dm70 Posted August 4, 2021 Posted August 4, 2021 Hi has anyone had experience using the er audio electrostatic panel refilm kit from WA. Is it difficult? Also deciding ,stripping the walnut finish and repainting white or restore walnut laminate.What would look best .
THOMO Posted August 4, 2021 Posted August 4, 2021 (edited) Yes it is difficult.Best left to an electrostat specialist.I would not mess with the original panels.They are really good. Not the white paint!Anything but the white paint! The veneer restoration is difficult however.Especially the curved area around the electrostat panel. I restored one pair by patching walnut veneer on the worst bits, filling the few small areas where the veneer had flaked off with brown/black epoxy ,reglueing the veneer where needed,sanding back and staining them with a mixture of walnut and black stain and then spayed them with two pack lacquer tinted with black which disguised any little areas of patching.So it ended up an ebony colour which looked pretty smart and suited their art deco aesthetics . Lovely speakers when working properly.Especially good on female vocals and surprisingly dynamic.I prefer them to the vintage Quads. Edited August 4, 2021 by THOMO 4 1
dm70 Posted August 5, 2021 Author Posted August 5, 2021 Hi Thomo, You did a great job on them, do you know of a specialist in australia maybe i could post the panels.Did you have yours refilmed.Also i dont know if you had the same experience as me but when i removed the power supplies ,there is screw in fitting on the top of the units that feeds the the crossover.It seems to be made of bakelite anyway they both crumbled when removed you dont know what sort of plugs they are called do you.Will have to get same type or modern replacements.The veneer is not too bad just a few chips and crazing here and there.Looking for a badge for the panel also
THOMO Posted August 6, 2021 Posted August 6, 2021 I had two pairs.One pair I gave away to somebody in Melbourne who supposedly knew how to fix them.I bought a reconditioning kit from Rob McKinley but decided using it was too tricky. The other pair[pictured] were working perfectly. That is the pair I restored the cabinets on.Sorry I can't be much help with the electrical or panel repairs.There should be somebody over your side who can fix them.
Peter_F Posted August 6, 2021 Posted August 6, 2021 On 04/08/2021 at 5:30 PM, THOMO said: Yes it is difficult.Best left to an electrostat specialist.I would not mess with the original panels.They are really good. Not the white paint!Anything but the white paint! The veneer restoration is difficult however.Especially the curved area around the electrostat panel. I restored one pair by patching walnut veneer on the worst bits, filling the few small areas where the veneer had flaked off with brown/black epoxy ,reglueing the veneer where needed,sanding back and staining them with a mixture of walnut and black stain and then spayed them with two pack lacquer tinted with black which disguised any little areas of patching.So it ended up an ebony colour which looked pretty smart and suited their art deco aesthetics . Lovely speakers when working properly.Especially good on female vocals and surprisingly dynamic.I prefer them to the vintage Quads. Wow, very cool looking speakers! I expect these would have been astronomically priced back in the day.
THOMO Posted August 6, 2021 Posted August 6, 2021 I should never have sold them .The midrange is as good as anything I have heard.Hard to keep everything though I suppose.
MattyW Posted September 10, 2021 Posted September 10, 2021 Wow. I never even knew these existed. Love the retro appearances. These would have been quite futuristic looking back in the day. Very different to my DM-16's
dm70 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Posted September 13, 2021 Does anybody know what you call the black bakelite connectors on the top of the powersupplies they have a male and female fitting they feed the crossover
VanArn Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 (edited) The picture is not very clear but I believe the item you have described is a vintage Bulgin chassis mounted mains socket. These were used in early Quad and Leak products. Strictly speaking they are no longer acceptable for use in modern mains powered equipment and if you have to rework the power supply you should consider fitting IEC mains connectors. https://plugsocketmuseum.nl/Bulgin1.html Edited September 13, 2021 by VanArn
dm70 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Posted September 13, 2021 Hey thankyou im in the process of restoring the dm70s i s there anyone you know that does the electrostatic panel refurb in nsw
VanArn Posted September 13, 2021 Posted September 13, 2021 I an unaware of anyone currently repairing electrostatic speakers in NSW. Perhaps someone else can provide advice. If there are no replies then it may be best to contact ER in Perth, WA and ask them about having them repair the DM 70 panels or you may wish to purchase their repair kit and refurbish the electrostatic sections yourself.
dm70 Posted March 17, 2022 Author Posted March 17, 2022 Hi is any body interested in buying a pair of dm70s refurbed power supplies drivers rerold original boxes usual chips on cabinetry i electrostatic working the other low output would need refilming used them for 3 yrs before panel volume dropped sounded great just let me know Thanks
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