Check your aperiodic vent foam

[VantheMan]

Only me, the forum mechanic as opposed to solderer.
I would urge those owners of WD25T speakers, if they are unhappy with the bass as would seem to be the case with a number of people, to check the condition of their aperiodic vent foam because in 100% of the cases I have checked ( 2 out of 2) said foam had crumbled away into nothingness, rendering their aperiodic slots useless.
I now use a possible alternative to said foam, namely Athena motor bike exhaust box stuffing material, aka a slightly more user friendly than rockwool fibre glass material. It sells in packets of 1 sheet, say 80 x 50cms and over here it cost me about 3 quid. You only need a narrow strip of course, which I placed in an improvised chicken wire wallet and jammed over the vents.
Now I know what my speakers are capable of , bass-wise.

[Riggers]

I have to admit that when I first saw your post my reaction was “yeah, maybe “. That was until I decided to move the roll of leftover foam from my original build which had sat on top of the cupboard for years….. and it crumbled in my hands! I thought there must be some material that is more resilient in the long term (and cheaper too) that will do the job, so now for some experimentation.
Phil.

[VantheMan]

Glad someone believed me and could be bothered to check !

Let us know what you discover.

[A.N. Beal]

I have purchased some new 75ppi reticulated foam which works perfectly as a replacement for perished original aperiodic vent foam in my WD25 loudspeakers. I had to buy more than I needed, so I have some left over for sale. See 'FOR SALE' listing for details.
Alasdair

[A.N. Beal]

PS Replacing the foam on my WD25a loudspeakers considerably improved bass performance and also (unless I am much mistaken) it also cleaned up the sound a bit generally.

[TimN]

Makes me want to build some. They look a bit less strenuous than my KLS3s. They look like they might be OK for my study.