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View Full Version : L220 to restore, worth the pain?



Giovanni
12-10-2018, 02:19 PM
I won't resume my old thread about it but rather start a new one, I own 4311B since I was a teen and I like them for electronic music, the chain got a Gyrodec turntable which I love even tho doesn't see much use, a Sony 505ES, an AR SP9 and a twin KT88 Aeron power amp; music wise it's a nice setup, a vintage one, good for electronic music where you don't really look for a stage as well as for live musica but since now I am also into different genres I appreciate some soundstage which, with my speakers (two feet off back walls, 3-4 off of side walls and 5 apart as well as 7 off listening vertex) is nor wide nor deep and I know they weren't meant for this (I bought them as a teen and I only cared about the boom boom of the 12" white woofers), they stand 16 inches off the ground and upside down with mid and tweeter about ear level but, still, when listening to voices or to Frank Sinatra (which is not "a voice" but "the Voice"!) it seems they are all dwarfed and I am not that tall at all...

So, thought of raising the speakers a little further but it would mean get stands bla bla bla so I thought to give my friend's L220 a check, they were his dad's and not being used since long, the passive woofers foam is gone, I asked here in Italy and it's about 200 euros to remake the suspensions, the cabinets have been horribly painted with transparent varnish on the sides and top and with black on the front and back, I might want to remove it all but that's not the point, I went to quickly visit the place where they are held and at a quick, very quick, listening one speaker sounded much lower than the other, we didn't have time for a proper check (too many cables and electronics to arrange), I tried to invert channels on the AV amp but same result, dunno if some loose connection or something wrong with crossovers, what should I check to make sure there is no damage?

Now, since I can get them for a relatively good deal which would justify refoaming and the risk of having to deal with crossovers, would they give a better stage than what my 4311b do or would I just end up with more space ripped off and same results?

I know my amp's 50W are not enough for such big things but that's a secondary issue, I also have a tiny but powerful Adcom GFA535 which might better suit them but first I gotta try and understand if they can be an upgrade vs my 4311b and then if worth the pain restoring.

Thank you all for reading



Giovanni


http://i68.tinypic.com/98gfw5.jpg

JeffW
12-10-2018, 03:50 PM
The mid/high level controls on the back of the speakers are notorious for giving intermittent service - you might be able to jumper around them or test the drivers (carefully! That tweeter diaphragm isn't made any more) separately.