Thoughts on a Fisher mod.
- Thread starter HeyTom
- Start date
There's two very different things I'd consider and am currently setting myself up to test:
Aging Capacitors
(Bracing for the Capacitor police and the Anti-Cap-italists) Aging capacitors can affect performance both in the power stage and sound path. Weak power caps wont be able to provide the power reserve needed for dynamic and punchy bass. Weak caps in the sound path can affect frequencies, which area of the spectrum affected will be dependant on so many variables (circuit design, cap values, make, model etc.) I couldn't be more specific.
Speaker enclosure mods
If your PH-W405 speakers are anything like my Sony CFS1000's or JVC PC-W150's then the reason they have clips to secure them to the stereo unit is to stop them from floating away! Seriously, they're so light weight the speaker cables act as tethers to ensure a light breeze doesn't whisk them away. Now being a portable stereo it's understandable why lightness might be high on the list of requirements but it does mean that sound quality will likely be affected.
The reason why quality HiFi speakers are (usually) heavy is because a speaker builder is looking for a stiff and harmonically inert enclosure material and mass plays a large part in that. For this reason I'm planning to mass-load the enclosures by cutting templates of the inside of the enclosure out of card (e.g. cereal box) and using them to cut out the shapes from vehicle sound-deadening material (e.g. a cheap version of Dynamat), line the speaker box with this, brace with MDF if required then stuff with speaker fill (aka the insides of an old synthetic fibre pillow) and add a textured foam to the back of the enclosue in an attempt to reduce reflection, and therefore cancellation of, specific sound frequencies.
I expect the result to be a "fuller" sound with better bass and overall more "presence" but only by testing will I be able to confirm this.
Annecdotally I have in the past greatly improved the performance of small PC and surround sound speakers just by opening them up and adding speaker fill (pillow stuffing).
Aging Capacitors
(Bracing for the Capacitor police and the Anti-Cap-italists) Aging capacitors can affect performance both in the power stage and sound path. Weak power caps wont be able to provide the power reserve needed for dynamic and punchy bass. Weak caps in the sound path can affect frequencies, which area of the spectrum affected will be dependant on so many variables (circuit design, cap values, make, model etc.) I couldn't be more specific.
Speaker enclosure mods
If your PH-W405 speakers are anything like my Sony CFS1000's or JVC PC-W150's then the reason they have clips to secure them to the stereo unit is to stop them from floating away! Seriously, they're so light weight the speaker cables act as tethers to ensure a light breeze doesn't whisk them away. Now being a portable stereo it's understandable why lightness might be high on the list of requirements but it does mean that sound quality will likely be affected.
The reason why quality HiFi speakers are (usually) heavy is because a speaker builder is looking for a stiff and harmonically inert enclosure material and mass plays a large part in that. For this reason I'm planning to mass-load the enclosures by cutting templates of the inside of the enclosure out of card (e.g. cereal box) and using them to cut out the shapes from vehicle sound-deadening material (e.g. a cheap version of Dynamat), line the speaker box with this, brace with MDF if required then stuff with speaker fill (aka the insides of an old synthetic fibre pillow) and add a textured foam to the back of the enclosue in an attempt to reduce reflection, and therefore cancellation of, specific sound frequencies.
I expect the result to be a "fuller" sound with better bass and overall more "presence" but only by testing will I be able to confirm this.
Annecdotally I have in the past greatly improved the performance of small PC and surround sound speakers just by opening them up and adding speaker fill (pillow stuffing).
You can use Rockmat, a cheaper version of Dynamat. It will reduce the mid-bass resonance coming from the speaker walls. Thereby making deeper bass more noticeable. But that assumes it has any to offer in the first place, which I doubt. New replacement drivers would easily provide better bass. I would open it up and measure the speakers, find their impedence, and check either Parts Express or Ebay.
The problem? Good drivers with decent sensitivity, which is an absolute must for low powered devices like these types of boomboxes are really expensive. By the time you’ve added the drivers, dynamat, pillow puff, the added cost makes one wonder if those funds are better expended upgrading to a better model, especially since all that cost did absolutely nothing to upgrade the amp to provide more oomph.
Superduper: You make a good point, I don't think it's worth putting too much money into it. However, I'll take Reli's and Spax's suggestions and see if I can find some dampening material.
I have a Sony that sounds much better, but the Fisher has a line input which makes it handy.
Everything on it still works, plus the nostalgia makes it hard to just let go.
I have a Sony that sounds much better, but the Fisher has a line input which makes it handy.
Everything on it still works, plus the nostalgia makes it hard to just let go.
Depending on the impedance of the stock speakers You might be able to replace the woofers with some coaxial car speakers .