[stevenkelby]

Not too bad but I think you need to give it more heat/time. You want the solder to melt and flow down onto the tab of the cup and up the wires more.

You can probably work with what you have there, just let the soldering iron get good and hot then add a little more solder to the tip, press it onto the wires and add a little more solder again. Hold teh tip to teh wires for a few seconds till all the solder which is already there melts and  flows.

I don't know if the drivers are supposed to be wired in series or parallel so can't comment on 2 wires going to the cup. Someone else will know

Steve.

[rockdrummer]

Thanks much Steve.  More heat will mean quicker flow.  I know I didn't get a fast flow last time. 

The wiring diagram has both neg. going to the cup, but I didn't know if it's best to combine them so there is only one wire actually soldered to the cup or if it didn't matter.

ben

[stevenkelby]

No worries, keep practising on scraps of wire, tin foil, coathangers, thin wires, etc, and you'll soon get a feel for it

The wiring diagram has both neg. going to the cup, but I didn't know if it's best to combine them so there is only one wire actually soldered to the cup or if it didn't matter.

ben

Won't matter at all then

[rockdrummer]

I'm excited to say I have about 15 hours of break in on the AV 1 monitors.  I'm such a nerd, I spent too much time pondering what song to play first.  Like the first song put through them was going to determine how good they sound.  But I did want to pick something revealing and open, folky, not too saturated. 

First off, I was surprised they made any sound at all.  I was half expecting to completely tear them apart again and have to fix something.  Heard pleasant sounding music right off the bat.  They aren't placed well in my room, because I have them on top of my definitive speakers which are on spikes, (hard to move) and I don't have stands for them.  I use a stool to sit on so I can get my ears up a bit to the face of the speaker. 

They are being powered by a smallish Denon home theater receiver.  90 watts so you get an idea.  Cheap receiver.  My definitive speakers have more treble than the GRs do.  I know the burn in will change them a bit, but I don't know if the crisp highs are going to come through after that.  I read the burn in myths on Danny's website and know I should get them about 60 hours before they may be done settling in.  I think it pertained to woofers more than tweeters.  So I'm sure changes may happen still. 

I also hear a cloudy middle.  I am not sure how to explain where in the frequency range it is.  The definitive speakers are BI-polar, so they have drivers on front and back.   Two 5.25 inch and one tweeter on front AND back.  THey are a very different beast, and much bigger.  So they obviously sound bigger, but that foggy midrange and lower highs have me hoping for a change.  I will try some different cable to get a different sound too.  When I'm not A/B-ing them, I really like the sound.  Surprised how much bass there is without a sub.  Needs one though. 

I will post pictures and will need advice on finish.  I used a krylon spray over sanded two coats of primer, and I don't like the inconsistencies.  But that's fine, live and learn. 

Danny, thanks for all your help, and everyone for advice and information.  Begun the next project for another family member.  I want to document that one better! 

I posted a thread on the least resistance circle about DIY speaker cables.  If you guys have advice about that, that would be awesome.   Anyway, enjoying the speakers and looking forward to doing more!

Ben

[Danny Richie]

What you are used to may have tipped up highs and a more aggressive sound from a metal dome tweeter. So in this regard they may sound very different. The differences in resolution are heard by the clear space between the notes and not how loud each note is. And the A/V-1 should have a clear leg up in the detail department.

The vocals will open up a lot but right off the bat they should have a cleaner sound than the Definitive's. Are you using the same cables with both speakers?

[rockdrummer]

I was nervous writing my first critique because I really don't feel I have enough technical vocabulary and knowledge to explain what I hear.  Which made me completely forget to mention two things I wanted to say in the first message.   I have never had a snare drum seem to come from one place in the room.  The AV-1 monitors do that.  Which is also cool because I have never heard a hint of imaging in my room before, either.  That's the second thing.  Guitars, whether electric or acoustic, are a bit more identifyable in the room. 

I'm still thinking that I can't explain this right.  I think my ears need to listen more.  I have had two decent listening sessions, about 30 minutes each.  With mostly the same musical material.

Oh that totally makes sense about the highs.  I didn't even think of the metal dome difference.  Duh.

When I AB the speakers, the cables are different.  But I have used them on both, just not able to do it at the same time. 

Thanks for steering me in the right direction.  Not knowing how to interpret what I hear is also something I think I need practice with.

Thanks again.
Ben 

[corndog71]

As a previous owner of Definitive speakers I'm familiar with their prominant high frequencies.  The aluminum dome tweeters can be great but with the wrong associated equipment can be a bit too much.  I would recommend pulling out the crossovers and possibly rebuilding them.  In my studio monitors there was definitely room for improvement as they used very cheap parts.  Simply replacing the caps in the tweeter circuit smoothed out the high frequencies and improved over all resolution.  I would recommend Clarity ESA caps for the Definitives.

[Danny Richie]

I was nervous writing my first critique because I really don't feel I have enough technical vocabulary and knowledge to explain what I hear.  Which made me completely forget to mention two things I wanted to say in the first message.   I have never had a snare drum seem to come from one place in the room.  The AV-1 monitors do that.  Which is also cool because I have never heard a hint of imaging in my room before, either.  That's the second thing.  Guitars, whether electric or acoustic, are a bit more identifyable in the room. 

I'm still thinking that I can't explain this right.  I think my ears need to listen more.  I have had two decent listening sessions, about 30 minutes each.  With mostly the same musical material.

Oh that totally makes sense about the highs.  I didn't even think of the metal dome difference.  Duh.

When I AB the speakers, the cables are different.  But I have used them on both, just not able to do it at the same time. 

Thanks for steering me in the right direction.  Not knowing how to interpret what I hear is also something I think I need practice with.

Thanks again.
Ben

Ben, you are fine and your words or impressions are not debatable. You can say anything you want and reveal any impressions that you might have.

[Danny Richie]

As a previous owner of Definitive speakers I'm familiar with their prominant high frequencies.  The aluminum dome tweeters can be great but with the wrong associated equipment can be a bit too much.  I would recommend pulling out the crossovers and possibly rebuilding them.  In my studio monitors there was definitely room for improvement as they used very cheap parts.  Simply replacing the caps in the tweeter circuit smoothed out the high frequencies and improved over all resolution.  I would recommend Clarity ESA caps for the Definitives.

I actually designed new networks for the Definitive Mythos model. And yes the crossover parts used in the original were not real good. I took a pic of the insides.