I have owned/upgraded many pairs of these classic speakers. If I had room for three sets, one would be the Ns1000, one the Quad 63, and my current favorite the Wilson WP7(negotiable). Somewhat in order of importance:
TRY TUBES. These speakers love tubes. Adds more "music" than the "clinical" that ss shows.
Rewire internally with good wire. Internal wiring looks like door bell wire attached to cheap spring connecters. Instaal connecters you like. Bypass the tone controls since they inevitably become dirty and degrade the sound. My personal favorite was Audioquest single strand SILVER that I bought from the company after helpful consultation with the Co. Again, silver takes a very small but wecomed edge off the tweeter which is mostly too hot.
The exterior is simple. Take out the drivers and either lightly sand the cabinets to get as much black off as possible and refinish. The problem with this is that the veneer is thin and you will probably sand through unless you are quite good a woodworking. A second amd much preferred option is to re-veneer the cabinets. You can buy what are called "doorskins" which are door sized peices of veneer in most any wood you want. Golden oak was visually fun, the only oak monitors to my knowledge. You have infinite choices.
The height of stands is important to room size and base. The best "stand" ever was another MS1000M on tiptoes with tweeters in the middle. It was scarry good and still makes me smile. I forget how we wired the four speakers but I'm sure someone can come up with suggestions. One of the best sounds in my near 40 years of hign end including the big Wilson X-2's. More practical and effective are cement blocks. Speaker stands need to be inert. Nothing I know of is more inert than cement blocks. Try the old knuckle test one. After you have deterimed the correct height for your room with different combinations of blocks, have a stand built to your needs or have an exterior built of the same wood as your speakers have become and leave the blocks in place. Now, I would fill the blocks and exteriors with spray foam to eliminate stand resonances.
I would be open to discussing and other issues with NS1000M speakers. It would be fun to revisit the crossover since parts are fare superior. I did get a pair down to a very usable mid 30hz with careful placement. Black works for thses as monitor speakers but a Yamaha also sold a 1000S that was done in teak if my memory serves me.
Denny
989-673-8493
TRY TUBES. These speakers love tubes. Adds more "music" than the "clinical" that ss shows.
Rewire internally with good wire. Internal wiring looks like door bell wire attached to cheap spring connecters. Instaal connecters you like. Bypass the tone controls since they inevitably become dirty and degrade the sound. My personal favorite was Audioquest single strand SILVER that I bought from the company after helpful consultation with the Co. Again, silver takes a very small but wecomed edge off the tweeter which is mostly too hot.
The exterior is simple. Take out the drivers and either lightly sand the cabinets to get as much black off as possible and refinish. The problem with this is that the veneer is thin and you will probably sand through unless you are quite good a woodworking. A second amd much preferred option is to re-veneer the cabinets. You can buy what are called "doorskins" which are door sized peices of veneer in most any wood you want. Golden oak was visually fun, the only oak monitors to my knowledge. You have infinite choices.
The height of stands is important to room size and base. The best "stand" ever was another MS1000M on tiptoes with tweeters in the middle. It was scarry good and still makes me smile. I forget how we wired the four speakers but I'm sure someone can come up with suggestions. One of the best sounds in my near 40 years of hign end including the big Wilson X-2's. More practical and effective are cement blocks. Speaker stands need to be inert. Nothing I know of is more inert than cement blocks. Try the old knuckle test one. After you have deterimed the correct height for your room with different combinations of blocks, have a stand built to your needs or have an exterior built of the same wood as your speakers have become and leave the blocks in place. Now, I would fill the blocks and exteriors with spray foam to eliminate stand resonances.
I would be open to discussing and other issues with NS1000M speakers. It would be fun to revisit the crossover since parts are fare superior. I did get a pair down to a very usable mid 30hz with careful placement. Black works for thses as monitor speakers but a Yamaha also sold a 1000S that was done in teak if my memory serves me.
Denny
989-673-8493