Acoustat, 121-2a can they be cut down

The Acoustat that I have is 7'10" tall and is about 20" wide....If I remove the base can the sock be pulled off from the bottom or does it come down from the top....Will

You have a pair of 2+2's, which are (2) panels side-by-side and another set on top of those. You could take off the top panels and would have a pair of Model 2's. The link below will answer most if not all of your questions.

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/etv.mpl?forum=mug

Just post your questions there and search the archives.

Here's another about tweaks:

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/tweaks/acoustat/

To add to Mofimadness' post, you can easily transform these into a pair of Model two's as you suggest by removing the panels and cutting the frame down. I would suggest two things:

1) Cut the frames to about 60" tall and re-mount two panels in each frame near the top. You want the panels to be about 12" off the floor for most rooms. Of course it would be easy to experiment and well worth it.

2) Inside the interface, you'll see a terminal strip with a wire clip. This is the input the the bass transformer. You need to move the wire clip the the correct transformer tap for a two-panel speaker. You want the Red wire. There are three - Yellow is for 4-panel speakers (Model 4 or 2+2), Orange is for 3-panel speakers (Model 3), and Red is for 2-panel speakers (Model 2 or 1+1).

Also if you can do some more frame construction you may want to consider putting together a set of threes (three panels side-by-side) and using the orange tap. IMO, it is better to go wider with Acoustats before going taller - I very much prefer the sound of threes to 2+2s. Better yet, make some fours if your room is wide enough!

Good luck with your project.

Some old Acoustat freaks will think you are criminally insane just to think to bring them down. You will loose some bass impact by reducing the number of panels and curiously, increase the load on your amp. In any event, if you can, keep the same number of panels.

I've done the contrary, had Model 3s (3 panel wide)and transformed them into 2+2. Celestial improvement on imaging although a diminution of the WAF factor.

You guys are bringing back some Acoustat memories. I had the 1+1's, 2+2's, and Monitor 3's. Basically, the more narrow the panel, the better it will image. That said, using more panels gives you more impact and efficiency.

The 2+2's and Monitor 3's were my favorites and I could live happily with either model. The 2+2's may have imaged slightly better, but the 3's had a bit more midbass impact.

Fire_bottle's idea of cutting the frames so that 2 panels would stand about 5 feet tall (holding the panels 12" off the floor) seems like a good one.

The Monitor 4's had the worst imaging of the lot and you need the right room for those as they are very wide and bass heavy.