Just chiming in here. I today finished up all the mods that @slowlearner28 mentioned. First, several months ago, I inserted the dowel bracers and applied the auto sound deadner. That tightened up the bass somewhat.
Last month I replaced the stock drivers with the 103ND. That brought greater clarity and dynamics to the mid-range.
Over the past few days I installed the Radian 475 aluminum tweeters (I couldn’t afford to spring for the beryllium versions). I did an A/B test with installing a Radian in one speaker and going back and forth with the balance control on my amp. It seemed to my ears that the new tweeter adds more presence to the high end. I have to listen a bit more - there’s definitely a difference, but I can’t pin down what it is yet, as dumb as that sounds. Today I put the remaining Radian tweeter into the other speaker.
Some advice:
If you can afford it, I’d go with the Acoustic X coating instead of the auto mat stuff. I’m sure they both worth fine, but I think applying the coating might be easier and cover every square inch. The auto-mat stuff is heavy, can get in the way of the dowels, and takes a while to flatten completely out with a roller. I know Zu uses the Acoustic X type stuff.
Be very careful with installing the t-nuts if you’re adding those to the mix. Make sure the t-nut cones fit properly in the drill holes and accept the screws without locking up before you put them in the cabinet. I had one t-nut get stripped or something when I screwed in the 103ND and it was a huge headache - the screw got 3/4 of the way down the t-nut but then would turn continually without tightening or loosening. I had to get a pair of bolt cutters to snap the screw head off and ended up scratching the aluminum perimeter ring that goes over the driver. I had a similar problem with one of the smaller t-nuts for the tweeter, but at least that time I had learned my lesson and tried them all out before installing them. Frankly, the t-nut installation was by far the biggest PIA of this project.
Finally, the theaded steel studs that came with my tweeter-to-dome adapter were 1/2" too long. They stuck so far out of the tweeter that I couldn’t screw the Radians into the Zu tweeter dome. You need to get 1/4-20 threaded studs that are 1" long, something like these.
Anyway, the project is now finished. I’m hoping to put in some serious listening time in the next day or so.
Last month I replaced the stock drivers with the 103ND. That brought greater clarity and dynamics to the mid-range.
Over the past few days I installed the Radian 475 aluminum tweeters (I couldn’t afford to spring for the beryllium versions). I did an A/B test with installing a Radian in one speaker and going back and forth with the balance control on my amp. It seemed to my ears that the new tweeter adds more presence to the high end. I have to listen a bit more - there’s definitely a difference, but I can’t pin down what it is yet, as dumb as that sounds. Today I put the remaining Radian tweeter into the other speaker.
Some advice:
If you can afford it, I’d go with the Acoustic X coating instead of the auto mat stuff. I’m sure they both worth fine, but I think applying the coating might be easier and cover every square inch. The auto-mat stuff is heavy, can get in the way of the dowels, and takes a while to flatten completely out with a roller. I know Zu uses the Acoustic X type stuff.
Be very careful with installing the t-nuts if you’re adding those to the mix. Make sure the t-nut cones fit properly in the drill holes and accept the screws without locking up before you put them in the cabinet. I had one t-nut get stripped or something when I screwed in the 103ND and it was a huge headache - the screw got 3/4 of the way down the t-nut but then would turn continually without tightening or loosening. I had to get a pair of bolt cutters to snap the screw head off and ended up scratching the aluminum perimeter ring that goes over the driver. I had a similar problem with one of the smaller t-nuts for the tweeter, but at least that time I had learned my lesson and tried them all out before installing them. Frankly, the t-nut installation was by far the biggest PIA of this project.
Finally, the theaded steel studs that came with my tweeter-to-dome adapter were 1/2" too long. They stuck so far out of the tweeter that I couldn’t screw the Radians into the Zu tweeter dome. You need to get 1/4-20 threaded studs that are 1" long, something like these.
Anyway, the project is now finished. I’m hoping to put in some serious listening time in the next day or so.