REPAIRING THE BOSTON ACOUSTICS A400 CRUMMY BASES........

boatdrinks77

Well-Known Member
Hi guys, I picked up a pair of Boaton Acoustic A400's at a thrift store about 5 years ago --- (I know, I'm an idiot for not fixing them years ago)

The surrounds need replaced and both particle board bases were busted up when I got them - luckily ONE of the metal legs was still attached by a screw, so I have an original to reproduce the 3 other legs from.....

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So..... I went to Lowes and bought a 4' piece of 1/2" square steel and cut 3 more legs from it. My brother is making me 2 new bases from solid oak with a solid center (I think he used Poplar for the center piece)........

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Now i have to drill the holes in the metal legs..... I ordered plastic end caps today -- and of course I need to paint the legs black. Also ordered new surrounds today.


More to come........ Dan :music:
 
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When I had my A200s, I thought of building bases, hollow, but with closed in bottoms. With that, you could fill the inside of the base with sand or lead shot, before bolting them onto the bottom of the speaker cabinet. That additional mass should make a difference in the bass resolution and detail...
 
When I had my A200s, I thought of building bases, hollow, but with closed in bottoms. With that, you could fill the inside of the base with sand or lead shot, before bolting them onto the bottom of the speaker cabinet. That additional mass should make a difference in the bass resolution and detail...

That is a clever idea !
 
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Ok, after a rough cut, I cut and grinded the legs to the proper length, buffed all the rough edges and drilled the mounting holes in the legs. Then I prepped them for painting by cleaning the steel with acetone, buffing with #0 steel wool and cleaning again with acetone. Tomorrow I will paint them.

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Looking good so far! I've replaced and/or upgraded plenty of cheap particle board bases before. It's a great way to make the cabinets look nicer.
 
I have a pair of A150 that came with the beat up black vinyl covered MDF bases. A friend replicated them in oak and I recovered the grilles. The A150 does not have the metal stabilizers though. If it were me, I would recess the stabilzer bars into the bases, so thay were flush to the bottom of the base.

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I have a pair of A150 that came with the beat up black vinyl covered MDF bases. A friend replicated them in oak and I recovered the grilles. The A150 does not have the metal stabilizers though. If it were me, I would recess the stabilizer bars into the bases, so they were flush to the bottom of the base..


Another Clever idea ! Are your A150's stable without having the stabilizer bars on them ? These A400s can be pretty easily be knocked over without the metal legs attached...
 
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Another Clever idea ! Are your a150s stable without having the stabilizer bars on them ? These A400s can be pretty easily be knocked over without the metal legs attached....

Very stable. I think the only A Series that used the stabilizer bar were the A200 and A400.
 
I picked up a pair of A400's about 6 months ago. I refoamed the woofers and mids and love the sound! Now I need to build new bases. Mine don't look like they ever had the steel legs - no holes in the bases where they would have been mounted. I've looked all over for pictures or descriptions of the legs so I could add them. Your pics and descriptions are just what I've been looking for. Thanks, boatdrinks77! Could you tell me how long the legs are? And where did you order the plastic end caps from? I'm thinking I want to notch the ends of the base so the legs are almost flush with the bottom of the base.
 
Could you tell me how long the legs are? And where did you order the plastic end caps from? I'm thinking I want to notch the ends of the base so the legs are almost flush with the bottom of the base.


Legs are 1/2" OD square steel, exactly 13" long. I'm glad I had the one original leg to work from!

They sell the square steel at Lowes and Home Depot. They have it in 36" and 48" lengths. I paid about $8 for a 48" piece which yielded me 3 legs. I guess the most logical thing to do is buy two 36" pieces which you will be able to get 4 legs out of.

The end caps I got on eBay. They were about $6 shipped for 10 caps. Just search "1/2 inch Square Plastic Tubing Plug / End Cap" on eBay and you'll find them.

So it'll cost you about $20 for 4 legs, plus $5 for a can of Spray Paint.

Do your A 400s have those black painted particle board bases on them ? Dan :music:
 
I just took another look at the bases. Yes, they're particle board. But instead of black paint they were wrapped in a black vinyl tape. The vinyl appears to be original as there is only glue under it, no sign of paint. And it turns out that there are holes where the legs were mounted. Missed that when I removed the bases.

The guy I bought them from wasn't the original owner and he said the legs weren't on them when he got them. I'm still debating whether to paint the new bases black or stain them to match the cabinets.

Thanks for the info, Dan. Just what I need.

Chuck
 
I have A400s without the legs, but on my hardwood floors, they are pretty stable, soI never saw a need for them anyway. They're meant to be placed as close against the wall as possible, wouldn't the legs force them out a bit? What it the offset, do the legs extend more forward than back?
 
I measured the depth of the speakers.

The A400s are 6 1/2" deep. The legs are 13", so the overhang would be (13 - 6.5) / 2 = 3.25" overhang.

The grill covers are about 1/2" thick, so the front would have a 2 3/4" overhang.
 
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Legs are 1/2" OD square steel, exactly 13" long. I'm glad I had the one original leg to work from!

They sell the square steel at Lowes and Home Depot. They have it in 36" and 48" lengths. I paid about $8 for a 48" piece which yielded me 3 legs. I guess the most logical thing to do is buy two 36" pieces which you will be able to get 4 legs out of.

The end caps I got on eBay. They were about $6 shipped for 10 caps. Just search "1/2 inch Square Plastic Tubing Plug / End Cap" on eBay and you'll find them.

So it'll cost you about $20 for 4 legs, plus $5 for a can of Spray Paint.

Do your A 400s have those black painted particle board bases on them ? Dan :music:

Since you're making all four legs- if you want to economize a bit, you could make all four legs 12", and cut them all four from one 48" long piece.

The speaker isn't going to magically not work right just because the legs are 1" shorter than original.

Obviously, if you had one or more original legs, you'd want to match that- but starting from scratch? You have some leeway there...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Since you're making all four legs- if you want to economize a bit, you could make all four legs 12", and cut them all four from one 48" long piece.

The speaker isn't going to magically not work right just because the legs are 1" shorter than original.

Obviously, if you had one or more original legs, you'd want to match that- but starting from scratch? You have some leeway there...

Regards,
Gordon.


Gordon, I totally agree. Then again, why not dish out 5 more bucks and make them the original length. Either way would be fine..
 
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