[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Mordaunt Short Carnival 2 Upgrade Project 
Note: These are the last iteration model release. Older models look very different.
Sold Retail New for $249.00 pair.

Specifications:
    • Drive Units: 1 x 5.5" Woven Composite Cone, 1 x 25mm Soft Dome
    • Sensitivity: 90dB
    • Frequency Response: 55 Hz - 20 kHz
    • Crossover frequency 3.5 KHz
    • Impedance: 4 - 8 Ohms
    • Recommended Amplifier Power: 15-100 watts
    • Magnetic Shielding: Yes
    • Dimensions: 12 9/16” H x 6 ½” W x 8 5/8” D
    • Weight: 4.75 kg each / Approx. 10 ½ lb.
    • 1" Soft Dome Tweeters & 5-1/2" Drivers measure with LCR meter at 8ohms. For those who may be interested in tweaking resistor values,
       between the 3.5hz crossover point of the 1st order crossover network.

[goggle1824]

Very cool post, thanks for sharing your experience and the info!

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Layout of the upgrade parts


New upgraded parts consist of the following:

1.) Dayton 3.3 ohm 20 watt air core precision grade resistor -
https://www.daytonaudio.com/product/1700/dpr20-3-3-3-3-ohm-20-watt-precision-1-audio-grade-resistor

2.) Duelund Capacitor 3.9uF 250Vdc CAST PP Series Metalized Polypropylene -
https://partsconnexion.com/duelund-capacitor-3-9uf-250vdc-cast-pp-series-metalized-polypropylene/?searchid=982721&search_query=duelund+capacitors

3.) High purity OCC 8N 16 gauge copper wire, for rewiring crossover, speakers -
Note: Unfortunately, this wire is'nt available to the public, my friend provided it to me. Excellent stuff though!

4.) Simple 5/8” Dia. on first speaker pair, 3/4" Dia. wood dowel cross brace used on 2nd speakers, reducing speaker cabinet resonance.
The dowel is very short, it only spans between the interior side walls approximately 5 ¼”. After installing the dowels, the speaker cabinet is more taunt than my NX-Studio’s. Although the speaker is tiny, dimensions are 12 9/16” H x 6 ½” W x 8 5/8” D.
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Waddell-Oak-Round-Dowel-36-in-x-0-75-in-Sanded-and-Ready-for-Finishing-Versatile-Wooden-Rod-for-DIY-Home-Projects-6512U/100560518?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&fp=ggl&pla=&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D30-030_021_MILLWORK_SPC-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D30-030_021_MILLWORK_SPC-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA-20321615900--&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20321617115&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UeC2MrCNRmtyGCeYnUt8jfid&gclid=CjwKCAjwyMnNBhBNEiwA-Kcgu8E-sPpXH8SgEB_pmSvQopEBwVz6y1PVef7v0N4rL8UCprmPVInuJxoC99QQAvD_BwE

5.) GR-RESEARCH NoRez - 2 sheets -
https://gr-research.com/product/norez-two/

6.) 4PC Audiophile Pure Copper Binding Post Terminal - 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/146783135962

7.) Mundorf CFC 16 awg air core .47 mH copper foil inductor -
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/mundorf-cfc-copper-foil-inductors/mundorf-mcoil-foil-16-awg-air-core-0.47-mh/

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Additional Upgrade Components: 
NOTE: This is last upgrade will be added after my second pair of speakers have been completed. This will be at a much later timeframe on this thread.

8.) Duelund Capacitor 0.01uF 600Vdc JDM-Cu BYPASS Series Copper Foil WPIO
https://partsconnexion.com/duelund-0-01uf-600vdc-jdm-cu-pure-copper-foil-bypass-capacitor/

9.) Sorbothane Acoustic and Vibration Thin Film Square (0.040 x 7 x 7") 40 Duro - 1 Sheet
https://www.amazon.com/Isolate-Sorbothane-Acoustic-Vibration-Square/dp/B019HU8DVG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

10.) Port seal rubber stoppers - transferring cabinet from ported to sealed design.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSCWF6FK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

11.) Wavecor WF146WA02 5-3/4" 8ohm woofer, was $54 Ea. at time of purchase (LATER ADDITION UPGRADE)
https://www.parts-express.com/Wavecor-WF146WA02-5-3-4-Paper-Cone-Mid-Woofer-8-Ohm-298-1166?quantity=1
Wavecor's actual website and data specifications  https://www.wavecor.com/html/wf146wa01_02.html

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I’ve completed modifications to the level, I'm capable of to this point. I have a 100 hours burned in so far, and still going. Dueland capacitors require between 200-250 hours of burn in time, I've heard.

Preliminary assessment burned in at 100 hours, It goes back and forth, from midrange being forward to more laid back other times. Certain horns can be a bit more forward than to my taste, from time to time.
Even though the crossover parts are still burning in and not at their peak performance, there still is a noticeable improvement. Detail, transparency, sound stage is huge, for being in a smaller room setting, this is very impressive, to say the least. Separation between instruments is more precise. Female vocals and string instruments breathe naturally. Overall, the new parts provide improvement, I'm pleased with the results.

More updates and photo's eventually.

Based on some further critical listening, I've taken some inititive adding dampening material to the port tubes. Wrapping the material around the length of outer circumference of the plastic ports, inside the speaker enclosure. The dampening material has been positioned a 1/2" away from the internal port opening though. I've also have been experienmenting with various thickness felt, placed at the internal opening of the ports as well. I've learned, port tubes being either plastic, or cardboard can resonate, with the right atteunated frequency. Polysteter fiber fill layed up against a port tube can help, but it's not as dense as using a Dynomat resonance type material, which is superior with resonance reduction. I don't feel what I'm noticing is a placebo effect. The speaker seems to have more focus, It's very subtle though. Chuffing characteristics are a non-factor, with the felt material inserted into the port tubes.

Another area I want to experiement with, is the crossover. I listened to the YT video the other day, with Danny and the gentleman with purifi. They gave me some ideas, to experiement further with my little first order crossover. Currently it's rigid mounted to the back of the terminal cup backside. Since their is so much movement internally within a speaker cabinet, I thought about rubber mount isolating the crossover. I have sorbothane material  laying around, so I want to try rubber mounting the crossover board, and determine the results. I have no doubt this will minimize circuit board resonance. I figured its a simple tweak, why not.

Although the best isolation for any speaker crossover ideally, take the crossover and mount externally. Then crossover mods are real easy to do.

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Update,

Now the speakers have more burn in time around 200 hours, they have transformed significantly. The sound is smoother, micro details now present, I haven’t ever heard before in the past. The Carnival 2’s are now immersive, delivering a three-dimensional listening experience. The sound appears to come from different locations in the room, rather than just the speakers themselves. Now delivering a very impressive “holographic expansive sound stage. So good matter as fact, I thought I had my surround speakers in the back of room operating. Which are the same speaker model, but then I realized I had them disconnected. Shaking my head impressed and pleased with the results. Instruments have a beautiful natural decay structure, which is a notably pleasant improvment from stock form.

The listening room is on the smaller side. The Carnival 2’s upgrades make the sound stage feel like my room is literally twice the size. Depicting Instrument positioning has better clarity, from it’s original stock form. The soft dome speakers deliver very crisp realism of cymbals, triangles, even the hearing the fingers repositioning on frets, on stringed instruments convincingly. Horns, which my ears are hyper sensitive too, are comfortable listening too, not bleeding my ears, unlike many, even much more higher end speakers, I won’t mention. The simple parts upgrade really make a huge difference in performance. I already thought they were a steal for the price, now they are a stone cold bargan!

Using various source material, from hi definition to poorly recorded material, they are very forgiving, never feeling ear fatigue. Using alongside sub-woofers, really compliments them. Crossing over  between 70-75hz, seems to be natural transition for blending in the subs. Speakers our on stands positioned 3 feet into the room, using my A5/Acopian 28PT10 regulated linear power supply with my Class D amp. By the way, this combination alongside the Mordaunt Short Carnival 2's brings excellent synergy!  VERY IMPRESSIVE!  These speakers image crazy good too!

[Endo2112]

Cool project!! I wonder how the OFC 8N wire would compare to OCC 6N? Or better yet the new AST silver?

Don

[nlitworld]

You hear all the time Danny talking about NoRez, binding post upgrades, quality xo parts. When you can spend a couple bucks to upgrade a speaker like this and hear it go from meh to magic, it's pretty fun. 

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Regarding 6N OCC versus 8N or Silver wire cabling. It's so subjective, one may say it's a subtle change, while another believes its significantly changes the sound audibly. IMO, cabling potentially can improve performance, however it's subtle, but noticiable.  Whenever I evaluate eiither electronics wire change upgrades, or switching out different interconnects or speaker cabling. The degree we all notice is on a subjective sliding scale, based on taste, and how good ones set of ears are.

Not in every case will certain wire material improve the audible sound, however, it can go either way, it's all about experimentation, to achieve the resluts one desires.

For the record, this 8N wire isn't available to the public, my friend fortunately provided me this high purity OCC copper wire, leftover from a work project.
It does sound excellent though. chomping at the bit to see if I can get more!

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On another note:

Danny's guidance, continously helps me out significantly, regardless of cost. Even if it's a simple upgrade such as the Carnival 2's, he generously provided free advice, assisting me with my Mordaunt Short speakers.  He truly is a class act, displaying professionalism. This is the exact reason, I'll continue supporting his business, because he is a gentleman.

[Danny Richie]

On another note:

Danny's guidance, continously helps me out significantly, regardless of cost. Even if it's a simple upgrade such as the Carnival 2's, he generously provided free advice, assisting me with my Mordaunt Short speakers.  He truly is a class act, displaying professionalism. This is the exact reason, I'll continue supporting his business, because he is a gentleman.

Thank you. I really appreciate that.

[Endo2112]

OFC & OCC are different animals, hence the query, glad that you have a source though. I had a buddy that was obsessed with different silver wires and when I would go for a listening session he would swap out 5 sets of different interconnects made with exotic silver wire/ribbon from all around the world to hear for differences, I’ll just say that, the cream rises to the top in my experience, but to each there own, cables are just another rabbit hole in this endless sport.

And ya, Mr. Richie is top shelf, always amazed at how much time he gives for the betterment of all.

Don

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

OFC & OCC are different animals, hence the query, glad that you have a source though. I had a buddy that was obsessed with different silver wires and when I would go for a listening session he would swap out 5 sets of different interconnects made with exotic silver wire/ribbon from all around the world to hear for differences, I’ll just say that, the cream rises to the top in my experience, but to each there own, cables are just another rabbit hole in this endless sport.

And ya, Mr. Richie is top shelf, always amazed at how much time he gives for the betterment of all.

Don

Don,
Thanks for addressing the OFC, OCC topic!
I just realized in some of my more recent threads I kept typing OFC, referencing to my wire categories. Guess my mind was thinking of OFC, including the "F" as WWF World Wresting Federation! 

I am actually using OCC teflon coated wire in my projects.  I know its out their, personally I rather have the OCC though. 

Cheers! 

[E-Zee]

NXSTUDIO-
I might be a little late to the conversation but as I've followed your progression on this project, I realize there is one thing I could offer as contribution.   I am setup for wax potting of inductors.  If for this pair or the next, you would like me to wax-pot a pair of coils for you, I'll do so at no charge.  My small way of contributing.  Let me know at some point if that interests you.  You can ship coils to me for the bath, or I can source you coils from my inventory for a faster turnaround.

-Elon
[email protected]
Ezspeakersolutions.com

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

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Elon, I appreciate the offer, however, Mundorf already provides this process with their copper foil inductors.

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Not a fan of Bi-wired speakers, therefore I've taken initiative to modifiy the binding post terminal cup.

Dampened the backside of the terminal cup, to eliminate resonances. All solid copper binding post & nuts inside cabinet.

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

A very simple 1st order crossover. Rubber mounting the crossover as well.





These tiny crossovers are fun to tinker with. Simplicity at it's best! 
Unfortunately, I have a long burn in time with these Mundorf copper foil inductors. Between 100 to as much as 250 hours!
One note, prior to adding the Mundorf's inductors to the speakers crossover, I've noticed the speakers are user friendly with different accociated amplifiers. Owning different amps with different signatures, for example, tubes, solid state A/B, Class D types, the MS Carnival 2's are really diverse, used with different classificaton amplifiers.

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

NoRez, & cross-bracing applied, really makes the cabinet significantly inert.

Positioned NoRez 1" above the ports, enabling them to function, based on the manufacturer design. This photos was taken before I went back and installed a 3/4" dowel support between the front baffle and the rear cabinet.




The little 5/8" Dia. dowel rod going between the cabinet sidewalls really makes a difference with how inert the cabinet is now. The MS's are actually more inert than my NX-Studio's with this additional Dowel added.

Regarding NoRez,
By accident, I found two experimental pieces of MDf from 4 years ago, with NoRez adheared to them.
One sample had no sealant, and the other had sealant applied. Tested both pieces 4years later, by applying pressure attempting to separate the NoRez away from the MDF. End result, the sealed MDF/NoRez faired better. This was the exact reason why I sealed the internal cabinet of my GR-Research NX-Studio cabinets.

1.) By balancing out both sides of the MDF cabinet.
2.) For improved adheason properties, simply by having a less pourous surface.

Final thoughts on NoRez application IMO, I will always seal my internal speaker cabinets for now on, especially if I'm applying NoRez. The Mordaunt Short Carnival 2's now have sealed internal cabinets, prior to NoRez applied.

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Mordaunt Short - Stock circuit board retro-fitted with new upgraded Dueland capacitor, Mundorf copper foil inductor and Dayton 1% tolerance air core resistor. 8N OCC copper teflon coated wiring as well. Photo example of the crossover attached to back of terminal cup.


Notice I darkened the area where driver seats. This was one of way of identified each speaker lined up, other than a serial number.

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Update: Results with completion and fully burned in upgraded crossovers:

Spending more time with my MS – Carnival 2’s, with the Mundorf copper foil inductors installed, has transformed the Carnival’s to another level, I haven’t experienced, prior to the upgrade. Rather than listing songs, used for evaluation, I rather cut to the chase, describing results.

Even though the Dueland capacitors, lifted the veil, with the upgraded crossover. The Mundorf Inductor, took the elevator to a whole new level. With quality recordings, bass for example, I could distinguish which beater was used on a drum pedal. Rather it be a felt beater, which is the easiest to depict versus a polyurethane  or wood beaters, on some close mic’ed recordings. Distinguishing 1/16, even 1/32 notes was remarkable.

Spatial cues, instruments had better three dimensional alignment. Even noticing vocalist movements
on live recordings, left to right, even when stepping back from mic stand on stage. Sound-stage presence width, is beyond the physical boundaries of my smaller room. Several source recordings had affects, If I had to describe, imagine being in an outdoor concert with a light laser show, the beams seemingly reaching out to infinity. I won’t say my experience with the expansiveness was infinite, but notably way beyond the room boundaries.




Playing at higher levels, instruments didn’t get congested, versus stock MS crossover configuration.
Bass attack, just barely lost a little attack, it more than made up in the definition. Snare drum has serious crack, I literally had my snare at hand tuned to the song, I playing on the Carnival 2’s, doing an A-B comparison. Playing my snare simultaneously, then stopping between notes, to see what I might differentiate in sound between my snare and the recorded source. Holy mackerel, to say the least.
To think my total investment between the cost of speakers and upgrade totaled $326.00  I’m ecstatic!

Timbre, air and spacing in the upper registers really shined. Soft passages really presented a relaxed,
enjoyable presentation, with horned instruments. Personally, my ears are hyper sensitive to the horns that play in the upper registers, such as a piccalo trumpet. Since adding the Mundorf copper foils, trumpets, coronet’s and french horns are a pleasure to listen to now. My ears no longer are pierced! Did I mention how well a stand up bass sounds. I was thoroughly enjoying the detail presence ,the MS Carnival 2’s delivered. Another example, playing back a stand-up bass’s I could hear the natural wood bass body resonating to the beautiful notes.

Another very obvious improvement was their decay structure. Instruments presented to the Mordaunts, provided a really nice representation, of how various instruments present their own idividual notible decay of their notes. I've never heard such decay at this level, prior to the upgrade. For example, listening to a piano being played, using the sustain foot pedal or not, the sound of the decay was extended out as nicely as I've heard, many times on my friends baby grand. kettle drums backwaves, from their huge deep tubs, rebounding back onto those giant drum heads resonating, had me grinning, making this upgrade project worthy.

I could listen to Jethro Tull on the flute with exceptional clarity, bringing forth air and spacing imaging, while taking me to the Carnival!

My Subjective Opinion:
The Mordaunt Short Carnival 2’s integrate very well, synergy wise, with either solid state, or tube electronics. Rated at 90db efficiency, I’ve had success using them with SET 300B amps no problem.

One could experiment, dampening the internal cabinet, and ports, simulating a sealed cabinet design. Using polyfil and felt for this application.
Highly recommend the upgrade, if you should happen to own a pair. Regardless of the upgrades, the Mordaunt Short Carnival 2 still has limits of 100 watts peak, so they are best suited for smaller to midsized rooms.

[Tyson]

Nice job on the speakers and GREAT writeup.  I especially liked the laser image explaining how soundstage expanded. 

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Nice job on the speakers and GREAT writeup.  I especially liked the laser image explaining how soundstage expanded. 

Thanks Tyson!
Sorry for the slow response back.

I really like your layout of your audio equipment, those speakers are awesome, what a collection. Looks like your getting low on tubes though!

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I'm actually in the middle of upgrading my second pair of Mordaunt Short 2's now.  One thing I just completed, that I didn't do on the first pair, was providing a 3/16" roundover on the 5 1/2" backside hole on the front baffle. I had hoped I could go larger, but the sidewalls are so close, I didn't have room to do it. It's still better than a sharpe edge, which causes diffraction. I also went with a 3/4" dia. crossbrace too. Not that the 5/8" dia. didn't work well. I just used what I had laying around.





Finished upgrading my second pair of Mordaunt Short Carnival 2 speakers. The project came out excellent, now I'm starting the burn in process on all the upgraded crossover parts. 
_______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ ___

Adding bypass crossover's.
I've held off for a while, before considering the final bypass upgrade.



_______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ ___

More additional tweaks, improving upon, what has been previously documented above, to an even higher level of fidelity.
Subtle, but indeed beneficial, proving time well spent on tweaks. 

Added anti-resonance materials onto specific areas of my drivers and speaker cabinet. Here are the results of my listening sessions, evaluating to see if I could recognize any improvements or not.

https://www.amazon.com/Isolate-Sorbothane-Acoustic-Vibration-Square/dp/B019HU8DVG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

RESULTS,
 
Reduced Harshness:
Damping the tweeter's rear structure with Mortite material, has suppressed high-frequency ringing and "break-up," with listening fatigue playing at higher volumes. Not that it was that bad from the initial upgrades.

Better Clarity and Imaging:
The Sorbothane Film was cut out to the oval shape of the tweeter plate, then positioned onto the cabinet. The addition has given the Carnvial 2's a cleaner soundstage and more precise detail.

Refined Highs:
The combination of Sorbothane and Mortite added to the tweeter, has removed the little bit of remaining "grain" & "shimmer" caused by cabinet resonance. Prior to doing this tweak, I noticed these characteristics happening at higher listening levels. This tweak really makes a differnce on the tweeter, not having any residual resonance carying through the plastic oval plate structure.

Increase Transparency: 
With the noise floor reduced from the vibration of the cabinet walls and driver frames, I'm noticing further improved micro-details.

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Next Tweak

These new rubber plugs give me the option of ported or sealed cabinet.



Sealed conversion provides a much smoother transition between sub.

[Tyson]

Thanks!  I feel like the rest of my system is pretty much locked in now, so the amps are a way for me to play around with different flavors.

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Update:

I've had to remove and re-evaluate my review. Based on my friends assesments, who have seen and heard the Carnival 2 upgrades. They advised me, the AC review was a bit harsh. Revealing, that parts of the review were on point, and the other area's not so much.
They've known me for years, as musicians themselves, and have often told me, I have extremely hyper-sensitive hearing sometimes.

My buddies advised me,
First of all, the speakers are not beaming, nor lobing. (I experienced a temporary side effect called TTTS during first evaluation.)
Although my buddies did acclaim, the Carnivals aren't trounced by the NX-Studio's. Actually, they hold their own very competently.
They liked the car photo's too, thought they were a good metaphor representation between the two speakers.
Lastly, one of them told me, the zobel idea? .... Wouldn't have worked, even if the speakers had those traits.

Later date, we listened to them together, after a few   Later that night, they told me to erase this review. Tell AC, they're really awful sounding. Also mentioned, they've gone back to beaming and lobing like hell, that we need to transfer them to the beach house for further evaluation, and this could take years! 






Perfect retro-fit arrangement, no drilling, just solder to terminals.