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Mach 2's find a new home.......

J

jjtucker2

Active Member
Finally scored a set of Mach 2's locally. Other than the covers being a little rough, they are in excellent shape. Haven't had a lot of time to listen, but they sound great so far. Definitely an improvement over the Mach 1's, but seemingly a step down from the 3's - no surprises really. I will be recapping and refoaming soon.

So I have 1's, 2's, and 3's now...........I think the 1's might be on the way out (or possibly in to the garage).

I'll post some pics later.
 
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jjtucker2 said:
Finally scored a set of Mach 2's locally. Other than the covers being a little rough, they are in excellent shape. Haven't had a lot of time to listen, but they sound great so far. Definitely an improvement over the Mach 1's, but seemingly a step down from the 3's - no surprises really. I will be recapping and refoaming soon.

So I have 1's, 2's, and 3's now...........I think the 1's might be on the way out (or possibly in to the garage).

I'll post some pics later.
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Three Amigo's, lucky you. I'm only missing the Mach Three. I know where there are a pair, but the business that has them has been closed, indefinitely. I've been having issues with the mids and tweets (no surprise) on my Mach One's and plan to do the VL service on them, which I've read makes a huge difference. When I compared my One's with my original Two's (way back) I ended up selling the Two's. I, personally, enjoyed the tighter bass for music, but began to miss the strength of the Two's with HT and of course some specifics types of music. Fast forward and I have another pair of Two's that I've done the Woofers on, but now need to do the mids on, and later the xovers. I'll make a "fair" comparison (both restored systems) when all is done. That will be a while.
 
So right............

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Cabs have one nick in the top, other than that a little lemon oil made them look new again! Woofer surrounds are toast and a recap will happen in a couple of weeks. Pretty impressed overall with how they sound. Don't know if I have the heart to send the Mach 1's out into the garage......gonna have to think about that. I know I could sell them but I think they would sound better in a larger room. Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but I do like them.

Huh, just realized I haven't posted in a few months. Summer flew by quickly.
 
Copa1934 said:
Three Amigo's, lucky you. I'm only missing the Mach Three. I know where there are a pair, but the business that has them has been closed, indefinitely. I've been having issues with the mids and tweets (no surprise) on my Mach One's and plan to do the VL service on them, which I've read makes a huge difference. When I compared my One's with my original Two's (way back) I ended up selling the Two's. I, personally, enjoyed the tighter bass for music, but began to miss the strength of the Two's with HT and of course some specifics types of music. Fast forward and I have another pair of Two's that I've done the Woofers on, but now need to do the mids on, and later the xovers. I'll make a "fair" comparison (both restored systems) when all is done. That will be a while.
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Copa....lucky me indeed! The wife has approved these, but we are discussing the fate of the Ones. I can put the foot down, but she has been pretty patient with this whole gear thing so I don't want to push it. I think she is ok as long as we don't end up with a wall of sound in the living room. So maybe it is VL mod time?:scratch2: I really hate to mess with them because they are in such great shape, but then why fix up a crappy pair, right?

I have read many reviews of Mach speakers, and I still hold the opinion that the Mach 3's were the best of the bunch. There is lots of love for the 2's out there, and I see why. Now maybe a recap and refoam will really wake these up, I don't know. Recapping really made the 3's (and 1's) way better than I could imagine.

Oh, the guy I bought them from is an Ak'er. I got to hang out and listen to some of his gear, of which there was much. Almost threw down some bills for an STA-2100 (torroid) he had, but I thought better of it. I'd just as soon spend the money to get the CR-2040 freshened up.

By the way, anyone know of the top of the head what caps I need? I'd like to order them soon.
 
jjtucker2 said:
Copa....lucky me indeed! The wife has approved these, but we are discussing the fate of the Ones. I can put the foot down, but she has been pretty patient with this whole gear thing so I don't want to push it. I think she is ok as long as we don't end up with a wall of sound in the living room. So maybe it is VL mod time?:scratch2: I really hate to mess with them because they are in such great shape, but then why fix up a crappy pair, right?

I have read many reviews of Mach speakers, and I still hold the opinion that the Mach 3's were the best of the bunch. There is lots of love for the 2's out there, and I see why. Now maybe a recap and refoam will really wake these up, I don't know. Recapping really made the 3's (and 1's) way better than I could imagine.

Oh, the guy I bought them from is an Ak'er. I got to hang out and listen to some of his gear, of which there was much. Almost threw down some bills for an STA-2100 (torroid) he had, but I thought better of it. I'd just as soon spend the money to get the CR-2040 freshened up.

By the way, anyone know of the top of the head what caps I need? I'd like to order them soon.
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There's a post with the cap values but I'd have to dig a little for that. The biggest improvement for the Ones, for me anyway, will likely come from ab overhaul of the mids and tweeters. I'm hearing more and more what has been described by others, likely due to age and of course wear and tear. I did the caps and the improvement was grand, but the mids and tweets are breaking up, especially at higher volumes or more challenging pieces (many instruments, vocals, etc.).

Be sure to check the surrounds of your mids, they definitely go bad. They're not as obvious due to the grill. The difference becomes more pronounced after the woofers have been refoamed, they walk all over the mids.

Completely relate on the wife thing. My wife, at first, was ready to put me in the dog house, but as I turned stuff over, and things essentially paid for themselves, she let up. I just can't let the equipment overcome our existence. I really have to unload a dozen or so pairs of speakers. Just stupid having them sit around knowing I'll never listen to them again.
 
Copa1934 said:
Be sure to check the surrounds of your mids, they definitely go bad. They're not as obvious due to the grill. The difference becomes more pronounced after the woofers have been refoamed, they walk all over the mids.

Completely relate on the wife thing. My wife, at first, was ready to put me in the dog house, but as I turned stuff over, and things essentially paid for themselves, she let up. I just can't let the equipment overcome our existence. I really have to unload a dozen or so pairs of speakers. Just stupid having them sit around knowing I'll never listen to them again.
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Good advice on the mids, I will check them out as well. Seems reasonable that they need to be replaced. I've been looking for a cap list, haven't found one yet. I can always yank the woofers out and get them that way, just wanted to avoid that if possible.

The last thing I want is a gear warehouse (stuff that is not hooked up). My 9 year old is really eyeballing the Mach Ones'................I'm wondering if he is not wanting to build a system soon? Maybe I should hang onto them for him.
 
jjtucker2 said:
Good advice on the mids, I will check them out as well. Seems reasonable that they need to be replaced. I've been looking for a cap list, haven't found one yet. I can always yank the woofers out and get them that way, just wanted to avoid that if possible.

The last thing I want is a gear warehouse (stuff that is not hooked up). My 9 year old is really eyeballing the Mach Ones'................I'm wondering if he is not wanting to build a system soon? Maybe I should hang onto them for him.
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9 year old? God help us. ;-)
 
I remember my first 8-Trac/Phono/FM Stereo combo from a flea market when I was about his age. He might be getting a better start than I had.:D
 
I also need some Mach Two mids surrounds. Haven't been able to locate any suitable replacements for the complete drivers.
 
Clint said:
I also need some Mach Two mids surrounds. Haven't been able to locate any suitable replacements for the complete drivers.
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One or two of the internet sources claim they have them, but I don't recall published dimensions. I have a source that carries hundreds of surrounds and still haven't come up with suitable sizes. I'm thinking of swapping in JBL LE5's or HPM mids. There are others, but honestly the mid isn't bad. Pretty good size magnet (larger than the JBL) but not as large as the HPM.

Among my family I was the first to have "nice" audio equipment. That wasn't till my teens, late teens.
 
Recap has been completed and the woofers were refoamed. I checked the mid foams and they seem good enough to leave alone. I didn't push too hard, but the surrounds seem flexible and not too fragile. If anyone finds a source, I'll refoam them.

I've gotta say I am impressed with these speakers and they definitely sound better than the Mach Ones. Maybe even better than the Threes. I am really digging the high end on these thanks to the super tweeter. The mids and highs just walk all over the Mach Ones. So now I have to figure out what to do with the Mach Ones. :tears:
 
Oh, BTW, Cap values as follows,

2 - 4.7uF
2 - 2.2uF
1 - 8.0 uf (I used an 8.2)
1 - 33 uF

I use polyproylene caps and they all "fit". The 33 is much larger, but it fits.
 
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