N804 phase plug upgrade?

[georgev]

I forgot to ask, what material are you making it from?
Thanks.

[caleb]

I've tried now three times to download pictures onto this site, but I can't get it to work.

I have no trouble to download onto another forum so I've given up.

The phase plugs are being produced now and will get intouch with all those who requested them when they are ready.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I will put them onto another forum and give you the URL to visit.

RGDS
Caleb

[caleb]

Hi all,
The phase plugs have worked out cheaper than I thought.
I can sell these for US$15 each ex Cape Town.

They should start to come through in about a week's time and I will despatch on an as received payment basis.

[Smitty]

If you have not sold out I'll take three.

Thanks

[Jason R]

Hi Caleb,

Had not realised you were from SA, i am JHB and will take 2 from you send me an e-mail and we can sort out postage etc.

[Herbonbay]

what the heck

Hi Caleb
Wow! you've created a monster, but put me down for 4. Have you considered producing matching spikes?
Regards Herb

[ti33er]

I am going for 3 (future proofing for my next front speaker B&W FST set up!) Thanks Caleb!

[georgev]

Hi Caleb,
I said put me down for two. I meant two pairs.
Thanks,
George.

[SRT-10 Viper]

I'd like to buy 4

If you still have them available, I'd like 4.

[caleb]

Production under way, will keep you posted on progress.

BTW the first two off the new batch look superb!

RGDS

[DanR]

Just to reiterate, I will take two. Glad they are coming off as planned!! Thanks.

[junior77blue]

Hello Caleb, still no photos avaialbe? Link possible?

[sikoniko]

I'd like to change my order from 5 to 6 if possible.

Thanks,

[ti33er]

Any news on these phase plugs yet?

[L01]

i would also take two, depending on costs.

thx
Andreas

[hillen]

Aluminium phaseplugs

Originally Posted by hillen
This might be of interest for owners of the current Nautilus range:
I send an e-mail to B&W speakers, England, and got the following answer:

Dear Sir,
I replaced the original plastic phaseplugs by the aluminium Signature 800
phaseplugs and noticed an improvement in the midrangeclarity of my Nautilus
802's. Recently I removed the ( grey )paint on the bottom of the phaseplug
with a piece of sandpaper, so that the alumunium material is in DIRECT
contact with the copper on the midrange magnetpole. The improvement is
immediately audible, even by a bigger margin than just by changing the
original phaseplug by the "untreated"aluminium one. I think, removing the
paint on the bottom makes a dramatic difference for the better: i.e. less
grain, less distortion. Now I am able to play even louder withoud any
strain. I am curious, what your findings are on this matter.
Kind regards,
Bram Hillen. ( Holland )


Dear Bram
Thank you for your comments.
Yes, we have also found that the aluminium plug sounds better and smoother
in the mid range, than the plastic one. The aluminium one also sounds better
than the brass and copper versions, that we have made ourselves, and also
some very expensive after sales items, marketted by other people. Why? well
that's another question altogether.... We have used some pretty
sophisticated measuring apparatus, including the "Klippel" distortion
analyser, but we have yet to show any measurable difference, between them.
Ask me in a few years time - we may have figured it out by then. For now
just trust your ears.

Best regards
Stephan Baker, B&W UK

[Boozyuzi]

Can I ressurect this thread...

I have replaced that standard plastic phase plugs on my N805's with a pair of official B&W Sig phase plugs. Would scraping the paint from the phase plugs improve the sound of my 805's ??

BTW - there was a noticeable improvement when I changed from plastic to signature phase plugs. I got them from Graham's Hifi shop in the UK. £55 including postage.

http://www.grahams.co.uk/

[miner]

I spoke to the techincian at B&W yesterday about the phase plug.

He said that it was not available from them as an accessory, but could be supplied to dealers if owners have lost them or damaged them (does this make sense?)

He talked about the aluminium plugs giving Subtle differences, smoothing frequencies and all the other marketing bullsh#t that these people use.

As I said before - try taking the plastic ones out and listenng without them - then save your money.
Caleb

Caleb,
Weren't you manufacturing these and selling them for $20 USD each a while back? Are you now suggesting your plugs were snake oil?

I'll take a pair also, please. :T

[caleb]

Caleb,
Weren't you manufacturing these and selling them for $20 USD each a while back? Are you now suggesting your plugs were snake oil?

I'll take a pair also, please. :T

NO - please continue to read the thread and you will see that when I replaed the plastic phase plugs whtih thie ALUMINIUM plugs, the sound was improved.

This has been confirmed by several other forum members that bought them from me.

Difference is that mine only cost 20$ and not 55 quid from Grahams HI FI ! ! !

[miner]

OK, I understand now - buy from you and save money - I stand corrected Caleb. When will first production run be done?

[chinets]

Caleb, I'll be in Kenya next week and in the middle east for 2 months could I order phase plugs from you!!!! I have a pair of N803 and a pair of N804 and the HTM1 would they suit these type of speakers too!???? So I guess I would need 5 right???? You ship abroad right???
I might be in SA too ,so I might just stop by if you have the time, check out your awsome system and get those Plugs. Let me know if that is cool with you!!!
Thanks pal,
Chinets

[nba]

Caleb, I sent you 75$ for three plugs on the 17th.Nov.05. You informed me that you got the monay but I still haven't received anything. How slow can the post be from SA to Finland?
Should I expect them at all

Niko

[worldys]

this is a really interesting thread and like many others, i would love to spend 50 bucks to make my 8,000 speakers sound better, but before we all get carried away, would someone who has the metal plugs please invite a buddy over, throw back a few beers together and then do a blinded test to see if they still hear a difference

thanks

s

[worldys]

caleb

i didn't mean to kill the thread with my question, just wanted to know if a blinded listener could hear a difference, i actually want to order a pair for my n802, they look cool if nothing else

are you still taking orders?

s

[watchthewaves]

AFAIK, there was just one short production run and stock's gone -- too soon for a lot of us!

If only he could be persuaded to fire up the line again, I'm sure that'd be lotsa grateful B&W owners here!

[nba]

... i actually want to order a pair for my n802, they look cool if nothing else

are you still taking orders?

s

You might want to know this before ordering from Caleb. I sent him the money for 3 plugs last November. He informed that he shipped them off to me mid December and that it could take a bit longer to receive them because of Xmas. Today 4 months gone and I still haven't got anything from him. He tends to ignore all my emails and PMs and at some point he just replied that for some people it took longer than 3 months to receive them. Reading the forum appears that some people have gotten them in a week to 10 days and only Rays is another case that never received any plugs but at least, eventually, he got his money back.

This is not to say that Caleb is not legitimate. My problems might be an isolated glitch which I hope to resolve with him. If he could only co-operate.

Regarding the plugs though, you might want to consider:
HiFi tuning from Germany http://www.hifi-tuning.com/. (Choose Zubehör / Tuning from the bottom of the list on the left to see them). They have aluminum plugs for 49euros a pair.

That is the way i would have gone if I only knew better.

Niko

[caleb]

OK - I'm back after a forced absence.
Let me know how many I need to make and I'll crank up the engineer again and get some made.
For all those who bought them I think you will agree that they made an audible difference.

Also it T33er will back me up - he got his and I haven't even collected payment yet so (NBA) please stop bleating about me being a rogue - I make sod all money on these plugs and do it as a favour for the forum members so try blaming the postal serives.

I will wait for two weeks and total the number of plugs needed and add 10% then I will start to have them made.

First come - first served coz when I have finished these I am going to break the mould ! ! !

BTW - love you all realy!

I will wait for two weeks and see how many are needed

[miner]

Caleb,
I would like a pair for my N804s. Thanks.

Miner

[nba]

... so (NBA) please stop bleating about me being a rogue - I make sod all money on these plugs and do it as a favour for the forum members so try blaming the postal serives.

I do not say you are a rogue, all I say is that I haven't got any plugs from you for whatever the reason.

If its the post to blame, can you help trace them or file a claim?
I have done that from my side but I was informed from the post that the sender should initiate the claim instead.

[tec333]

caleb,

put me down for three pieces...

any members who do have these...is there really an audibile difference? if so - just different sound or better?

Tec

[ZX10 Guy]

I'd be interested in 5 for my main system that has N804s and HTM1. Do these also work with N805s? Because I have a pair of those too. So that could make a total of 7.

[sikoniko]

i think the 805S's are built into the driver and can't be removed.

[Boone38]

I just bought the 804S and will take two if it changes that much. I have the HTM4 for the center. Will this help it as well?

Thanks

[tec333]

sikoniko - i think zx10 was asking about the old N805 and those should be removable right? If it is built in on on the 805S then is it built in on the 804S as well - meaning Boone can't use it for his 804S?

tec

[Kobus]

To eliminate confusion, I think it will be good if someone can state (maybe again) for which speakers it will work !

Kobus

[watchthewaves]

2 for me please. Will PM you my particulars again.

Thanks!

[Boone38]

Agree, I would hate to deface a speaker that is only 7 days old.

Thanks

[watchthewaves]

Believe that all removable phase plugs are of the same size. This means that all the 800 series speakers can take these phase plugs, with the following EXCEPTION:
- for the N805, I think its non-FST driver has non-removable phase plugs, so they can't be replaced. As for the new 805, I recall reading someone mentioning that its non-FST driver has phase plugs that can be removed. Can owners of the old and new 805 confirm this?

[EDIT: Found this old thread: http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=12960 . Seems that its the new 805S that has phase plugs that cannot be removed and not the old N805. Thanks to the guys below for clarifying this. My bad.]

Apart from the 805 speakers mentioned above, for the others, if you want to try to unscrew your phase plug, it is a simple affair using your fingers to unscrew it anti-clockwise. Hand pressure will do, no special equipment needed. That's how I tested it on my two N804. But of course, do this at your own risk.

[Djas_Puhr]

The phase plug for the HTM4S (same driver as the 805S) is attached to the kevlar cone so I believe it is non-removable. Not sure about the N805.

Mj

[tec333]

I just checked mine - the N805 is removable

[nba]

I would still need three plugs.

[RLC]

Caleb

Please add me to the list, I need 5 plugs. I've heard about your plugs from my HT dealer in Austin, Tx. and he was impressed by them.

Thanks,
BC

[Kobus]

Hi Caleb

3 Please, local, will collect.

Thanks

Kobus

[Trevor]

I would not mind getting a pair for my 804S

I was wondering how much they were? The details and who I need to send the info to?

Thanks
Trevor

[weijst]

For support:
I used to have a pair of N804 and a HTM2, their plugs can be removed / replaced...
I have a pair of 805S, their plugs can't be removed / replaced...
The N805's plugs can be removed / replaced, see pictures...