just received a pair of rl45s which seem to be in cosmetically good condition.

 am currently away from home (and my other b&o gear) and wondering if there is any way i can gain a good idea of whether they are working or not without having to trip them all the way down to london (home) from here in edinburgh. ie. visually

 any feedback/ ideas would be great

First thing to do is give them a shake, if there is something rattling inside then the ABR's are shot. This is likely to be the case sooner rather than later I'm afraid unless they are 45.2's which don't suffer with this. They will most likely also have foam rot in the bass drivers too.

Other than this I don't know of any other way of checking anything else on them without connecting to a system or taking them apart.

Chris.

Are they RL45's or 45.2's??

The original RL45 shared an ABR with the RL60 which has almost certianly rotted by now (although it could of course have been previously replaced/repaired). The 45.2 is a ported design and as such doesn't suffer from the same problem.

Internal inspection would tell you if there was any ABR related probem on the RL45 model (you could even "feel" for it throught the cloth if you knew what you were feeling for).

Its also quite likely that the crossover capacitors need replacing although you won't necessarily see any visual indication even if you open up the speakers (unless they have already been replaced).

Medogsfat:

First thing to do is give them a shake, if there is something rattling inside then the ABR's are shot. This is likely to be the case sooner rather than later I'm afraid unless they are 45.2's which don't suffer with this.

 

Chris.

Of course there's always the scientific method

after the 'shake n feel' method it is obvious the abr's are dud.

any repair ideas or are the better off being laid to rest?

alexanderwebb:

after the 'shake n feel' method it is obvious the abr's are dud.

any repair ideas or are the better off being laid to rest?

That is the million$ question. Now for someone like myself, and other like minded beoprojectaddicts, I would see it as a challenge to be relished. A fair bit of work involved and a very satisfying project where you can sit back and enjoy the "I did that" feeling every time you turn on your music - but not one for the feint hearted I have to admit.

If you don't have the time, tools, and/or inclinataion to tackle them then they really aren't worth the effort which would be a bit of a shame considering their cosmetics. It's all a matter of perspective.

EDIT :- just a thought. If you really want to keep them but don't fancy tackling the job yourself then you're welcome to drop them off at my humble abode in Leeds on your way back darn sarth. I'd happily do the job for you, in between all the other stuff I have piled up of course. Better than seeing them binned - I'd hate that!

Chris.