 1990s wire ( SOUND KING ) and ( monster ).,
Some wire turned green and some was brown and sticky.
My new rule., “ if the wire is see-through.. it’s crap”
P.S.
I also tried upgrading my SOLEN capacitors with CLARITY CAPS. It made no audible improvement.
The cable may still turn green inside an opaque sheathing lol . The clear jackets definitely showcase it more
Did you use plain or tinned copper wiring & why?
Yeah, I agree. If the crossover already contains a MKP (metallized polypropylene film) capacitor, then upgrading to a more expensive MKP capacitor will likely yield no audible difference. I wanted to try this "upgrade" out anyways by replacing the factory MKP capacitor on the high pass circuit with a nice ClarityCap CopperConnect capacitors (MKP) to see if it yielded any difference. Spoiler alert, it didn't. Hopefully when people see this video they won't waste their money on fancy capacitors because the point of diminishing return is pretty evident. Where I found you get the most audible differences for the better is when you upgrade from an electrolytic capacitor or polyester film capacitor (MKT aka MET) to a MKP capacitor.
This Tweeter has Ferrofluid in it‘s Airgap, clearly visible in the impedance Plot. At least it is low viscosity, but still, I wouldn‘t go too high in capacitor quality.
Awesome video, think I will try the same with my Q250c, crossover in it appears identical to your Q350s. It is glued down to the cabinet on plastic pins , how did you get the crossover out?
Doesn't the crossover generate heat, you appeared to bury it in the poly fill, is this not a bad idea to thermally insulate electronics which are giving off heat (don't want to burn my apartment down)
If you have a crossover generating enough heat to the point that it could be a fire hazard, then its time for a redesign.
Yes, the crossover is installed on plastic stands that is glued in at the base of the cabinet. To remove it, I broke off all the plastic stands and then removed the crossover from the speaker. Once the crossover is removed there will be 4 holes at the base of the cabinet where the plastic stands used to be. I filled the holes with wood glue and put a wood screw in the center. Once the glue dries, you can unscrew the wood screw from the hole and now you have a threaded anchor to mount the crossover to. I also put two strips of sound deadening material (one on either side) on the back side of the crossover to act as a cushion. This will prevent any rattling noises that may happen when screwed to the base of the cabinet.
You've inspired me on two projects (1) I have a 40+ year old DIY speaker with massively damped cabinets that probably need capacitor & ferrite (popular in the 60s/70s) inductor upgrades, does ferrite suffer from sonic issues? (2) I presently have Q-Acoustics 3050s & I'm planning to check the signal paths for steel then solder connections, what is your opinion on steel & did you check this on the Q350s?
P.S. if rated correctly laminated cores are unlikely to suffer saturation, I believe their problem is eddy current loss distortion.
Hello! Wow! I can't believe I left the ferrous materials out of this video. On the back of the terminal cup on the KEF Q350 are steel nuts that fasten the binding posts to the terminal cup. These steel nuts are ferromagnetic and I replaced them with nuts made from brass. IEEE did a white paper on ferrous materials being used in audio connectors and its a good read. Basically the study proved that ferromagnetic parts introduce passive intermodulation, aka 3rd-order harmonics distortion to the signal. If you have a IEEE membership you can read the white paper here: ieeexplore.ieee.org/ielaam/22/8681220/8632973-aam.pdf
Good to know I helped. How about ferrite vs laminated iron core sonics? I assume cost is the reason for the modern prevalence of iron.
Dali YT videos regarding their SMC tech make a compelling case that others choose to ignore. Their experiments are instructive.
Did you check the Q350 internal solder tags for steel?
Refresh in the hope you see my previous comment?
@@trevorbartram5473 Honestly I have never done a deep dive into the claims of ferrite vs laminated. While some publications claim eddy current and saturation "is not a problem" I have read conflicting information that it still occurs even in modern designs. I would rather just spend the money on air core inductors to eliminate them as a possibility.
As far as I know solder does not contain any ferrous metals. In case you are referring to the binding post tabs that I soldered my speaker cable to, then no those are not made from ferrous material. Hope this helps.
Thanks. Yes solder tabs. I highly recommend the Dali YT videos. Their Oberon range is the least expensive with SMC. Cheers!
you should try something like the vishay thickfilms resistors, cheap and sound really good!
Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into them.
The original iron core inductor was made by Vishay.
@@LeRoySL-q5q I think he's referring to their "thickfilm resistors" as an alternative to the very expensive Mills resistor I had used in this build.
@generationbehindhifi Oh, okay. I use Mills in all of my crossover builds. I like the quality.
Did you also chamfer the bracing?
I did not. Only the hole for the woofer.
Interesting, did you played the speakers for a while before evaluating? The capacitor upgrade may take a few hours. For me it was if the speakers where sounding like they where new at the first week or two.......
Hello! Yes. I kept one speaker stock while I modified the other and each time I made a change I would compare them. I included shots with me doing this in this video. It's the shot of me sitting on a chair holding a box in my hand. That box I'm holding is a speaker switcher and it allows me to switch between the two speakers right on the fly so I can the differences much easier.
@generationbehindhifi The difference are bigger in the stage depth and with, also the layering, so with only one speaker upgraded I think you will not get the upgrade result you want.
something that i find odd is the smaller version the Q150 has a lower freq. response
Yeah. Me too. If you have heard the Q150 and the Q350 side by side, then its clear which one has a more authority in the lower bass frequencies and its the Q350 by a long shot IMO.
@@generationbehindhifi yes! i thought the same thing when i heard them side by side, just goes to show you cant always go by the specs..
This was an awesome thought provoking and informative video!! Thank you! 🎉
Ps. Would be cool to see you compare upgraded 350 vs R3meta/concerto/ etc. 🎉
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I have listened to the R3 Meta many times and they are a very nice speaker. Even my modified Q350s are no match for the R3. The drivers being used in the R3 are much better than the driver in the Q350. I would bet the drivers in the R3 Meta have a much flatter impedance curve and a lot less VC inductance. Most higher end speakers do.
As for the Concerto, my Q350s might have a chance against them? I sure would like to get my hands on a pair to find out, but it probably won't happen until next year. I bought a pair of KEF Q3 Meta and thought my Q350s were much better. Even most of my subscribers agreed when they listened to the sound demo of the Q3 Meta vs my Q350s. Thanks for watching!
It would have been much more informative if you had measured the response after each change, mat, foam, crossover. Appreciate the video and thank you for sharing your results.
It would be interesting to see the frequency response graphs on the before and after. From what I see, you greatly reduced the volume of the speaker cabinet, and very likely affected the tuning/port characteristics. I would expect that your bass extension was also reduced.
Sounds like you skipped through the video if you think I "greatly reduced the volume of the cabinet". Speaker Q (Qts) before the upgrades = .897. Speaker Q after the upgrades = .8745. This proves that the driver actually thinks its in a bigger cabinet after the upgrade. Port tuning also went down slightly by a few Hz. All of this data is in the video and can be viewed.
That may be true, as a function of the added poly, but physically, the empty cabinet has a volume of approx 720 in3 and just the 3/4" foam rubber on the inner sides of the cabinet take up 180 in3, or about 25% of the internal space. The port tuning must have been affected by that. Did you do a frequency sweep before and after the mods, and if so can we see the resulting graphs? If I missed them, I apologize.
@ No worries. Everything you are looking for is in this video. You can see the before after sweeps too. If what you said was true about losing internal volume, then Qts would have spiked and would be much higher. Same goes for the port tuning. I guess I just assumed most people who are looking at these graphs know what they are looking at. I'll try and do better next time.
No, no, no, I'm suggesting that you arent doing a good job, I really like the content you provide. I'm just wondering what the difference would have been if you had just used the thin material. I have done similar mods, but I used some old school car high density mat. Thin, heavy stuff. It worked well to reduce cabinet resonance but did not make a bad speaker into a good one🙁
Nice but no need to cover the complete walls with the sound deadening material. Covering the center of the biggest panels with let's say 4 pieces would have the same effect and eat up less volume 👍🏻
Well I, if I had those speakers I'd be using Norez as the cab dampening material it has a sound dampening layer behind its close cell foam layer. One of Online's most prominent Designers D. Richie who is an Electrical Engineer does free assessments of anyone's speakers doing full analysis then does redesign of the usual Cheesy crossovers. The analysis and redesign are free the only charge is if you want to buy the upgraded parts and tested against the original. His channel is GR-Researh or business that is.
Sonic Barrier has the same sound deadening layer built in too. It's actually a 3 layer system. I just chose to double up on the sound deadening material to ensure I would have no cabinet resonances -- as you saw in this video it worked. Yep, I'm well aware of GR-Research. He creates some cool content too. Personally I have never tried any of his designs but customers seem to be happy with them.
The Sonic Barrier product actually works a little better in this application because the cross section of the material is narrower and fits better into this tight cabinet. No-Res is a great product but is thicker in cross section making it less beneficial here for clearance purposes.
You are not wrong… but you are not improving speakers, you just making them to sound different… at the current state of technology there is non reliable way to reproduce sound the way it was originally recorded… so, good job for adding to the body of the knowledge 👍 …but at the end of the day it is all matter of preference 😉 …so, from another person perspective - you a likely deprived then from the “character” and made them sound “pristine” 😉
I am not entirely agree when u said the sound is altered. For me when you replaced a components with the same value but different quality, the sound resulted is the sound that it should be at the first place. Its like changing car tires to a same spec but higher quality you got the handling and comfort that you should have.
too small speaker 😂😂😂😂
You're really funny
@@LeRoySL-q5q no punch... boring speaker
@jericlee1509 You are very mistaken
@LeRoySL-q5q nah..... small woofer so boring hahahaha, no impact
@jericlee1509 Lol! Keep enjoying your Bose system, pal.