I Finally Got Myself Some Special Infinity Speakers

tlcasper

tlcasper

Active Member
I Finally Got Myself Some Special Infinity Speakers - Monitor IIA

:smoke:

Monitor IIA's to be exact.
The woofers have been refoamed, but thats about it. The rest is all original, and I got both tops with them. The serial numbers are consecutive too.

They need a clean up and polish, the wood and grills are very good.

I could not be happier, they sound stunning hooked up to a Dynaco ST400 and a tube pre. The bass is deep and full, and the mids really sing.

The super tweeter works fine and even my old ears hear them. The foam inside them looks to have shrunk and come away from the cones. Can this be replaced?
I have been using the search function, and finding great stuff so far. But many of the threads branch off numerous times, lots of reading to do. I think these will be in use here for a while, they sound great!

Any suggestions or observations will be appreciated.
Dave.

14429431353_ddea6bb9e5_c.jpg
[/url]Untitled by tlcasper, on Flickr[/IMG]

14407947682_2936bfebfd_c.jpg
[/url]Untitled by tlcasper, on Flickr[/IMG]

14407950562_9f7a0dc9f3_c.jpg
[/url]Untitled by tlcasper, on Flickr[/IMG]

14409260525_31f503bfde_c.jpg
[/url]Untitled by tlcasper, on Flickr[/IMG]

14386133356_e877ea4367_c.jpg
[/url]Untitled by tlcasper, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
Last edited:
Congrats!
You are fortunate as often times it seems the Walsh tweeters are missing and/or broke.
Hopefully someone here should be able to give you information about what to do with the shrunken foam.
 
Thanks guys, and a big thanks to Loquatious, that is great information.
I'll order the foam tonight. The photos were a big help, I assumed the foam was cut and formed to that full cone shape. Now I see it's more of a cap fit down on the the cone.

Are there any specific precautions for removing the old foam?
And any idea what the small ball of gray putty on the bottom of each cone is for?

Thanks again.
Dave
 
the mysterious ball of putty at the base of the walsh seems to serve to help dampen the cone somehow. it is usually missing, so it's nice yours still have it, and it speaks to how original your IIa's are and how well they were maintained.

when removing the old crumbling foam from the walsh, it's best to invert the tweeter, so any dislodged crumbs fall out. you want to remove as much of the old foam as you can, but don't worry too much about what is stuck to the old adhesive on the cone. that cone is VERY easy to damage. a toothbrush (or similar) will help gently dislodge the loose crumbs from the adhesive. the polyfill beneath the foam will keep any stray crumbs from getting down into the exposed voice coil at the base of the cone, but its best to have as few crumbs in the throat of the cone as you can manage. if cut correctly, the replacement foam does not need to be glued in. a friction fit will work fine. when installing the new foam disk, install over the center support first, then gently tuck the outer edge into the mouth of the cone to form the dome.



.
 
Great info, thanks. This site has so many helpful members, wonderful people!

Now I have huge problem, I've been home alone for a while and blasting some of my favourite albums through the Infinity's. The longer I listen, the more I like them. To shut them down while I do the Walsh's and tidy up the wood feels like a crime.
But I'm so excited to refresh them too. Ahhh.... what to do.

Exile On Main Street
Born Under A Bad Sign
Dark Side Of The Moon

Have all sounded so good.
 
glad you're enjoying them. it will be worth it to do the work to bring them back. neither doing the walsh foam, nor feeding the wood is a big project, you shouldn't be down more than a day. here is a tip. its good to have the walshes out when you restore your wood. after you remove the walsh from the cabinet, take a small hammer and gently tap out the side grills from the inside. they were held in with little dabs of hot glue. they are a snug fit, but should be easy to tap out. this allows you to deal with treating the wood without staining the side grills. my side grills fit the openings so well i didn't have to glue them back in. a friction fit holds them tight. in fact they fit the openings so exactly, i label them before removal, so i know how they go back in.

the veneer on the cabs is walnut, but infinity used a mahogany stain to bring out some redness in the finish. your wood looks to be in good shape. a treatment with howards restore-a-finish, then a coat of oil should do it.


.
 
Those are great albums, from start to finish.

I was wondering about the side grills. I'll soon shut them down to do the cabinets, likely when the foam gets here I'll do everything at once. I thought they looked a little reddish for walnut, I may do a walnut to them as I like a little darker colour, not sure yet.

Warren Zevon now !
 
My Thiel's are CS1.2.
Interesting question, I've been trying to figure that out. As different as they are in design, They are very similar to listen to.

I haven't A/B'ed them on the same amp, the Thiel's are hooked up to a re-capped Sansui AU-717. And the Infinity's are on a Dynaco ST400 with a tube pre.
The room is quite large as well.
Both are great at filling the room with music, something I really like, the music sounds like it's coming from everywhere.
The Thiel's come alive very easily and are clean and tight sounding.
The Monitors IIA's like a little power before they really shine, then the bass can be felt without booming, and the mids may be the nicest I've heard.

I'm having a lot of fun, I feel I've hit a real sweet spot in room and systems.
 
Looking good! Such beautiful wood already and when done I'm sure they'll sound better because of it. ;) Was hoping you'd have the foam by now so we could all hear your impressions about getting it all done and how it all went. Always wanted a pair of those because I always thought they sounded so effortless at getting out of the way and allowing the music to flow. Great job!
 
looking good indeed! not just the speakers, but damn!, canada sure is green in the summer! what an idyllic place to sand your cabs. here in socal its a toasty brown this time of year (and most others due to our perpetual drought). its nice to see all that green.

the monitor IIa's are coming along nicely, keep us posted on your progress.




.
 
Hoping the foam makes it by the time I'm done with the wood. :scratch2:

LOL lots to green is right, almost 2 acres to cut on the lawn mower.
But I hear you about the dry areas too. I just got back from the Okanogan Vally in BC, dry there too.

Love doing these projects, fun to see them come back to life.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

tlcasper
New Addition
Replies
2
Views
282
AUD101
AUD101
tlcasper
I've Joined The Club! MC 2205 & C 28
Replies
7
Views
926
kevzep
kevzep
tlcasper
A McIntosh Restoration In Canada
Replies
15
Views
1K
Bubo
Bubo
analog addict
c-20... My turn
Replies
19
Views
631
analog addict
analog addict
analog addict
UTC Transformer connection reference document
Replies
5
Views
238
soundmotor
soundmotor
Back
Top Bottom