Absolute 2's repair or replace ?

by **Marbury** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 2:34 pm

I have a very old pair of Spirit absolute 2 monitors in my small studio room. Years ago I replaced the tweeters as they become dry (they have fluid inside) and crackly. They are powered with a Samson 170 amp and now cut in and out at lower volume. If I turn it right up they stop cutting out but now the tweeters crackle at certain frequencies.

Are they worth getting new tweeters for (around £30 each) or will my money be better invested in a newer, active pair with more frequency range like the Yamaha HS7s ? And if so, is it worth selling the Absolute 2's or just bin them ?

Any advice would be well appreciated.

by **Hugh Robjohns** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:16 pm

There were widely known as 'Absolute Poos' for a reason... I think they've probably earned their trip to monitor heaven... ;-)

H

by **Marbury** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:42 pm

Hugh Robjohns wrote:There were widely known as 'Absolute Poos' for a reason... I think they've probably earned their trip to monitor heaven... ;-)

H

Really ? You do surprise me as they got great reviews.

by **Hugh Robjohns** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:01 pm

Never a fan, I'm afraid, and I think the monitor world has moved on...

by **Marbury** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:05 pm

Hugh Robjohns wrote:Never a fan, I'm afraid, and I think the monitor world has moved on...

Fair enough. Would you recommend the Yamaha H7's as a good upgrade ?

by **Hugh Robjohns** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:03 pm

They are good for what they are... but what's your budget? There may be better still on offer...

by **Marbury** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:32 pm

Around £300 for a pair.

by **ConcertinaChap** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:36 pm

Well only last month Paul White gave a very enthusiastic review to the Adam T7V, only just out of your budget and active to boot. Just a thought.

CC

by **Marbury** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:14 am

ConcertinaChap wrote:Well only last month Paul White gave a very enthusiastic review to the Adam T7V, only just out of your budget and active to boot. Just a thought.

CC

Ok, thanks. Had a look at them and I see they are about the same pricing as the Yamaha H7s. I delved into a review on Youtube comparing them and the H7s came out on top as having the edge.

by **Wonks** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:52 am

I wouldn't go too much by a single YouTube review, especially one done with a single monitor of each type in an untreated room. They didn't even bring the monitors to the edge of the display top to minimise reflections from the top.

by **The Korff** » Tue Aug 28, 2018 11:07 am

Hugh Robjohns wrote:I think they've probably earned their trip to monitor heaven... ;)

Is that where all the calculators go?

by **stemwinder** » Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:24 pm

I would also add Mackies to your audition list, IMHO the MR5s are great value for money (£130ish each) - https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/mackie-mr5-mr8-mk2

I have always found Mackie's to be good value, I have two pairs the MR5 (mk2s) with foam stuffed into the rear bass ports (really tightens the bass up) and HR624s which are one of my main monitors (alongside KRK and Avantone)

Cheers,

Darren

by **Marbury** » Sat Sep 01, 2018 7:44 pm

I watched a demo by Spectrasonics on Youtube and they were using Genelec 1032's which sounded amazing, even with Youtube; Then I looked up the price which was nearly 2 grand so that was the end of that.

by **johnny h** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 1:33 am

Marbury wrote:I watched a demo by Spectrasonics on Youtube and they were using Genelec 1032's which sounded amazing, even with Youtube; .

They sounded good on youtube? ..

by **Janneman** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 6:20 pm

Never buy speakers via a review on youtube. Go to a shop with your favorit tracks and listen.

by **My Own Silence** » Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:59 am

I've owned a few monitors and I own the Yamaha HS5s. I think for the money they are great. I'm not a big fan of ADAMs but they are good.

Here's my view and I might get slated but I believe it to be true. I used to own a pair of KRK Rokits that had a very good review. This was when my ears didn't "hear" like they do today. I was not a fan, very muddy low end which I came to realise with time. Plus the transformers in both speakers started buzzing after a year. Common fault I believe.

I've worked with all sorts of monitors, Dynaudio, Focals, high end KRKs (different beasts), NS10s etc.

The HS5s are still in my possession and I will keep them. What's cool is that people actually do like listening to them but I can still mix on them. I own some high end speakers which sound more boring but are deeper and detailed, but you are looking at spending around 1000 quid on that quality.

There's so much to choose from, but if listening to loads is not easy to do and you just looking to get a good monitor as easy as possible I know a lot of happy Yamaha owners. Are they the best for the price? Subjective question. Are they being used successfully - yes.

Just my suggestions. You can go listen to a load of monitors, but I have found you need a bit of time to learn any speaker, so to be honest it's best just to dive in and get a pair and learn them. 300 quid is not a lot for monitor speakers, and if you don't get on with them after time, they do hold quite a bit of their value (but I bet you keep the Yamaha's if you go for them).

by **Jez Corbett** » Fri Sep 14, 2018 9:31 am

Ah, the absolute number twos ;)

I still have mine. Bought them back when I was a student, now they live out their life as TV speakers.

by **twotoedsloth** » Sat Sep 15, 2018 3:37 pm

I also use my Absolute 2s as TV speakers. IMHO they do fine in that role, but I won't be rushing out to fix them should a problem arise.

SOUND ON SOUND

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Absolute 2's repair or replace ?