REMINDER, tighten up all loose screws around the drivers. Just Do It. All of them. Sit back and enjoy your “new system”.
85% of screws on my speakers needed 1/8 to pass 1/4 turn to snug firmly and guess this… all screws on my woofers needed 1 full turn. Some was actually needed 2 turns. Anyways, improvement was a jaw dropping. Credit reminder to Rick from High Fidelity Cables
Rather than hand tightening driver screws until they "snug firmly" (without knowing if the screws are equally tightened), match their tightness using a torque screwdriver.
Even better, reach out to your speaker manufacturer to ask them for their recommended torque value.
My 15" woofers weigh 37 lbs each, plus the mid and tweeter horns.
And both the front and rear panels are removable with air tight gaskets.
every 6 months I remove the back, check and tighten anything that might be loose, most often not, but occasionally yes.
I don't have removable grilles, so once a year I take the woofers off the back of the front panel so I can inspect their cone and surround (pleated cloth not foam). Rare from 1958, so I keep a spare woofer and spare rebuild kit ready to go downstairs.
I inherited a very cool antique long screwdriver, it helps me reach and I get to think of Poppy every time I use it.
My new brass screws set for the drivers from Amazon is arriving today. Excite to see if there will be any improvement from what already is from tighten them up.
I have a million different allen hex keys in my garage but none of them seem to fit the woofer bolts on my Nola Boxers. Is Nola trying to tell me something?
So I have made the swap to the brass screws that just came in today and here’s my findings. Yes, no doubt about it. It is slightly more revealing, more details, more transparency. Soundstage is more realistic and more 3D. Imaging is cleaner. Mid bass between 700-1khz is very good. Super lower bass is cleaner and seems to shift up a little and shave off some punchiness. This new sounding is (too) revealing and a tad more forward which could make me forgetting the warm-ness, the silkiness and the sweetness that my Sonus Fabers are very good at. Few days earlier, when I tighten up the loose screws, magical, synergy and PRAT seem to come together nicely and better.. this is not. This is different. This is more about revealing and more realistic which is giving me an impression of audition a new pair of interconnects. Hmmm, as I’m taking notes and writing this review as fresh as it can be, it’s been 3, 4 hrs after the swap and the new sound seems to get warmer and sweeter, more rounded and smoother. Definitely to my liking. Is this because something is settling down and/or broken in or, at 2am, my tired ears and brain are accepting the new sound? Anyways, it’s getting good and so much better. System will continue playing over night so please stay tune…
Very good suggestion Hey l just did this to my speakers and sub woofers and was going to post, but you beat me too it l also always double check and clean all my connections
But don't lock down your cartridge screw with Herculean force. The threads in the cartridge body are very delicate. Many have been ruined and needed re-building. Only a quarter turn beyond finger tight.
To get the best improvement in sound quality on tightening driver fixings, don't use a cheap screwdriver, whatever you do. This will undo all the good work in the factory - the makers of the best speakers only use costly screwdrivers, many with gold-plated finish. Their handles are usually painted blue, although some favour a darker shade of purple.
The question is, did the manufacturer use threaded inserts or "T" nuts or did he just use wood screws and expect the MDF to hold. If just MDF you will strip the threads. Take a screw out. If it is a machine screw (the tip is flat) you can tighten them up to 10 nm safely. If they are wood screws (sharply pointed tip) you are in danger of stripping the wood and just snug is all you should do. Some companies use a compressible gasket under the driver. I take them out and put a very thin bead of silicone around the periphery of the driver and tighten the screws to 25 nm to firmly seat the driver and seal the silicone.
Long time ago when i used to have speakers with back panel attached with the screws I didn’t go crazy screw them extra tight, I just used nail polish to put them on. Nail polish is easy to unscrew if you need it and at the same time it holds screws on the place tightly.. don’t use glue as it will be permanent.
Nice trick surfmuz. I had thought of using the blue thread lock before but that sounds like a good idea. I’ll use the thread lock for my fingernails instead.
Yah, the blue thread lock is good too but it’s an extra non necessary move like buying, spending and nail polish is always there in your wife’s medicine cabinet waiting for some real purpose :)
Good info here about tightening speaker screws. Many speaker manufacturers would use only wood screws into MDF, so gentle tightening is critical. Years ago it was recommended to take large woofers out and rotate them half a turn because of sag from the weight of the driver on the surround. This would help prevent damage to the voicecoil and gap.
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