Naim Allae requirements

Any idea where to get it?
:grinning:

I believe it’s fairly widely available online.

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Ah yes I remember using this stuff for sealing engine components, surprised to see it in a loudspeaker

http://hylomar.com/hylomar-product-range/gasket-jointing-compounds/

:grinning:

Same here many years ago.

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Oh no, you haven’t pulled the woofers loose have you?!!!

Why do you need some more?

Dread, Can you say a bit more about what contribution you think the right torque now makes to the Allaes’ tweeters. I ask because a speaker manufacturer once told me, that in his opinion, the tweeters make the biggest contribution to the speaker’s character, in terms of attack and decay of notes and somehow seem to affect our perception of the bass.

I would say Torquing the tweeter suspension plate on Allaes should be done with caution. There is a rubber grommet between the plate and hole in the cabinet. The screws only need to be tight enough to make a contact between the grommet and cabinet. Too tight would crush the grommet and I imagine it wouldn’t take much to strip out the wood screws.
The small allen screws that secure the tweeter to the plate have nuts on the inside but I left these alone as it looks easy to end up bending the suspension with a slip up.
In terms of audio, as I enthusiastically commented above there is undoubtedly more nuance and detail coming through. I would concur with your speaker manufacturer reference.
The whole is more evenly presented and sweeter. Just more musical really, right now I’m listening to some early 1930’s recording of Lester Young with Billie Holliday. The insight and PRaT is all improved but sounds cleaner and refreshed to what was before.
On occasions before, I could sometimes detect an edginess to the treble which I thought was the recording, I’m not now hearing that.
I’m not good at describing what I hear in words but hope this helps. Bottom line it sounds like I’ve had a speaker upgrade.
You said you recently torqued your Credo’s how did that work out for you?
:grin:

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Haha! No, no harm done was just wondering what the substance is. Surprised to find its Hylomar which I recall using from my mechanic days and brought back some memories, but that’s another story not for this thread.
:grin:

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You are mixing me up with someone else, Credo-wise! I’m an Allaes devotee, but in danger of boring the rest of the forum to death about it.

I’ve tightened up woofers and tweeters possibly a little too much, from what I read of your experiences. Sometimes the newsreaders on R4 don’t sound quite right. (I’ve got a NAT05). I will probably buy a Sealey tool and assume it is set with the decimal point wrong, and then have a go.

I won’t be touching the suspension though. I found spiking the speakers through my carpets straight onto the concrete allows them to oscillate nicely when they are tapped at the front of the top of the cabinet.

Very pleased that you have had a speaker upgrade :slight_smile:

f you do try the Sealey ST103 do report back and let us know your findings.

The anomaly on the LCD display was peculiar but the proof is in the listening, Maybe some kind of voodoo going on.
It does come with an ISO test certificate but may not be worth the paper its printed on.
I got mine from a tool suppliers fleabay shop for £37 and for now sending it back under the 30 day money back guarantee, but will likely try another next time, an annual check would probably suffice.
It is a little fiddly to use at first but have a play and practice on something other than your prized speakers first.
Two useful features are that it indicates the real time torque value as the user increases the turning force. Very helpful in progressively tightening the screws/bolts in stages and evenly.
The LCD display works anti clockwise. So when loosening screws/bolts if the user gently increases the anti clockwise turning force just until the screw/bolt starts to turn an indication of how tight they were can be read.
I found the best way to use the tool is to place the cabinets flat on their backs, I put them on a couple of cushions to avoid marking the veneer. Then keeping the tool perpendicular, which also makes it easier to read, using just ones fingertips gently rotate and increase tightening force progressively, you will get the “feel” of the tightness. I tighten the drive unit screws in a diagonal sequence, first to 50% of desired torque, then 100% followed by a double check. I must stress that tightening force is applied gently and progressively with just the fingertips, as one does the LCD will increase gradually in .01 increments, observe this until target torque is reached, and the buzzer sounds. If one applies too much force, like grasping the tool in the palm of the hand and twisting it’s easy to over torgue.

I adjusted screws/bolts in drive units and base. I would highly recommend checking the torque in the base screws as well. After which I found the leaf spring suspension arrangement to be, well er more springy? Prior to re torquing, gently tapping the front face of the cabinet above the LF driver, caused the cabinet to spring/oscillate slightly back and forth, as it’s meant too. After torquing the degree of “spring” felt more compliant, less rigid and each of the speaker pairs seemed to spring equally.
I cant say which had the greater effect, torquing drive units, base etc as I did the job as a whole and then listened.

:grinning:

Thanks Dread, there’s lots of very useful information there. Following your experience I will now look at the torque on the suspension too, when I have the tool.

Cheers, C.

Do come back and let us know how you get on, particularly if you find the tool to have a similar anomaly.
:grinning:

Will do. Besides who else can I ‘talk’ to about this stuff?! My family already think I have a screw loose about Naim.

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Dont get me started…oh dear I see I already have! :rofl:
Btw the shop I bought from, if forum rules allow I have no connection just for information, is FFX ( Folkestone Fixings) they have a real shop, online and via fleabay 35.97 inc postage.

:grinning:

Do you remember back in the day, a guy called Peter Belt who used to write in some HiFi publications.
He advocated a number of weird pseudo scientific voodoo tweaks. I think it was all a big joke but he convinced a lot of people including “respected” journalists. I was one of them.
“Tweaks” included colouring one end of the fuse in a mains plug or the edge of a CD with a special felt tip pen. Pieces of plastic tubing cut in a spiral fashion that you stuck to the back of your speakers. And, lining up all the screw heads, anywhere where there were screws in the house so that the slots were all equally aligned vertical. I fell for it, as many did, family and friends really thought I had a screw loose and had finally gone round the friggin’ pipe! :rofl:

Whatever happened to Peter Belt I wonder?

:grinning:

To answer my own question, I did a search and found this Sterophile Obituary, I forgot about the specially treated paper clips…

:grin:

Unfortunately his screws all realigned themselves horizontally in 2017. RIP.

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Yup, I remember! They were my Hi-Fi Answers years.

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The more I read what Dread writes, the more I think the bolts really are being torqued to only one tenth of what they should be. With my manual driver, the bolts need a really good screwing in. It’s certainly not fingertip stuff. I’d be very careful about touching the suspension - Naim have advised to leave well alone. They should only move a little and I suspect if they are more springy they are under torqued. My driver was owned by Adam and used at the factory so should be fine. I’d be very cautious about a cheapo electronic version off eBay or wherever. With a proper driver you cannot over-torque, as the driver simply clicks and you cannot tighten further. If you want, feel free to put your top boxes in the car and pop over for a good torquing.

Thanks HH, that’s very good of you. I will take you up on that!

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