[Sandrock]

Well I suppose one could do that.
However it would seem a bit costly to use them for that purpose, especially considering that they were designed primarily for electronics and not for speaker use.
But then again, 'to each their own'......

Happy listening my friends.

[Sandrock]

Delacroix, how are things going with finding weights for your speakers?
Any luck?
Again, I will say that for me the tweaks were well worth the time and effort.
The Lead Shot/weight to the Von's have made a huge improvement sonicly-speaking to the speakers.
What was blurry before is now clear and the transparency is incredible.
I am so pleased with the results.
Anyone who has a pair of VR-2's or for that matter any other speaker should both mass-load the cabinet and purchase 'Outriggers' for them.
If one reads this/and see's my pictures and then decides to blow it off as not worth the effort is totally 'missing-the-boat' sound-wise.

I am also surprised that in-spite of the large number of 'views' that this thread has received, that there are not more people commenting either for or against my tweaks. Or at the very least asking questions.

Guys, I can fully assure you of the huge improvement it makes to your speakers and the clarity/transparency that you will notice.

Happy listening my friends.

[BigSwede]

When I had VR-2s I never put anything on them but stacks of CDs 

[Sandrock]

Bigsweede, I am so sorry to hear that story!

My feeling is that unbeknown to yourself you missed out on all the wonderful sounds that the VR-2's are capable of reproducing.

With what I have recently done to my VR-2's, I have now made them into a totally different sonic sounding loudspeaker.
Albert sure knew what he was building when he specked them out.

The clarity, transparency, aire, image and tonal improvement is astounding to say the least!

Again, I want to encourage everyone who listens to a pair of VR-2's to experiment with at least one of my 3 tweaks. You will be totally surprised at the performance improvement.
I am so very pleased with how mine sound now compared to before I made the changes.
The great thing is that it's very inexpensive and easy to do and I could chart/hear the improvement at each step along the way.
One is crazy not to do it, especially if one calls one's self an Audiophile!
No Sir! Why suffer when there is no need too?

Happy listening my friends.

[Delacroix]

I've been occupied with life so not tried weights yet ...though I did propose to my wife and son that they try sitting up on top of the speakers...without success

[BigSwede]

Bigsweede, I am so sorry to hear that story!

My feeling is that unbeknown to yourself you missed out on all the wonderful sounds that the VR-2's are capable of reproducing.

Oh well, I have VR-33s now and am quite happy.

[WGH]

Putting lead shot baggies on the top, adding more mass in the bottom plus outriggers is a step in the right direction. The speakers are now more stable, micro-vibrations from the woofers are damped resulting in the greater clarity you hear. But until you take your mods to the next level then you have absolutely no idea what you are missing.

At the risk of repeating myself, go back and re-read my posts regarding the VR2 mods:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=44748.msg400398#msg400398
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=72808.msg683847#msg683847

The two mods that made the most improvements is the added cabinet bracing and the Richlite high mass blocks, the resulting cabinet is now similar to Von Schweikert speakers that incorporate his triple wall laminate construction.

Cabinet bracing layout





Richlite high mass blocks


My VR2's are long gone, I switched to a speaker with a RAAL tweeter which is far superior to the tweeter used in the VR2.

Wayne

[Sandrock]

Hello WGH, thanks for sharing your mods to the VR-2's.
I bet that they do work wonders on the sound and the improvements should be quite enjoyable.
However I need to say that doing what you did internally to your speakers is somewhat more then I am willing to try.
I agree that the Vons do need reinforcement to stop the cabinet ringing internally, that's why I did the weight bags on top and adding more weight to the bottom cavity but its just more then I want to undertake at this time to open up the speaker and do major surgery to them.

Perhaps at some point in the future I might go down your road but not right now.
You are also fortunate to have a friend who has a wood shop and can make those braces to fit perfectly.

Again, thanks for sharing your drawing and how the mod works.
I also liked the clay on the drivers which I am more inclined to do as I can see the benefits to damping the drivers and is much more user friendly to accomplish without potentially damaging the speaker.

[WGH]

Actually it's my woodshop, my day job for the last 37 years is making custom doors and furniture
http://www.wghwoodworking.com/

An excellent alternative to cabinet bracing is No Rez
http://gr-research.com/norez24x27sheet.aspx

Since you will already have the speakers removed to put on the plasti-clay (they fall out after carefully taking out the screws) why not invest in a few sheets of No Rez? Take some measurements and give Danny at GR Research a call if you are unsure how much to buy. Type No Rez in the Search here on AC to find a plethora of glowing reviews. You will be happy you did. And this is a mod you can do on your living room floor.

Remember to damp the "bell" around the magnets, why Albert would accept a woofer with a bell is a mystery to me. If you can't get the Cascade VB-2 Acoustic Damping then just wrap the bells with layers of duct tape.

[BigSwede]

I would think adding all of that material to the interior would change the resonance frequency of the chamber. Not saying there isn't a net gain in sound quality, just another factor to think about.

[WGH]

I would think adding all of that material to the interior would change the resonance frequency of the chamber.

Regarding the VR2, that is actually a good thing. The only change I noticed was improved clarity with lower, tighter bass.
Von Schweikert was not concerned with adding granite to the inside of the smaller VR4-JR for the VR4-JRMk4 upgrade.
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=133478.msg1418970#msg1418970

No Res does not change the cabinet volume or the resonance frequency at all.

[Sandrock]

Thanks for sharing what's behind the 'door' Ha!
I like the idea of the no-rez and perhaps will try it.

As far as internal bracing is concerned, I do not have the same abilities or wood shop to manufacture those wonderful and accurate wooden braces as you do!
So I am somewhat stymied which inhibits me from racing down that path. 
The other item you mentioned the 'no-rez' seems a lot more friendly to me to do, and would make another level of improvement as the VR-2's do resinate somewhat and that is the key in improving their sonic potential.
Again, thanks for sharing your knowledge and suggestions to tame the Vons.

Its running around in my mind all the time at the moment.....