They Live!

[Sean Gibbins]

Hi Folks,

Long time no see, I hope that you are all well!

Having been mothballed for a few years my GS401As are back in action.

I got tired of the regular maintenance needed on those bothersome pots
and so put them away, and then finally got Wilmslow Audio to fully
refurbish the crossovers, plus I also replaced that gods-awful
insulation stuff with some acoustic wadding from the same source and put
it all together last night.

Having been happily listening to the Monitor Audio Silver 1s in the
meantime I was initially quite disappointed by the sound and found
myself wondering what was going on. However, after a couple of albums
they warmed up nicely and I put it down to them being a little cold and
damp, and in the end I had the time of my life last night, with the
Gales up on a couple of books on the floor and me sitting between them
across the room on the floor. I intend to grab the stands from the loft
later to have another listen tonight, and then after the weekend they'll
be stored again to come out on special occasions, i.e. when my wife is
out for the night! ;-)

Next up are the GS401Cs, which are in similar condition, i.e. fully
refurbished apart from the crossovers and suffering from similar issues
(treble and midrange woes due to the pots). I'll probably flog those on
as keeping two pairs is just selfish and I have an attachment to the As
as they were a gift from a friend, but who knows?

The temporary setup is as follows:

Rega RP3 (heavily modded) >> Rega Elex-R >> Gale GS401As

Regards,

Sean

[John Mayberry]

Great news!

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[Martin O]

Surprised the Elex R is man enough for the Gales.

I am using a Roksan K2- plenty of grunt.

Sent from mobile

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[Toby Carter]

Do the pots suffer because of dust getting in them or electrically burn through too higher currents flowing through them?

Reason I ask is I buy a completely sealed IP67 version made by Vishay for several products we produce at work which are designed to be used outside in wet conditions, so basically the internals should never get dust or moisture on them to make them sound crackly with audio.

I buy a 10k ohm version but there is a good range, they look neat as well and come with the knob integral so you load them in to a panel from the front with the retaining but on the rear.

I think they are available through most of the electronics catalogues, not cheap but if they solve a problem. They do linear or taper function versions as well. I’m not sure what power they need to be for the Gales so that would need checking.

https://uk.farnell.com/vishay/pa16np104mab15/potentiometer-100k/dp/1517311?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhIP6BRCMARIsALu9Lfk-vq918O05BtTpy5237O4luYezl4iURpzgTUl800srT04L1a2qkbwaAi7JEALw_wcB&gross_price=true&mckv=sakPq6PQK_dm%7Cpcrid%7C431236176234%7Cplid%7C%7Ckword%7C%7Cmatch%7C%7Cslid%7C%7Cproduct%7C1517311%7Cpgrid%7C95483804810%7Cptaid%7Cpla-904092883388%7C&CMP=KNC-GUK-SHOPPING-Passive-components-NEWSTRUCTURE-Test113-MarinBidding

Sent from my iPhone 7

On 22 Aug 2020, at 09:09, Sean Gibbins <se...@funkygibbins.me.uk> wrote:

Hi Folks,

[Sean Gibbins]

Hi Toby,

Thanks for the suggestion, but to be honest I am done with opening them up, de-soldering the drivers and so on, and just want them to work, so mine will be staying as they are with the appropriate resistors in place of the pots.

I got to point where I could not relax with them and was continually on alert for the midrange or treble dropping out mid-play. This feels much better and sounds fine to my admittedly (and increasingly) cloth ears!

BTW, I got my As and Cs mixed up; it's the Cs that are fully operational again, while the As are waiting for the cash I need to refurb them.

Sean

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gale-audio/EA07022B-FB38-4CBC-8E82-E471026BE803%40btopenworld.com.

[Toby Carter]

No problem Sean, they may be a thought for other owners but I don’t know if the wattage fits the requirements of the Gales, I’m sure someone can confirm.

Interestingly I remember repairing an old Technics preamp from the 1970’s, I noted they seemed to have sealed potentiometers in them and 45 years on they still worked perfectly and noise free. I worked on later Technics stuff and like other brands they used cheaper open style pots which crackled after a few years once the crap got inside and the contacts became poor.

Sent from my iPhone

On 23 Aug 2020, at 09:22, Sean Gibbins <se...@funkygibbins.me.uk> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gale-audio/2ab5ec44-22b8-5e9e-efb8-3b67afd205fa%40funkygibbins.me.uk.

[nige999]

I don't have any trouble with pots in my Gales as they are the GS402A version

[gdsm...@gmail.com]

I have previously detailed my renovating of GS401B speakers here in Perth Western Australia. Two things I did differently to many members was get rid of the firbreglass stuffing for a non fibreglass alternate and get rid of the horrible pots. So after many years the speakers are still great . Used everyday. The pots are still available at about AUD$12.95 from Jaycar. 

5 Ohm 15 Watt Linear (B) Wire Wound PotentiometerCAT.NO: RP3975

Resistance: 5 Ohms
Resistance Curve: Linear (B)
Power: 15 Watts
Shaft: Spline
Body measures: 41mm OD x 24mm Depth
Shaft Length: 20mm

Cheers to all and thanks John for all your work over the years.

George