Hi all, my first post here. I have just purchased a pair of P45’s. I was able to listen to them before I put down my cash and they sounded great. That combined with the reputation they seemed to have, I thought they would be well worth the modest asking price. Aesthetically, they’re in great condition for their age especially the grills, they are pristine. Having gotten them home and hooked up to my system, I’m feeling a little underwhelmed, however. Although, they are very smooth, they just seem a little lifeless and to be honest, plasticy. I know they are quite old speakers and may need a little TLC to bring them back to life so I cracked them open and had a bit of a look inside. Please bare with me I have a lot of questions and I’m somewhat new to the technical aspects of speaker design and maintenance. I’ve included lots of photos too.
- Since getting them home I’ve read quite a bit about the bass driver magnets coming loose and freezing the driver. As far as I can tell there is no sign of this at all. The obvious sign of this would be the cones not vibrating and not emitting sound? The magnets don’t seem to have had extra glue added, so it seems surprising to me that they are going so well after all this time. Is it just me or do these drivers look a bit different from others I’ve seen in photos? I’m a little concerned that the drivers may have been replaced with inferior ones.
- The previous owner said it would probably be worth while replacing the capacitors. Seems reasonable, but have never done this before. I can solder OK but I assume I’ll need to buy some specific specification in the capacitors? What do I need to ask for?
- The previous owner said he had replaced the sound deadening material inside the box as the previous stuff was crumbling. Does the stuff he used look OK for the purpose? I noticed it was in the compartment that houses the mid on one speaker but not the other. Worth adding it to the second?
- The previous owner had also added his own terminals to the back panel. They protrude quite a bit which will make speakers impossible to hang flush on the wall. Any suggestions on how I can rectify this. What type of terminals to use, where to place them and what to do with the holes left when I take out these terminals?
- There seems to have been some sort of seal between the box and the back plate that has degraded and crumbled. How important is this? Worth replacing? What with?
- Assuming I can get these working well again, the intention is to have a custom made bookshelf installed in my ‘listening room’. I know these are designed to be hung on the wall, but I’m thinking about basically building them into the shelves. How would this best be done? Are they really best hung or are they just as good sitting on a shelf at the appropriate height? I assume they’ll need to sit at the front of the shelf, probably with the grills sitting proud. Should I put a false back behind them so the is no space behind? I’ve included a photo similar to what I have in mind, but with the speakers set higher.
As I said maybe with a bit of work I can get my P45s sounding great. Maybe it’s just my expectations that need adjusting. Anyhow, any help or thoughts would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Phil
