A7 Project Thread

**Voice_of_the_Llama** · September 15th, 2011, 09:07 PM

Installed the fabric...

**Panomaniac** · September 16th, 2011, 11:27 AM

That's looks really great. Thanks for the photos. Now I want to do the same!

**voice of the theater** · September 16th, 2011, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Voice_of_the_Llama

Got them put back together and set up in the living room for a test listen. I had to put the tweeters on max attenuation for the best sound. Right now they're being driven by a keyocera SS receiver and they sound pretty good but a bit harsh and "screechy"...what you would expect from most 80's SS amps through horn speakers... They are certainly not "Hi-Fi" speakers by any stretch but I think with some experimentation and modification I'll be able to get them to sound better.

Those speakers look beautiful--great job! Have you obtained/installed matching h.f. drivers yet? From your statement about them not being hi-fi speakers by any stretch, I assume you haven't "tweaked" them much (yet) to further improve their sound quality. Those speakers can be "tweaked" to have a phenomenal hi-fi sound. After you find an appropriate/optimal amp to drive them with, you can change the tuning of the cabs (internally) to get significantly deeper bass out of them. That should give you greatly improved low end. If you still find the high end inadequate after installing matching h.f. drivers, you can install brand new (authentic) h.f. diaphragms from Great Plains Audio to replace the (most likely) fatigued diaphragms you've got now (if you're buying a driver anyways to obtain a matched set (and considering buying new diaphragms), I'd buy two 802-8G tangerine phase plug drivers instead--people here can tell you how to compensate for the impedance difference (or brand new 16 ohm 902's from GPA) and sell the two mismatched drivers you have as singles on ebay). To really improve the mids and highs, you could try a Z-19 (Variant?) or Model 19 (variation) type crossover....... Trust me, those babies will blow away your Klipsch if "optimally" restored/enhanced and will have great sounding bass, mids, and high end (usable h.f. response to 20,000 hz).....

If you want to keep them more or less "original", just tweaking the cabinet tuning (primarily by blocking off part of the port from the inside) will significantly improve the bass, and finding an optimal amp to drive them with (possibly combined with new/authentic replacement h.f. diaphragms from GPA) will go a long way to improving the high end/overall sound (after you've obtained a second 802-c as per your plan).......
Just my two cents.....

**Altec Best** · September 16th, 2011, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by Voice_of_the_Llama

Installed the fabric...

I must say they came out looking great !Now we hope we can get them sounding superb for ya. For someone really just starting out in this hobby to do such a great job in such a short time is Very Impressive ! Take a Bow young man, "Great Job" !

**Audio_by_Goodwill** · September 16th, 2011, 03:49 PM

Wow, that does look really nice. I was questioning the grill cloth when you first mentioned it, since I didn't like the look of it on my cabinets (since sold), but it does look great.

**Voice_of_the_Llama** · September 18th, 2011, 09:38 PM

OK... Got the MC 30s hooked to the A7's. Needless to say, the Macs sound 100x better than the Keyocera! The sound is full-bodied and very natural. The imaging/soundstage is still not quite as good as my La Scalas but the bass seems to have more authority. I can't wait to get my other 802C.