This section contains various information on setting up, speaker placement and general tips for getting the optimal performance from your Royd loudspeakers. Much advice relating to all stereo speaker set-ups is applicable to Royds, however some Royd’s have features and characteristics that are less common or unique and so special attention is needed.
Hi – I have a set of Royd minstrels at home. The connector plugs (that connect the speaker cable to the speakers) have finally broken so I need to buy a replacement set. i ordered a set of banana plugs which I assumed was needed, but not they have arrive they dont fit. As such I dont know what Im looking for. Could you please confirm what type of connector I need to be looking for?
Thanks in advance
Ben
Minstrels certainly do have banana plug sockets and should accept a standard 4mm banana plug. What size plugs do you have?
I have a pair of Royd Sintra II’s, connected up to a NAD 3020A, through which I play my ipod, mainly. Is it worth getting a more powerful amplifier (I was told it might be)? And if so what would be a budget option (around £500). I’m not in the market for the recommended amp in the FAQ.s – Exposure, NVA or Niam….
Thanks
Simon
I’d say, yes, a powerful amp will help you out a lot. The Nad 3020A, although a fine amp, doesn’t for a huge output, only 28W. That said its not adverse to high loads and does include an anti-clipping circuit to prevent speaker damage when pushed too far.
£500 should get you a nice upgrade. Were you looking for a new item, or second hand suggestions? Can I ask why you have ruled out Exposure, Naim, NVA?
Other suggestions (2nd hand) would be a Densen Beat 100 or the Creek 5350SE.
@Arthur
Hi Arthur, money, really, is the only reason I am ruling out the recommended amps. I’d be happier buying new, just because I don’t know much about hi-fi so it would be easier. What would you recommend in the £500 range? Or should I push the boat out? That Creek one looks nice, though the Creek Evolution 2 looks more in my range.
Simon
New at around £500, I’d be looking to audition the new Exposure 1010 and Rega Brio R, which both would be good matches for your Sintra’s. Maybe also check out the Arcam FMJ A18 and Cambridge Audio Azur 651A.
@Arthur
Thanks Arthur. The Rega is stocked by a couple of dealers near me so I’ll give that a try I think. Thanks for your advise.
Simon
Hi, I own a pair of Minstrel who suffered of gummed up, and I would ask if it would be better to apply a particular type of resin on the paper cone woofer’s. In my case some of the original resins has been lost. this compromises the sound in some way?
Thanks
Maurizio
I would not recommend trying to apply more resin to the cones. Joe Akroyd used different amounts of resin on different speakers to achieve different characteristics that were in tune with the speakers particular cabinets and crossovers settings. It is not known exactly what quantities or viscosity of resin was used per speaker, similarly it would be impossible to gauge exactly how much has been lost to work out how much needs re-applying to return them their original state.
I suspect by applying more, you would simply end up with too much, that would effect the sound far more than it has been from the little that has been lost.
Thanks Arthur, I will follow your advice and I will stop with the idea of the resin.
You’d think I could give a little spray to restore shine to the woofers?
Maybe a light spray for oil paintings?
Thanks again
Maurizio
Really not sure TBH. I’d be very wary of applying any solvents, in case they do more harm than good.
Hi there,
I have a pair of Sintra’s and as they only say Sintra on the rear I assume they are Mk1’s?
My amp old Yamaha CR-200 amp is starting to play up so I need to replace it. Now I am no audiophile so I just would like to get the power rating of my amp correct so as to not damage the speakers. On this website the spec of the Sintras recommend 20w-30w but on the hifi review link they suggest 15w-60w.
What should I be looking for ?
There is no magic number for amplifier wattage that will best suited. Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually easier to damage a pair of speakers by hooking them up to an amplifier that’s not powerful enough, than it is to one that is too powerful.
If an amp can’t provide the power required to drive the speakers, it will clip and output a flat DC signal, which can fry the speakers (usually tweeters first). The key factor is this can happen at at fairly modest volume levels, when you just want to turn it up a bit for you favourite song.
Conversely, an amp that can output very high wattages will drive the speakers perfectly well at normal listening levels, in fact, it will probably drive them very well. Where it can cause damage, is if you keep cranking the volume up beyond what the speakers can handle. The amp will keep providing more power, but at some point the speakers will die. Usually this will be at pretty high and deafening volume levels though.
The fact the Sintra’s have a low wattage recommendation (and fairly high sensitivity rating), means they are a fairly easy speaker to drive. In that you can get away with a low-ish power amp, 15-20W or so (like your Yamaha CR-200). However you could pair them with something much more powerful with little to worry, 100W-200W etc.
I’d personally err on the higher side to avoid the possibility of clipping damage and more power on tap can often improve sound performance too.
Many thanks for your prompt in depth reply. I have done a little research and decided to spend a bit more than I normally would as I would hate these speakers to go to waste.
I have a Marantz pm6004 on its way and cant wait to hear how the combination performs. 🙂
Thanks again, great site, keep up the good work
Dylan
Well, the Amp arrived and I cannot believe the difference!!! So much so that I have found that one of the tweeters is not working! 🙁 My old amp lost a channel so I was unaware of this problem.
Where can I source a replacement? Do I need a matched pair? I would Ideally like originals if there are nos suppliers out there? Any help would be greatly appreciated so I can get them working as they should.
Pretty sure the tweeter you need is the Scan Speak D2010 type 8513. I’ve never owned the Sintra, but apparently the tweeters are a bit awkward to remove. I suggest you check out this thread here (if you haven’t already) on pinkfishmedia.
Many thanks, you are correct the tweeter is a Scan Speak D2010/8513 which was easy to source. It was very tricky to remove the old one but now I have a working pair the sound is fantastic! 🙂
Hello Arthur,
I’m after some Royd Doublet Speakers. I have an Exposure XV Integrated amplifier, the normal version at around 35-40W. Does the Doublet demand a more powerful amp than the XV? Will the Exposure XV be OK driving the Doublets at medium volume levels?
Thanks,
S.
I previously ran my Doublets with an Exposure XXV, which I believe is about 50-60W. This had no trouble driving them and I rarely needed to crank it up high. The Doublets aren’t hard to drive, so I suspect your XV will be fine. Maybe not very, very loud, lest they clip.
Lovely!
Thanks Arthur.
Hi, a forum participant on Pink Fish Media suggested I make contact. I had no idea that Royd had been “reborn”, this is welcome news and I wish you every success.
I have a pair of Royd RR2 speakers. The Royd badge has fallen off the front grill on one of them. I still have the badge and wondered what would be the best adhesive to stick it back on? What would you recommend?
With thanks and regards, Mike Walker
Hi, I have recently bought a set of minstrel speakers in very nice condition from a friend. I wish to use them with a Leak stereo 20 valve amp circa 1962 and an arcam cd73 player via a home built passive pre-amp. Can you advise on any particular tips when using the minstrels with this set up?
Many thanks.
I have a pair of Royd Doublets powered by a Rotel RB 991 power amp. I also have a spare 6 channel rotel power amp. Could i bi amp these will they sound better?
Hi, I have a pair of Royd A14 (Mk 1 – I think) speakers. As of a couple of months ago, one of the speakers does not work properly – no bass sound, just a weak ‘tinny’ sound. Is it worth getting fixed – I love the sound
Hello, just joined to say hello to everyone here. I have been a happy owner of a lovely walnut pair of Royd Abbots. Previously powered by Tube Technology EL84 30W integrated amp. Now powered by Exposure XI/XII preamp/IV stereo power amp, connected with single-wired with Chord Epic. I have just got a pair of Royd Minstrels for the office, to be fed by Exposure Super XX integrated amp. What would be a suitable cable to connect them up. Because of the layout, I would need quite a long run, perhaps 7 or 8m. Thanks in advance!
Obviously Exposure speaker cable. Or consider some Naim Nac of NVA speaker cable.
Hello
I have a pair of sintra2
I’d like to change the bass driver units of both because they have been deteriorated
As you said that you have no royd spares, so I wanna substitute another for them
Can you recommend another bass driver of brand for substitution?
regards
Hi,
Not quite a Setup Tip – but a Tip!
I have an old pair of Heralds (Ser No 12865) in a second (Naim) system and I thought they had ‘blown’ so I was about to scrap them but thought I would see if I could spot a simple problem – I did! The dope used all over the cone seemed to have ‘run’ – very slowly like tar – into the gap between the voice coil and the magnet – so making the voice coil stick. By using a baby bud and some Isopropyl Alcohol I was able to clean up most of the offending gunk and they now sound fantastic again – who would have thought 2p worth of baby bud and IPA could save a £200 pair of speakers. I do have photos of the problem and solution but cannot post on here.
Regards
Terry – Eastbourne UK
This is a common issue on many Royd drivers. I’ve an article detailed this very remedy here: http://www.roydaudio.org/articles/repairing-gummed-up-drivers/
Hi Arthur.
Ive just bought a pair of Coniston R speakers from Ebay last week and they are the best speakers i have had so far.Was using Kef Coda 3 Mission 70 and some Tannoy 603 before.The detail and depth is amazing for their size.I am using a Planar 3 and Quad 34 and 306 power amp.Ive noticed that the sponge on the rear ports have come away or deterioated.Will this affect the sound quality in any way?Ive placed them on stands about a foot from the wall.Ill be keeping a look out for a better model of Royd in the near future.Great little speakers.All the best
Dave