ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
I've recently purchased a set of S75s which I plan on giving a slight overhaul. They look pretty good for soon to be 40 year old (wish I looked that good) so nothing major planned: New caps in the filter, some slightly upgraded internal cabling (usually In-Akustik 1.5mm2) and clean and oil the veneer as there are no major scratches or anything. The stands looks decent too so will be stripped, primed with zinc cold galvanize and then a quick coat or 3 of light grey/silver. Here's a picture of a set of S50 stands I did (same recipe)
https://i.imgur.com/xycDC4X.jpg
https://imgur.com/s9pNFIi.jpg
I usually don't listen too much to speakers this old, not until I've done the electrical part of the restoration - only hooked them up to make sure all drivers were working (which they are, happy days), but from what little I did hear, they sound decent so there is definitely potential*. One thing I've read more than once, is regarding the slightly loose bass- one thing is for sure, they are nowhere near as "tight" as my restored S120s - but there is one obvious thing I think can somewhat remedy that: The cast plastic front is slightly wobbly: probably able to give 2-3 mm in the center (around the top of the woofer), and I know enough to know that that is not a good thing. And there is a super quick way to at least partly fix this - more pictures when done.
https://imgur.com/fuITBzJ.jpg
Another thing - that filter :D Replacing the caps will be massive fun I think. Well. Maybe not. Considering adding a second piece of fiberboard to the bottom.
https://imgur.com/sKm1Wa4.jpg
* When I first hooked up the S120s to check the drivers, I nearly got rid of them right then and there. Now they've replaced the restored Beolab Pentas as main speakers - night and day difference.
Why do you like the s120 more then the pentas.
Ohhh. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE the Pentas. The way the "semi line array" couples to the room and involves you - that is something the S120s can only dream about, and something I, admittedly, miss when watching movies. However, the Pentas are without a doubt, a victim of design first, and I think that shows, the mid isn't quite as nice as it is on the S120s and I think this relates to the configuration with the 4 semi-crappy mid range drivers (made by Nokia of all companies - woohoo I guess).
Another thing - we live in a relatively small apartment - living room is no more than 20sqm, so the Pentas take a lot of room, visibly. Technically, the foot print isn't larger than the 120s, but their presence is a lot bigger. We're looking into buying a house in the near future, so I'm not getting rid of them just yet.
[Edit:] Just realised my final comment in the first post might be misunderstood - the "Night and Day" difference was referring to the S120s alone from when I got them, unloved and unrestored, to the final version with reconed woofer, new caps, new cabling, bypassed overload switch etc.
XAs far as I know real good speakers were made since the seventees.
the beovox s120 is the smaller version of the m150. These speakers have an excellent reputation.
did you do any modification on the Pentas?
Can you comment on the differences between the s120 and the m75?
the m75 was one of the first uniphase designs. These speakers were a massive improvement in the history of B&O speaker designs.
I hope you mean S75s - though I wish I'd found a set of Ms ;)
And as said - I have not given them enough play time yet as the result would be unfair given that the 120s have had cabling and caps replaced, overload switch bypassed and a lot of play time. I will of course update once the S75s are done and I've given them a couple of weeks of workout.
Just a small update - got the crossovers sorted with new Mundorf caps and In-Akustik cabling. Also got the bracing for the front done - doesn't give a single millimeter now which should tighten things up considerably. The front of the bracing is glued to the front plate with Tec7 and to the sides of the cabinet and the existing brace with wood glue (lots and lots). The screws holding the plates together could be removed, but being soaked in the glue there's no chance of them working themselves loose - ever, so I'll just leave them in. The new brace is 15 mm thick btw.
https://i.imgur.com/CuYrRVD.jpg
Nothing like a good Birds nest to get your head around (that's what we call something like this here in Denmark)
https://i.imgur.com/hAoF4l3.jpg
Result
https://i.imgur.com/5p6mIJF.jpg
What a happy happy set of speakers this is! Admitted - they are not nearly as precise as the S45.2, neither analytical like the S120s, but by God do they invite you to the party!. Have been listening to 1.FM Back to the 80s lately, and that is neigh on perfect with the S75s. Throw some Donna Summer / I Feel Love (12" version preferably) or find some Def Leppard (anything produced by Mutt) and they absolutely shine.
Electrically, they are now as good as they get. Cleaned up the tweeters, removed the fluff on the surface and gave them what we professionals call a 5 foot paint job. They'll be behind cloth once done, so it's no big deal. Since they don't come apart, I didn't want to go all out crazy with neither sand paper nor paint and risk ruining anything. I doodled and printed a small cover that fits over the dome and wires to protect it from paint.
Anyway - enough talk, pictures.
https://i.imgur.com/6OrZKDD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/SaBvDTG.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8Dr5h2C.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ENBMAft.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/4K3KVkD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dqLLWiS.jpg
I am not a fan of DIN speaker connectors - it seems especially stupid when you've spend time/money replacing the internal cabling with something decent - so I doodled a small gizmo that'll accept the smallest usable banana plug (in pure class A chinese gold off of AliExpress :D )
https://i.imgur.com/0zkJA7m.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/y9WYI2o.jpg
As you can see, I haven't started on appearance yet, but with a little luck (fingers crossed) we'll move out of the apartment and into a house with a decent workshop before the summer, so I'm going to hold my breath for a moment - they don't actually look too bad. Just a little touch up needed here and there and a fine sanding and some oil on the veneer.
I talk too much don't I?
[Edit:] Another word on terminals and my dislike for DIN connectors. Whipped this up in Fusion and am considering putting them into the S120s..
https://i.imgur.com/bKBhf9S.jpg