Great news - that’s one less job to do.
Musical digression:
Cymbals and drums sound great on this version of ‘When will the Blues Leave’ by Bley, Motian and Peacock.
I recently purchased a new set of foam grilles from James at Tom Tom. They’re exactly to original spec and completely transform the looks of a pair of SL2s with crumbling old grilles.
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Agree so much with everything on this thread! I couldn’t believe the difference when I replaced the top cabinet foam on my gorgeous maple SL2s a week ago. They were amazing before, but now they are simply wow! I didn’t even know there was foam in the top cabinets until I read about it in the DBL restoration thread… a fascinating read, incidentally.
When I checked, my foam was crumbling really badly… I couldn’t even get the foam out in one piece. Just crumbled into dust. Since the foam looked very straightforward to replace, I looked at several foam suppliers and actually tried two types, one from Falcon Acoustics, and one from Wilmslow Audio. The Wilmslow foam was just the job, and the one that easily gave the biggest sound uplift. The downside is that it has a glue backing pad and I didn’t want to use anything sticky, as the original foam is just pressed into the upper boxes, not glued.
So, once the foam had been very carefully cut to size, I mounted it on a piece of stiff card, cut the appropriate slots and the transformation has been simply staggering. Very difficult to tear myself away from the system now, and it was pretty amazing beforehand! Incidentally, I had the tweeters replaced recently… got them from Willy’s.
Like Richard, I also got replacement grilles from that wonderful dealer Tom Tom. Not cheap, but perfect.
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I think it IS impossible to access the bass drivers of NBLs. I will follow your mantra: ignorance is bliss.
A while back I did ask Jason if he could source the design drawings for me so that I could try to work out why I could no longer insert the transport card between the bass unit and the frame, but it would also be useful to try to understand how the grilles are installed over the drivers. I know he asked around, but nothing came of it.
I have those grilles too.
Interesting that you also got a very good result from changing the 4 foam pads.
That makes 4 cases I know of who have experienced a positive effect on SQ vs. no people I know of who have changed the foam and experienced a zero or negative effect on SQ.
When you say ‘easily’, does this indicate that the SQ uplift was clearly greater with the Wilmslow than the Falcon foam?
If so, I may buy some and give it a try. Was it their ‘Acoustic Foam Laminate Panel - 10mm acoustic foam on a 2mm self-adhesive bitumen backing. Nominal size - 300mm x 200mm x 12mm thick’?
I didn’t get this because it’s about half the thickness of the original foam - but if it sounds great that’s what counts.
Did you peel off the backing of the Wilmslow foam and stick that to stiff card? How thick and how stiff was the cardboard? And does that cardboard now press against the inside walls of your speakers - i.e. is the card always on the wood side of the 4 foam pads?
My concern with that solution is that to the extent that the foam is there to dampen vibrations of the wooden cabinet walls, cardboard is not likely to have the same effect as foam.
(But the wood dampening is a minor effect compared to how the foam absorbs soundwaves that would otherwise echo around in the cabinet).
Did you replace your tweeters because there was something wrong with them, or was it just because they were old?
How old are your speakers?
What effect on SQ did the new tweeters have?
thanks
Jim
Do you happen to know whether Naim will service the crossovers of SL2s??
Hi Jimdog,
To answer your questions…
Yes, the SQ was clearly better with the Wilmslow. I mean, really really good. However, I should point out that my Super Lumina cables seem to be coming to the end of their settling in period, so that might have helped too. Interesting, because I didn’t think there’d really be any difference with the two types of foam.
Yes, it was Wilmslow’s Acoustic Foam Laminate Panel 12mm thick. The cardboard was just a thick piece of card I had lying around. About 1mm thick. Yes, I peeled off the backing and stuck the foam to the card. Yes, the card presses against the inside wall of the speakers. The card is always against the wood.
Re the tweeters, the soft surface of one of them had gone soft and started to flake. I got a new pair from Willy’s HiFi. They’re identical to the originals, reasonably priced, but I guess not matched like Naim used to do. (To be honest, I’m not sure how much difference this makes.) Nevertheless, that hasn’t proved a problem.
Not sure how old my SL2s are… don’t fancy crawling around trying to look at the serial number, but I’ve had them about eight years. Got them from Ebay, in perfect condition and boxed up like new. Didn’t notice any real difference when the tweeters were changed,… I just didn’t like what was happening to the surface of the left hand one. Apparently this happens after some years and the tweeters aren’t expensive to replace.
I’d be interested to know what happens if you try the Wilmslow. I think it’s worth a try.
Just as reference, my kit is all 500 series, all serviced recently and DR’d, active into the SL2s, used with CD555, ND555, each with two power supplies etc and Super Lumina throughout.
I don’t think Naim service the crossovers.
Hope all this helps.
Mike
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Hi Jim,
I know we did some work on a couple of pairs fairly recently.
I’d give Mark Bonner at Tech Support a call and enquire.
Regards
Neil.
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Hi Neil
Are you saying that you will discuss with Mark, or that I should call him?
thanks
Jim
Thanks - that’s interesting and very helpful.
One more question - did you change the tweeters yourself, or get someone to do it for you?
I have just ordered 3 of the Wilmslow foam panels now (one spare in case I cut one wrong).
Will post how it goes on this thread.
I think Neil is suggesting you email Naim or give them a call.
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Thanks both - will do.
Cheers
Jim
My dealer did them. Just took the tweeter frames in to him. It looks an easy enough job though, if you’re okay with a soldering iron.
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Yes, sorry - if you go direct to Mark, he may be able to give you an idea of price etc. if a service is available. 
Regards
Neil.
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Thanks Neil
Jim
The spec for the SL2 dampening foam. As was posted a while back.
12.7mm thick reticulated foam 80ppi
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