Hi, I’ve just bought a pair of early SBL’s one of the centre pucks is missing from the bass/mid driver. Any ideas where I could get one?
Do they still have the original mid/bass drivers? You can tell by the surround - if it’s flat and a casting then it’s the later Naim driver but if it has a thin raised edge and is pressed then it’s the original M-S driver.
It’s a phase plug - stuck in on the M-S but rather more sophisticated on the Naim, in two parts as also acts as a heat sink for the driver. In either case you are basically looking for a spare driver for parts - look on the usual sites such as eBay etc.. and avoid Intro mid/bass drivers as they are different to the SBL ones.
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Thank you for your reply, I’m not sure what you mean when you say surround so here is a picture, perhaps you can tell me which one it is ?
That’s the original Mordaunt-Short driver. The phase plug just glues in.
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Thank you, I will ask Naim if they have any left, I know they ceased production a long time ago but you never know! Once again thank you.
Hi Richard, if you are tired by running the forum, you can open a shop with vintage Naïm, with a technician to service the components. With all your knowledge and contacts, it would be certainly a success.
Specially today, as more and more people buy second hand and vintage.
Just a thought I had entering my mind.
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Naim probably won’t have anything like that as it was an M-S driver.
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I see, so secondhand is really my only chance of obtaining one then.
Did you know that the part was missing when you bought them? Did the seller explain the position up front? If not, can you return them for a refund. There are plenty of decent SBLs out there, ideally you would get a pair with the Naim bass units.
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Unfortunately, I didn’t notice it was missing, when I looked back at the photos in the advertisement it was missing. I contacted the seller to ask if he knew and whether he still had it but no joy. The speakers are immaculate apart from residue from the grill cover fixings so I’m loathed to push him any farther. Plus they sound absolutely lovely to my old ears, trouncing my 4 other pairs of loudspeakers, yes, I’m a bit of a hifi hoarder. I’ll scour the usual hifi markets and hopefully one will turn up eventually.
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You are going to fit right in here!
Good luck with finding a phase plug. And welcome.
Best,
Chris
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Thank you, I’m home !
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I have found a pair of Credo’s with one blown tweeter for very little money. I’m going to buy them and transplant the mid/bass drivers into my SBL’s so avoiding the issue of sourcing the missing phase plug for my series 1’s. Is this a good move or will I be downgrading the SBL’s ?
Provided the mid/bass drivers of the Credos are in good order (and haven’t been swapped out for Intro drivers by a past owner - it can happen, so beware) then it could be a good move and a way of getting the later Naim-built drivers into your SBLs in a cost-effective manner. The main difference with Credo drivers vs. the later SBL ones was that the ones for SBLs were selected batches and matched pairs. Of course, after so many years such things become less of a “thing”.
Be careful removing the drivers - Naim sealed them with Hylomar to ensure a proper air seal, and as it has aged and hardened it can tear the veneer and even take chunks of the cabinet with it. You may also need to ream out the driver cut-out a little in places to accommodate the slightly different basket (cast alloy instead of pressed steel). You’ll need to re-do that seal with fresh hylomar when you fit the replacement drivers.
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Thank you for your advice. I guess it will be clear if the drivers have been replaced when I see them, looking at the photo of them they seem to be original. Are there any markings that differentiate the drive units that you know of? Are the tweeters interchangeable? One of them is ok apparently, could be a spare.
Intro drivers look superficially similar - the differences are under the skin, so to speak. The best way to tell is to check the phase plug, which is just cosmetic on the Intro driver.
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You could try phoning some dealers to see if they can help. I would start with class A or TomTom.
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I’m collecting the credos tomorrow so will update when I’ve transplanted them. Are the tweeters the same in the credos and SBL’s?
Both used the Scanspeak D2008 851100, albeit they were selected and matched for the SBL.
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