[BLWTX]

I recently purchased 3 X-CS Encore speakers from AV123 and I very pleased with my purchase from a build and audio quality perspective. I understand that there are several upgrades that are available for this speaker that can take them to  a higher level. Since I am naturally a skeptical and value minded individual on upgrades that are only talked about on the web and cannot normally be auditioned or verified without actually making a purchase to prove their validity I have come here to get some advice on adding no rez to the x-cs. My plan is to add no rez to only 1 of my x-cs to verify that a noticeable improvement will be achieved. If I do see a noticeable improvement I will follow up by adding the no rez to the remaining 2 x-cs speakers. This will also allow me to AB compare the difference that the no rez may have on these speakers.

My questions are as follows:

1. Will I need more than 1 sheet of no rez to treat 1 speaker? This may seem obvious that it would by looking at the outside dimensions of this speaker, but once I took a look inside the speaker I wasn't so sure that it would because of the amount of internal bracing that I saw. I also did not want  to remove the damping material to get actual internal measurements of the cabinet without having the no rez in my possession.

2. Should I plan on applying no rez to the cabinet wall where the crossover will be located and using standoffs to raise the crossover above the no rez or would this be a waste of material? It seems that this would be the best method to reduce as much cabinet resonance if this cabinet indeed has any.

3. Am I really just wasting my time and I will not really experience any noticeable sonic improvement or enough to justify the expense, since this cabinet is so well braced and made with 3/4" MDF already?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

PS  I know that this upgrade is also available from Skiing Ninja. but was hoping that Danny would respond, since he is the designer of this speaker. I would also like send my applauds to Danny and AV123 on a great speaker.

[Danny Richie]

1. Will I need more than 1 sheet of no rez to treat 1 speaker?

I believe that you might need a little less than one sheet per speaker, but you can pretty much figure a sheet per speaker.

The difference is not hard to hear. Take away any cabinet resonances and the bass response is cleaner and tighter. Lower vocals are improved as well as they too will sound cleaner.

2. Should I plan on applying no rez to the cabinet wall where the crossover will be located and using standoffs to raise the crossover above the no rez or would this be a waste of material?

Just cut around the crossover. It doesn't take up much space anyway and the crossover itself adds quite a bit of mass to that panel, which is not a bad thing.

3. Am I really just wasting my time and I will not really experience any noticeable sonic improvement or enough to justify the expense, since this cabinet is so well braced and made with 3/4" MDF already?

Even a cabinet with twice that amount of bracing will still benefit from No Rez.

[fcraven]

It seems to me that one of the biggest things we can do to our speakers is to give them good solid non-resonant cabinets. And No-Rez is certainly an easy way to do that. 'course I over did it with my speakers.

But you better be careful, before you know it you'll be caught in the cult, and you will know more about pure copper, paper vs. something-else, the merits of one glue vs. another, etc. etc. etc.

Can one overdue it with No-Rez?????? hmmmmm

[mojave]

I installed No Rez last weekend in my X-CS Encore. I had purchased the precut installation kit from Skiing Ninja for around $64. The X-CS requires the No Rez to be cut into 25 pieces to properly fit around the bracing.

[BLWTX]

I installed No Rez last weekend in my X-CS Encore. I had purchased the precut installation kit from Skiing Ninja for around $64. The X-CS requires the No Rez to be cut into 25 pieces to properly fit around the bracing.

mojave
What are your impressions of the no-rez installed in the x-cs and what percentage of improvement did you notice?

25 pieces, wow!! I should be able to handle that many cuts since I have a table saw and other cutting tools but that is more than I anticipated with just a quick look inside.

[BLWTX]

Thanks for your response Danny. Look for an order in the next few days from me for at least 1 sheet of No-Rez.

[BLWTX]

But you better be careful, before you know it you'll be caught in the cult, and you will know more about pure copper, paper vs. something-else, the merits of one glue vs. another, etc. etc. etc.

That's what scares more than anything about starting down this path. LOL

[corndog71]

I have added No Rez to:

a pair of AV123 X-CS',
a pair of X-SLS',
an X-Voce,
a pair of Klipsch Heresey II's
and a pair of Definitive Technology Studio Monitor 350's.

I have heard instant, worthwhile improvements in all of them.  The Hereseys were night and day differences since they have zero bracing.  The main thing you'll notice is a step up in clarity as it just gets the sound of the box out of the way.

And when you're ready for more, consider the Ninja upgraded crossovers.  The stock crossovers are good but the Sonicaps take these speakers to a level that's just obscene for the money!

When I first got my XCS Classics they sounded nice but noticeably not as good as my SLS Encores.  That Encore tweeter is a major upgrade over the classic version.  Adding the Elite crossover upgrade package with Sonicap Platinums blew my mind away!  They now remind me of some $3,000pr monitors I've lusted after.  Total actual investment was under $500 for the pair!  (I got the xcs' as c-stock for under $100/pr due to crappy veneer)

Sorry if I'm gushing but I'm a big fan of Danny, Sean, and Mark's efforts.  Currently waiting for new crossovers for my SLS' and Voce.

[BLWTX]

Corndog

Thanks for your impressions on the No-rez. I sure wish that I could hear your x-cs speakers, but doubt you are in the Dallas, TX area. I have looked at the possibility of the crossover upgrades as well. One step at a time so that I can actually hear individual improvements per upgrade is my thinking.

[mojave]

I upgraded to No Rez and added Ninja Master crossovers at the same time. There was a nice improvement, but since I did both changes I can't say what effect the No Rez had.

[corndog71]

I added no rez to my xcs' months ago and only recently did the crossovers. 

Say you have a focus knob that goes from 1 to 11.

The original xcs classics were about a 4.

Adding no rez turned them up to about 5.5 maybe 6.

Adding the encore tweeters and sonicaps bumped them up to 10!

[BLWTX]

I just wanted thank you guys for responding to my post!!!  I have ordered the No Rez from Danny and expect it to arrive today or tomorrow. I will probably respond with my impressions as well when I finish the install.

Thanks
Brian

[BLWTX]

No Rez impression

I first installed in just the speaker I was using for center channel duty and a/b compared to stock x-cs and you definetly noticed the  mid bass increase. I then put it back into the center channel position and my 17 year old son walked in while I was testing out my system on a bluray and the first words out of his mouth were "its has more bass" without me even asking his him for his impressions.

A couple days later I installed the No Rez in the remaining 2 x-cs encores serving L/R duty and the front stage is matched and sounding really good. I am glad I went for the No Rez and feel that it really makes my set up sound better. Less schrill or sibilant sounding if those are the correct terms for what I am hearing.

[cujobob]

Anyone know how difficult it would be to install No-Rez in a pair of X-Omnis?  I assume it'd take a few sheets, but the top-loading driver may make the task impossible.

[Danny Richie]

You can reach all of the areas through the woofer hole, unless you have really short arms.

[mojave]

I installed No Rez in my X-Omni's two weeks ago with the kit from Skiing Ninja. There are four chambers in the X-Omni but the kit is only for the top two chambers. You can reach all the way to the bottom chamber, but in the third chamber it would be very hard to scrape away the old felt. The bottom chamber had no felt, but it has the port in it.