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Transporting Naim SBLs

PaulJ

pfm Member
Hi,

I am looking for some advice on transporting SBLs. I have bought some SBLs from eBay, had initially intended to get them dismantle, and re-assemble for setup. There is no gasket kit with them, and I don't intend keeping these permanently, so would like to transport them assembled.

I have a small hatchback, so transporting them standing is not available. I thought about laying them on their back, but don't think that is viable. So, I am thinking about lying them on their side.

Would be please to hear from anyone on transporting SBLs, they don't have their boxes, which would have made things easier.

Thanks,
Paul
 
Ask a dealer.
I bet they've prepped loads of S/h ones for transport without boxes.
 
Transport is easy in principle

....But doing it without dismantling and resealing is not. Chances are the spikes are going through the pads requiring a full fill and re-pad/re-seal.

A carving knife will separate the boxes without damage if applied to the bottom surface of the middle one. You then may also be able to separate the silicone from the gasket surface and salvage the gasket.
 
Whatever you do is at your risk.

That said, I have moved a pair of SBLs in the back of a hatch, lying on their backs on boards to keep them evenly supported and as level as possible.

Obviously you need to stop them moving about by whatever means makes sense

Note, that to use the original boxes as intended originally, you'd need to dismantle them.

Now wait for the debate on whether the gasket/spikes can survive such a journey. Mine did!
 
Possible yes but very hard! You only need a few good bumps to be stuffed. Upright and assembled is actually worse from this point of view.

The gaskets and spikes will survive fine. It's about whether the spikes stick too far into the mid box and pads.

Why is it that people don't use the washing up liquid technique? Use that and you can seal and unseal as often as you like!
 
I rolled a pair onto their side, then shrink wrapped tightly, card packers between woofer and tweeter box. I think they arrived safely after a car journey.
 
Why is it that people don't use the washing up liquid technique? Use that and you can seal and unseal as often as you like!

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, please could you enlighten me on this technique ?

or a link to an article

Thanks,
Paul
 
I transported a pair from Wokingham (Vital's) to Southampton without dismantling them. OK so they were boxed, but we laid them on their backs. one in the boot, one across the rear seats.

They survived as far as I can tell, the push in and release test of the bass-mid appears to be OK - a couple of seconds for it to come back out.

And they sound pretty d@mn fine.
 
When I acquired mine I transported them on their backs in an estate making sure that they were well padded on either side and everything was fine. It was a relatively short journey about 15 miles but take it easy and it can be done.
 
Paul,

in July 2014 I bought a pair of SBLs from a German dealer, in Stuttgart. A relative of mine took them from there to near Milano, where I live. I thought the the dealer would accurately pack them, but he just wrapped them in some black garbage plastic foil.

Anyway, they traveled on their sides, inside the large luggage compartment of a Volvo, with fronts facing. They arrived without a single tiny mark.

Taking them inside, one was mildly coming apart - the silicone was not holding tightly - the other was steady. When placed, I only had to re-silicone one, the other was apparently still ok. There's a chance that one or two spikes may have pierced the aluminum pads, but I have just bought spare ones and will take a Sunday to re-do the thing from scratch.

My advice is to find some neoprene tube or tape, let's say 3/4 mm in diameter/section, cut some pieces that you will carefully, without stressing, insert between the mid and lower boxes, and lay them carefully on their sides. This could prevent the spikes from piercing the aluminum pads. The top boxes can be removed safely, with an allen key, and can be kept elsewhere.

In case one of the two woofers' enclosures comes apart, the gaskets are sturdier than it seems, they won't necessarily break and you'll be able to do the silicone job again. In case you don't know this:

http://www.sbls.co.uk

it can be of help.

Best
Max
 
All covered in Gary's instructions

http://www.sbls.co.uk/

Push and release test isn't sufficient. It will still pass even if the spikes have gone too far and destroyed the decoupling.

Once I asked, on the Naim forum, why the spikes didn't have to pass through the aluminum pads, at the risk of destroying the decoupling, while the 8 staples that keep the pads in place could, without damage..
But I got no answer.

M
 
With all the faffing about that you can read about setting up sbl's the first thing I would do as the new owner would be to pull them apart and to assemble them from scratch. Do the new owner a favour and deliver them safely in pieces.
 
If it was me I would dismantle them first, it's easy enough to rebuild them and you have the reinsurance that they are set-up correctly.
 
Once I asked, on the Naim forum, why the spikes didn't have to pass through the aluminum pads, at the risk of destroying the decoupling, while the 8 staples that keep the pads in place could, without damage..
But I got no answer.

M

You are actually talking about two totally different things. The mid/bass unit is decoupled from the lower box by the gasket/silicone. The spike are there to stop the box moving but not to couple it to the lower box. Doing it this way allows the mid/bass to see the extra volume of the lower box but not be a part of it - if that makes sense.

The staples have nothing to do with coupling one box to the other but merely hold the aluminium pads securely in place.
 
It's a very Heath Robinson arrangement, typically British somehow. I would never trust them after transportation, I would have to take them apart and set them up from scratch.

The washing up liquid thing is just this: before you apply the silicone on the seal, use your finger tip to wipe a drop of washing up liquid all the way around the seal. That way the silicone will still make a good air tight seal but not so tight that you can't get the bloody things apart again.
 


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