Restoring Rectilinear x1a's

[kegmon]

Was gifted a pair of Rectilinear x1a's recently, took the grill off and found piezos where the original tweeters had been. They work, but as I'm one who likes to restore old things to their original state or better, what would be a good replacement tweeter for this particular model? I realize that these are fairly low end models for the Rectilinear brand so maybe they're not worth fixing at all? They're attached to a Marantz 4270 and sound 'ok' but if I could make these things sing with a proper tweeter, that'd be great... Would appreciate any suggestions.. Thanks in advance!

 

[drbiggles]

Hi!

I haven't had the honor of hearing the little dears, maybe some day soon. But I've read what's on the net and here about them and I would say they're most certainly worth restoring. Especially if all they need are the tweeters. FredsBands may have some information for you regarding the tweeters, he's had a few Rectilinears in his past.

I'm not sure if any tweeters for them have been up on fleabay any time in the recent past. I look for the III's mostly. You could try a post in Barter Town to see if anyone has some in their stash. If nothing shows up, I'm sure some old sales literature would have some information that might lead you to a decent replacement. But yes, I would most certainly hang on to them and get them back on the road, so to speak.

Biggles

ps - Pictures?

 

[sregor]

Parts Express has tweeters which are pretty close to the originals. Search for phenolic ring tweeters.

 

[drbiggles]

And, of course you'll want to stick your nose in to the crossovers and most certainly replace the caps. Sure, it's possible that they're still within spec. But at this point, go ahead and get that taken care of.

Biggles

 

[kegmon]

Thanks for the help! I went ahead and ordered 2 phenolic ring tweets this afternoon.. Here's a couple pics of where we're at now. Any trick to loosening the glue holding the old tweeters' plastic mounting plates? Hooked these up tonight just as they are (I just got one of the woofs reconed), and Holst's Jupiter Suite just happened to be on the radio... magical.. Being new to the audiophile world, should I expect the new tweets to deliver more delicate high mid's & highs? Maybe I have an untrained ear, but I thought the piezos sounded pretty good.. although being a semi pro musician I thought that piezos were more commonly used for older P.A. systems.

 

[tonyk]

I've got a couple pair of speakers with phenolic ringed tweeters, sparkle up top not so much, vocals though are pretty good.

 

[cablephil212]

If you can get the piezo tweeters off in one piece, save them. Depending on how the new ones sound, you could add the piezo's for some extra sparkle.

You can try a heat gun, or a hair dryer to soften the glue on the plates. Don't know if it'll work, but worth a try. Also, but with CAUTION, a little Acetone might dissolve the adhesive. Wear gloves, and do it outside if you go that route. It's nasty stuff.

Have Fun.