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Cambridge Soundworks Newton M80 standmount speakers

KR500

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Hi ;

I gave our daughter and son in law a pair of these when they came out quite a while ago and are getting them regifted back since they are moving and downsizing.

Anyone have any experience with these speakers ?
I think they were designed by Henry Kloss and originally built in Maine or Massachusetts before offshoring later into plastic budget designs

thanks for any thoughts you might have to share

"The M80 is the top-of-the-line Newton Series bookshelf.
Each MDF enclosure features a beautiful real-wood veneer finish and contains an 8" woofer, a 3 ½" midrange driver and a silk fabric tweeter.
The speakers may be positioned vertically or horizontally.
The versatile M80’s tweeter/mid-range mounting plate can be repositioned, in case you choose to place them horizontally.
The M80’s can also be bi-wired."

Detailed Specs:
SPEAKER TYPE - BOOKSHELF
ENCLOSURE TYPE - BASS REFLEX
CABINET FINISH - SLATE, MAHOGANY, BLONDE MAPLE
FREQUENCY RESPONSE 40Hz - 22kHz
MIN/MAX POWER 10 WATTS / 150 WATTS
SENSITIVITY 86dB
NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 8 OHMS
MAGNETICALLY SHIELDED
TWEETER SIZE ¾"
TWEETER TYPE DOME
TWEETER FERROFLUID COOLING
TWEETER MATERIAL - NATURAL FIBER
MID-RANGE SIZE 3½"
MID-RANGE TYPE CONE
MID-RANGE MATERIAL - INJECTION MOLDED POLYMER
WOOFER SIZE 8"
WOOFER TYPE CONE
WOOFER MATERIAL - INJECTION MOLDED COPOLYMER
CONNECTORS - GOLD-PLATED BINDING POSTS
DIMENSIONS 18"H X 10"W X 10¼"D
WEIGHT 28 LBS. (EACH)
 
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TWEETER FERROFLUID COOLING
These are from the early 2000s, apparently? Any older speaker with ferrofluid tweeters should be checked for frequency response. Considered a bit of a miracle material at one time, the stuff has a certain tendency to gel up and prevent the diaphragm from moving (I supposed similar to certain mineral oils which I guess it is based on), at which point you won't get much out of there. The mess can be cleaned out and replaced but it's obviously a certain amount of presumably fiddly work.

This speaker is basically a variation on the classic 8/4/1" bookshelf. If the crossovers are decently designed these can be pretty good. Expect wide dispersion. Looking at pictures, I am a bit skeptical of the side walls protruding over the baffle with the grille off, which would seem like prime sources of diffraction. (Inset baffles on speakers generally disappeared after the 1970s for good reason.) Mind you, the grille with its cloth over a plastic grid doesn't look ideally transparent either. I think matters could be improved with a bit of ingenuity and elbow grease... I might try a bunch of dyed cotton wool placed towards the edges in the grilles or something (and/or felt glued to the baffle), and perhaps cutting out a bit of the plastic support structure from the inside where the tweeter is so it's got a straight shot.
 
Thank you for your reply and thoughts Steph, I appreciate the information about ferrofluid tweeters.
Also I can confirm they are circa 20/years old and do have wide dispersion. And yes, the grille/cabinet edges are probably not helpful at all with diffraction. :rolleyes:
Now just to find a current version of this 3 way design being manufactured somewhere before looking for floor standers, I like the larger 8 inch woofer as opposed to the smaller 6.5 one.
The midrange helps with those frequencies compared to an 8 inch 2 way.
Formerly was using Class A or an A/B tube amplification and a really nice Seas 8 inch full range vented cabinet but downsized to an Elac Debut 6.2 until the kids returned these Cambridge speakers to me recently. They do sound pretty decent and a little more body than the Elac's
 
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You can see the baffle ridge edges of the M80 Speakers Steph is referring to in his post.
Probably will try to get some felt stuck there on a curved stiff paper form, to at least round the sharp angles and provide a slightly smoother off ramp for sound waves
Looking at some crossover pictures on eBay where they were selling replacement parts the components are very good quality and look well designed
 

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The Public Library here has a 3D printing machine for patrons to use.
Designing and printing out a concave plastic template with cutouts for the drivers and puttying them to the baffle front might be an improvement to the performance of these oldies but goodies
 
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