Heybrook HB1

I have been talking on another (non-audio) forum to someone who has owned from new an pair of HB1 (1987), a NAD 3130 from the same year and a Mission DAC5 CDP. He continues to be happy with his HiFi.

Questions:

Would the amp benefit from new power supply caps, and would it be cost effective? Should I advise him at least to take the lid off and look for leakage?

How does the DAD5 CDP rank these days? Would a modern external DAC add some sparkle? Would a modern cheap DVD/CD player match or beat it?

Are there any issues with the HB1s of that age?

His question on the other forum was about wirelessly relocating the speakers to the other end of the room. I advised him to go with his plan B - under carpet wires. He was pleased to be shown on the web flat cables for just such a purpose. I have advised not less that 2 sq mm cables. Should I have said more?

Rob?

 

the rubber surrounds of the hb1 are notorious for perishing .....

as to a re cap hard to say a lot depends on the ammount of use the amps had ...

the dad players are good ...you may just change the charactor of the sound with a dac /....rather than any material gain .

 

Foams on the HB1 will rot. How far gone these might be depends on exposure to humidity and sunlight.

On the amp, open it and look for anything clearly amiss. If it appears to be fine and is electrically quiet through the loudspeakers then I'd leave it alone unless you enjoy the diy and tweaking side of the hobby.

The Mission is fine.

 

I can supply new production Vifa M21 WG-09-08 drivers for HB1's (and JPW P1, AP2 or AP3's). Or you can get re-foaming kits from Good-Hifi on ebay.

The rest of the HB1 is well made. Solid cabinets, hardwired crossover and film caps so they can go on for a long time.

 

Many thanks, everyone, for the advice - I'm the person Brian was talking about!

I've not tried opening the amp yet, but did peel off the HB1 covers recently - to find that the plastic (?) drivers in both speakers have bits missing from them around the edges - much like the top image on http://www.puresound.info/id2.html

Apart from the speaker cable Brian recommended, I guess I'm also in the market for new drivers - and that's before I look at the amp / CD player...


Patrick

 

Welcome Patrick.

Sorry about the state of your HB1s. They are classics and can be repaired, but you need to look carefully at the economics.

There are knowledgeable folk on this forum. Let's see what advice is offered.

 

HB1's were a ballsy but ultimately not very clear speaker that we sold by the hundred (actually, we did at the time...). They have a wonderful way of entertaining the listener and cover the weaker tracks of the preceeding system so well and this is why they were justifyably popular IMO. Well worth keeping going though, as it will cost more than the sub £200 squeak-boxes I reckon to replace them, apart from the pro firm selling updated speakers based on the NS10 concept for £100 or so (8" bass drivers) - can't now remember who they were....

The 3130 should be left alone I think, if it's working right. Caps on well designed far eastern products of this time seem to last rather longer than the stuff available in the UK until the early eighties at any rate I think, so only delve inside if the thing has been thrashed.

I remember the DAD 5 being a pleasant sounding "bitsream" player. We sold it with the matching DAC5 and with an Isoplat to "present" them on. A thoroughly pleasant and innocuous sounding CD player I remember. Getting the mains leads plugged in the right way round (fig 8 type) made a small difference I remember and getting some new interconnects would possibly help, along with some fresh speaker cable to replace the original which may be getting on for thirty years old now...

Suggestions for cables - look on fleabay for Van Damme round blue speaker cable - the 2.5mm is less than £2.50 per metre and loads better than QED in my opinion. There are some excellent inexpensive phono leads available there as well, from the Belkin "Silver Series" at under a tenner for a metre pair, to some Van Damme cables (cheapest and best value available from "Soundstable" on ebay for £13.50 approx) - I have both and can vouch for them personally. The £30 leads from Flashback Sales should be regarded as expensive (the products are fine though) for this sytem. Avoid dealers if necessary in this instance, as they make a huge margin on interconnects and speaker cables and the above interconnects I've mentioned would cost the best part of £100 if bought from a dealer these days).

Good luck with the system restoration/update. It'll cost a fair bit to replace like-with-like IMO..

 

http://www.studiospares.com/studio-monitors/studiospares-sn10-nearfield-monitors-pair/invt/248000/

But I guess any modern budget speaker would be brittle and harsh compared to the HB1s.

You would need something like

http://www.ebacoustics.com/page6.html

at £670 to get near, except the modern speaker would have more clarity.

 

Have you seen the response of HB1's, especially later ones? The tweeter is brought in late and could take your fillings out on a nasssssty early CD player. definitely a vinyl lovers' (or smoooooth sounding CD player) speaker

 

Kind of funny that when you ask a forum full of hi-fi enthusiasts what they want, they ask for a boringly styled two-way box speaker with not much bass.

 

What would you vote for that didn't cost silly money?

 

£500 can get you a variety of classic high-end 1950's to 1980's speakers, some of which have decent bass, some of which have unbeatable midrange. If you've only got £100 a pair of HB1's plus a refoam kit is not a bad place to start.

 

Names?

I'm not in a hurry to be rid of my Quarts.

 

Names:

Quad ESL57's for unbeatable midrange.

Bozak Symphonys or Concert Grands for decent bass and a live type feeling to rock and pop music.

Electro Voice Sentry III's for dynamics, transients, and a generally good all-round sound.

There's a few other contenders such as Klipsch Cornwalls. Scalas and Klipschorns would be a bit more expensive unless you can find a scruffy pair. Same with Altec Model 19's. Also look out for old cinema refurbs or demolitions where you might find some Vitavox in the UK or Klangfilm in Germany or Altec VOTT's in America.

 

Many thanks for the advice. I'm going to start with the speaker cable, which I can get for £1.99/metre at the mo' from eBay or clearlyAV - or Amazon for £1.85.

I'll then be looking at fixing the speakers.

Now, off to measure the distance between the speakers and where the amp's new home will be!

Patrick

Edit: And as a PS, they all appear to be coming from the same source - ClearlyAV! So, Amazon here I come.

 

We look forward to progress reports.

Are the speakers on stands so that the tweeters fire at ear height?

 

Brian,

Yes, they are - despite what my better half would prefer...

 

What developments, Patrick?

 

Brian, thanks for the reminder/interest!

I have to admit I've not done anything yet :-(

Having said that, the speakers are beginning to annoy me now - every so often they sound awful - even to my non-audiophile ears!

So, first step is now to investigate the cost of the speaker drivers.

I'll get in touch with Pure Sound and get a quote for the HB1 drivers. As someone for whom I'm ashamed to admit "DIY" stands for "Pay Someone Else", I'm hoping they'll be easy to fit!


Patrick

 

Any news??????