What causes panels to wear out?

[JonFo]

I’m inclined to replace woofers with a spec that will perform comfortably higher into the mids and raise the panel crossover point higher. 350-400range.

The options I mentioned in this earlier post would work well: https://www.martinloganowners.com/threads/what-causes-panels-to-wear-out.20113/post-214190

And if anyone wants some serious mid-bass dynamics, the answer is to deploy an MBM setup, which is straightforward with an 8-channel miniDSP or the six-channel DriveRack Venu360. See: https://www.martinloganowners.com/threads/mbm-deployment.17781/
The MBM is one of the most effective ways to make the system perform in the mid-bass area. Big action movies are a ton of fun, and dance music now has that chest-slam needed to satisfy. However, even classical music and solo piano (my standard) are not overdone and sound natural.

Many ex-ESL owners report returning to Dynamic speakers to regain that mid-bass hit. Had they deployed an MBM, they could have had the best of both worlds.

 

[Chippieboy]

Thanks again JonFo, I'm not sure if 8 Channel is the best option for me as my whole 2 bedroom house is 750 square feet. I just have enough room for 1 ML Sub and the ReQuest are a bit overwhelming in the Living Room. The Sequels fit a bit better but as we know have a 10" woofer vs. the ReQuest has the 12s.
I do have a quick question, based on your previous suggestion, I was going to upgrade the Woofers. I was looking for a Fs close to OEM ML but now reading your post's, I should look for a Woofer that has a high frequency response. Is that true?

 

[JonFo]

I do have a quick question, based on your previous suggestion, I was going to upgrade the Woofers. I was looking for a Fs close to OEM ML but now reading your post's, I should look for a Woofer that has a high frequency response. Is that true?

Yes, you want something that is clean to at least 500Hz. In the active crossover, you can use something like 350Hz 24dB/Octave between the woofer and panel.
If the room is small, then no need to get complicated, one sub should do it, even with the Sequels.

 

[Davioj]

I'm looking to go active crossover, do you have to change wiring in the cabinet when you unhook the old woofer because I'm not sure how to do this.

 

[Tosh]

Yes, you must bypass the passive bass xo (cap and inductor) and connect the woofer directly to the second pair of speaker binding posts.

 

[Davioj]

So to bypass do you have to have a lot of knowledge on the wiring and how to read schematics to preform this or would a repair shop be able to do this if you brought them the boards

 

[JonFo]

So to bypass do you have to have a lot of knowledge on the wiring and how to read schematics to preform this or would a repair shop be able to do this if you brought them the boards

No, it's super simple. Open the speaker so you can reach the inside portion of the speaker terminals, and disconnect the two wires that go to the low-pass XO (typically the lower of the two terminals). Disconnect (or cut) the wires that go from the XO components to the Woofer itself, strip the ends, and then connect to the terminals, ensuring that the positive (+) of the woofer is connected to the red side of the terminal.

If the wire is not long enough, create a new wire with spades to connect to the woofer.

Please read through this thread, as it has pictures from units that have been modified: https://www.martinloganowners.com/threads/how-to-active-bass-section.19237/

 

[Davioj]

So if I read this right I just need to disconnect the red and black wires from the board in the cabinet then connect to the woofer directly from the terminals to the red and black on the woofer, then get an amp like the one that Brandon Hartwick used lets say the crown XLS drivecourse 1002 turn them on setup the bypass and done, connecting the signal that is from my amplifier split so 1 feed goes to the panel terminal and the other goes to the woofer terminals as I have a set of reQuest speakers that have the 2 sets of terminals. So I don't need to modify or change anything else on the board itself, would this be correct.

Dave

 

[Zwick]

When I did active bass on my QuestZ my existing power amplifier continued to power the panel via top speaker terminals. The new Crown XLS received a separate feed from my preamp (you can use y splitters if only one rca output from pre amp) and then powered the woofers via bottom speaker terminals. Two sets of speaker wire are required one from each amp.

Inside the cabinet the wires from the woofers (red and black) were disconnected from the board and connected directly to the lower incoming speaker wire terminals.

The challenging part for me was removing the steel backing off the speaker. Even after screws are removed the back plate was stuck fast to the speaker body. The great recommendation in the thread was to use a razor blade and hammer it around the panel to get it to release vs trying to pry and damage it in the process. It took me a number of attempts before the back panel would release.