aerius cleaning/smoke exposure

[cmescia]

Hello,

Being new to this list, and being the only audiophile in my circle of friends, I have been 'out of the loop' regarding any tweaks with my aerius i's.

Now finding this site, I am again in love. I have had the aerius's since late 99. The previous owner had them for ~1.5 years (they were made in 98, according to the serial #--another bonus find on this forum!), but was a heavy smoker. I know this is an evil and abusive practice for ESL's, but he was wanting to part with them for only $800, and I loved thier sound, so I couldn't pass the deal up.

However, i notice that they have these spots on the panel all over (dont ask why i never noticed them before...go figure), and vacuumed them as mentioned on this forum. They do seem to sound better, the soundfield is more precise and vocals seem more real. However, the spots did not go away. I saw the post about cleaning the sequels by taking them apart and washing them with running water (though that sounds intimidating for me...).

If they spent the first part of their lives in a smoke filled environment, is that damage permanent? can the rails/grill be taken off and the panels wiped down with a cloth (swiffer, dustrag??), or does that damage the panel? is vacuuming them the main thing that can be done and further cleaning beyond the point of diminshing returns?

Thanks!

Chris

 

[roberto]

Hello,

Being new to this list, and being the only audiophile in my circle of friends, I have been 'out of the loop' regarding any tweaks with my aerius i's.

Now finding this site, I am again in love. I have had the aerius's since late 99. The previous owner had them for ~1.5 years (they were made in 98, according to the serial #--another bonus find on this forum!), but was a heavy smoker. I know this is an evil and abusive practice for ESL's, but he was wanting to part with them for only $800, and I loved thier sound, so I couldn't pass the deal up.

However, i notice that they have these spots on the panel all over (dont ask why i never noticed them before...go figure), and vacuumed them as mentioned on this forum. They do seem to sound better, the soundfield is more precise and vocals seem more real. However, the spots did not go away. I saw the post about cleaning the sequels by taking them apart and washing them with running water (though that sounds intimidating for me...).

If they spent the first part of their lives in a smoke filled environment, is that damage permanent? can the rails/grill be taken off and the panels wiped down with a cloth (swiffer, dustrag??), or does that damage the panel? is vacuuming them the main thing that can be done and further cleaning beyond the point of diminshing returns?

Thanks!

Chris

hola chris and welcome. With the aid of a brush, you can clean this white spots at the panel. Yes, smoke can harm the panles and could damage the panels permanently. If you look at the bottom of your Aerius, if you can see two plates almost below the wooden rails, these are to prevent the rails to slip off. Put your Aerius on their side, if you have these two plates that ar secured to the speaker´s cabinet by two philips screws No.2, take them off and with the help of a soft mallet (rubber) hit at the top of the rails to loose them about one inch. If you don't have these two plates, then the rails are remove from bottom to top. Hit at the bottom and take them off. Put a pillow or cushion on the floor and place the speaker's connectors at the pillow. Now you are allow to remove the rails. The ornamental grill is secured to the stat panles by some both sides adhesive take. Take it off with care and now with the help of a small blade screw driver, you have to remove the three wires that are at the white plastic connector near the bottom of the panels. The panels are secured byfour velcro strips. When put them back, watch the colors...hope this can help!...happy listening,
Pura vida,
Roberto.

 

[cmescia]

clean the panel with a brush? seems abraisive....any brush you recommend? I take it a soft cloth wont do it then...

as for the adhesive tape, since these are 8 yrs old, do you replace the tape with somthing else if it wont reattach well...or does tha nto really matter much.

Thanks, I just want to have all the bases covered before I open them up.


Chris

 

[roberto]

clean the panel with a brush? seems abraisive....any brush you recommend? I take it a soft cloth wont do it then...

as for the adhesive tape, since these are 8 yrs old, do you replace the tape with somthing else if it wont reattach well...or does tha nto really matter much.

Thanks, I just want to have all the bases covered before I open them up.


Chris

Hola Chris...use a soft paint brush with long hair...you will remove those white things with no problem...happy listening,
Pura vida,
Roberto.