IMF owners thread!

>When I ordered the ALCAP set from Falcon Acoustics, however, it was missing two of the 4µF capacitors (see below).

>I sent them an email about it, and they said that their capacitor list was for the domestic version of the crossover, and that I must have the export version. Nevertheless, they graciously sent me two more 4µF caps for free.[/QUOTE]

Same thing here, but after contacting him he did sent me some 4µF capacitors as well :) Pretty cool!
Now i have to find the time and patience to put all those caps in....

Perhaps if someone else wants to order the capacitor replacement set for the TLS50II or ALS40, he'd better check out if he is in need of the 4µF capacitors or the 6µF capacitors - and contact the shop before ordering?
 
Hi Menno,

With some of the sets that Jerry offers he has already identified that there were variant produced during the lifespan of the production run, thus he normally will supply both values of a particular cap as he did with my RSPM Mk IV's. I have a couple of caps left over that that are of a different value to the original ones installed.
For the small costing involved in the extra caps it saves a helluva lot of time and messing around waiting for the identical spec units to be sent.

Unfortunately we all learn something new everyday I guess
 
Hi All

Came across some TLS80 speakers recently and they had plastic laminate (wood coloured) instead of real wood veneer. I thought all the reference series speakers were wood veneered?
They looked to be original IMFs as the owner had bought 2 sets from new at a well known Hifi store in Melbourne Australia many years ago. The speaker terminals were at the top of the speakers on the right instead of in the middle This gentleman stacked the two TLS80s on top of each other :yikes:.
Did IMF have a budget series with laminates instead of the lovely wood veneer for a time there???
 
There were a few that were issued in "Laminex" finish but they were very early units. I've never seen any in the flesh though.
 
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Makes sense they were early versions before coming out with wood venner. Do you think they were still made in England or maybe constructed here in Australia?
 
Hi Andrew, the laminate IMF are the professionnal MKIII with the terminal on the top side ( 1×right,1×left).tls80 are all veneer.You have pictures of these speakers?
 
Hi,my old pair of professionnal have the terminals on the right (both), the other pair I got have the terminals on opposite side.
 
Hi Yvan. I don't have pics as they aren't mine and I don't anticipate I will see the owner any time soon. They were TLS80s as the owner bought them new. Do the Mklll have a metal plate on the bottom? These speakers did not. They had the two rectanglar/square vents with egg shell foam. Grey in colour. The super tweeters were at the top in the midline.
Yes terminals were at the top on the left of standing in front of the speakers from memory.
 
Hi, no Andrew no plate, but IMF used the formica on the early professionnal,some early Studio and Middle Import model and only the back was formica finish,I'M very sceptical about these Tls 80,they should be all wood veneer for the finish.Take pictures if you have a chance.
 
Hi Andrew,

I to feel that no TLS-80's came out with Laminex surface treatment, I'm not sure that they ever used Formica as Yvan suggests, as Laminex was all the rage in the 1970's and Formica more so in the 1980's. It's only ever been the PM Mk III as Yvan suggests that were the Laminex examples.

If these are genuine TLS-80's and finished in Laminex then they'll be the first ones I've heard of and also to be here in Australia would be an even bigger abnormality.
 
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I will see if I can get some pictures. It will be asurprise for sure for the owner to discover they may be Professional monitor mkIIIs.
 
Hi all here are the speakers in question.
IMF-pioneer, Yvan and canuckaudiog
I think you are all on the money with it being professional monitor mkIIIs, black front baffle, and the filling looks like that hand woven honeycomb filters that are on the MkIIIs? Is that bass driver the older race track KEFs?
 

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Hi Andrew,

The PM Mk. III's used the old style Yellow Bats type fibreglass insulation material and the Bass driver is the original KEF 25 watt B139. They would sound really good but it's that Bass driver that holds them back. One has to remember that back in the 1970's most gear around was only putting out around 10 to 15 watts thus speaker technology hadn't moved up the ranks of power handling in the mainstream music equipment market. It was starting to move upwards in the late 1970's though and became a bit of a spacerace between the manufacturers at the time, just look at the "Receiver Wars" era between Pioneer, Marantz and Sansui which ended up in the 300 watt RMS area.

Amazing how quickly the technology escalated, as did the speakers to handle this massive increase in power output.

It was basically my tally wacker is bigger than your tally wacker.

Enjoy the ride !!!
 
One thing about Laminex over real timber is that the Laminex will resist abrasion marks while real timber will bruise and is easily damaged, but for me real timber is what it's all about unless you are a 1970's retro fan. Gotta love those Kitchens that were full of laminex bench tops in the 1960's and 70's.
 
Hi Andrew,

The PM Mk. III's used the old style Yellow Bats type fibreglass insulation material and the Bass driver is the original KEF 25 watt B139. They would sound really good but it's that Bass driver that holds them back. One has to remember that back in the 1970's most gear around was only putting out around 10 to 15 watts thus speaker technology hadn't moved up the ranks of power handling in the mainstream music equipment market.

So those B139s that are available now at Falcon acoustics could be a drop in replacement but with greater wattage. Would think the crossovers would have to be modified to fit those new drivers?
 
So those B139s that are available now at Falcon acoustics could be a drop in replacement but with greater wattage. Would think the crossovers would have to be modified to fit those new drivers?

Hi Andrew,

Unfortunately, the newer KEF B139 SP1044 has a different sized chassis frame compared to the early original oval framed B139. The mounting holes do not line up at all, although I hung an SP1044 on one of my Professional Monitor III that was missing it's woofer and even poorly fitting and sealed, it sounded workable. Interestingly, comparing the two drivers side by side, the surrounds and cones, magnet diameter and height, and the top plate / outer magnet gap plate have the exact same dimensions. Hmmm, intrepidly, IF the voice coil were same diameter and similar windings, just better high temp materials, maybe it's possible to transplant the SP1044 guts into an older chassis. Lots of work for a Frankendriver. I have since sourced a pair of original B139 to use, currently frame is raw metal, not painted black like IMF used.

A more likely solution is to custom design and 3D print (in suitably strong plastic) or CNC cut an adapter plate out of wood and then use the smaller chassis SP1044. I suspect the drivers to be similar enough acoustically that you could get away with it, maybe with a slight mod to the crossover, maybe to pad them down a little because of higher power handling and maybe a slight increase in nominal output per watt sensitivity.

It's a good question to put to Malcolm Jones and Jerry Bloomfield of Falcon. Hmm, maybe they could come up with a recone kit for the older driver? How to center the voice coil though since no access for shims?
 
It appears that Laminex (NZ) 1934, Formica (1912), and any European / UK equivalent, are all very similar resin based building and decorative surface materials. Use of these as thin board interior surfaces all started in the 50's and blossomed in the early 60's. The only brochure I could find so far on the Monitor III is the US based IMF / Fried written document which lists them as Formica covered, but I'm sure that's almost used as a generic term.

Interestingly, the Laminex and Formica companies are now owned by one NZ based conglomerate.
 
I never thought I'd be looking at Laminex as a product to research back on, but I have and it's rather interesting on how it all came about. I've always thought of it as a 1970's product but found it was a product that has a long history of constantly re-inventing itself in new products.

I guess we learn something new everyday if we're interested.
 
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