I just stumbled upon this blog by good fortune wondering if there was any chance of finding replacement socks for my 27 year old 1+1's which as glorious as they sound, are really looking shabby. My good fortune to learn about the Uphostery Company just a few miles from where I just moved to (Chandler, AZ). I am curious about the suggestion for servicing the transformers. Aside from replacing them, what can one do for transformers? Also, what about capacitors? I know they go bad in old equipment, but aside from looking for swollen canisters, what else would one do? One of my concerns is just degradation of the insulation in wires. I am the original owner of the speakers, and did assemble the bases 27 years ago, but my memory is not so good that I remember every detail. Aside from giving them a few hours to discharge, are there any special instructions?
I noticed a few comments about amplifiers and thought I might add a comment about my experience: I originally bought my 1+1's to work with a complete suite of Hafler electronics I had built, and it was VERY disappointing. Aside from the fact that the panels are 'tight" when new, the DH 220 amp just could not drive the panels and the subwoofer with passive crossover. I eventually took out the passive crossover, bought a Hafler XL 280 to drive the panels, bought a Richter Scale active crossover and used the DH 220 to run the subwoofer. WOW! OK, that's not high end stuff, but it really works. Eventually, I grew weary of the imaging problems with a single subwoofer. I don't care how many audio experts tell you that you can't hear the location of a subwoofer, well I can, so I bought a pair Klipsch powered subwoofers and put the DH 220 on the shelf. I am listening to KBAQ right now through my Hafler tuner, and it is just glorious. I should add that back in the mid 80's, I went out and listened to everything-Quads, Magneplanars, ML's, and aside from Apogees, which were prohibitively expensive, nothing came close. I should add that I used to be a professional classical guitarist and lutenist, and that I spent a lot of time listening to real instruments in concert halls. That's how I know that Acoustats sound more like the real thing than anything else.
I noticed a few comments about amplifiers and thought I might add a comment about my experience: I originally bought my 1+1's to work with a complete suite of Hafler electronics I had built, and it was VERY disappointing. Aside from the fact that the panels are 'tight" when new, the DH 220 amp just could not drive the panels and the subwoofer with passive crossover. I eventually took out the passive crossover, bought a Hafler XL 280 to drive the panels, bought a Richter Scale active crossover and used the DH 220 to run the subwoofer. WOW! OK, that's not high end stuff, but it really works. Eventually, I grew weary of the imaging problems with a single subwoofer. I don't care how many audio experts tell you that you can't hear the location of a subwoofer, well I can, so I bought a pair Klipsch powered subwoofers and put the DH 220 on the shelf. I am listening to KBAQ right now through my Hafler tuner, and it is just glorious. I should add that back in the mid 80's, I went out and listened to everything-Quads, Magneplanars, ML's, and aside from Apogees, which were prohibitively expensive, nothing came close. I should add that I used to be a professional classical guitarist and lutenist, and that I spent a lot of time listening to real instruments in concert halls. That's how I know that Acoustats sound more like the real thing than anything else.