Martin Audio H350 Restoration
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Category: General
Forum Name: Show Off Your Sound System
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URL: https://forum.speakerplans.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=98635
Printed Date: 23 April 2024 at 7:29am
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Topic: Martin Audio H350 Restoration
Posted By: IainB
Subject: Martin Audio H350 Restoration
Date Posted: 01 June 2017 at 5:26pm
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Thought it would be easier to start a new post around the Martin Audio H350s that Ive recently purchased. Have given these a quick wash and had a little peak inside     Im intending the strip the woodwork back, then Tuff Cab, but need to finish my Cubos im building first before playing with these
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Replies:
Posted By: Jimmer
Date Posted: 01 June 2017 at 5:47pm
They look in good condition  good luck on the refurb.... also have a look at Warnex, much nicer paint.------------- Light travels faster than sound....That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak! |
Posted By: Robbo
Date Posted: 01 June 2017 at 6:13pm
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You have been very lucky there as they seem to be fitted with the original RCF L12P-24 12" drivers which are absolutely superb but The Emilars are a bit naff really as they are quite a dull 1" driver with a low ultra HF response--If you are not bothered about keeping them all original then bolt a pair of B+C DE250 HF drivers into them to give you a brilliant sparkling top end and also will sound so much sweeter. These look like a different pair of cabinets to the ones on Ebay as the pics on Ebay do not show any chrome dustcaps on the six 12" drivers hence me thinking that they were probably loaded with ATCs. |
Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 01 June 2017 at 6:23pm
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Thanks both, I wont go into how these had been stored but they suffered an injustice! Interesting (for me at least) these came over from Dunstable where the previous owner had them in his many storage lockups, I think he said it was Roger Bolton (now deceased hence the clear out) but they have been out on tour (Ireland!) and Luton Carnival (Dunstable would have been a MUCH easier collection for me as its 45 minutes down the road and where I used to live!). Need to get these Cubos sorted then I can go through these properly, still dont know what im going to do with them yet, but guessing they will blow my current selection of mids/tops out the water
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Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 18 June 2017 at 10:45pm
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No progress on these at all as Ive majorly done my back with the knock on effect that I cant start my Cubo builds :-( These may well be up for sale soon
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Posted By: colint
Date Posted: 25 January 2018 at 9:50pm
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What was the outcome of these? ------------- Never criticise another man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. Once you have, call him what you like, you're a mile away and you've got his shoes! |
Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 25 January 2018 at 10:09pm
| Im still busy building my rig and trying to get some money out of it. These are still on my list of things to do |
Posted By: Pinyorouk
Date Posted: 05 March 2018 at 7:51pm
| I have some emilar "bowtie" horns that use those compression drivers which I don't have. |
Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 29 May 2018 at 10:13pm
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Jeez nearly a year since I started this post and so far I have loads of projects on the go and nothing completed (be that speaker builds, changing my miniscans to LED, sorting out decor, or putting up the 2 marquees I now own) These may well be up for sale very soon, as Ive run out of storage space (blame an 18m marquee & a shed load of trussing on that one!) May well consider a trade on a pair of new Cubo 18s (as that would at least take something off my plate, just leaving me to finish the MT102s)
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Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 07 June 2018 at 2:26pm
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Need to get my life back on track, projects finished and start making some money back. As a rough ball park, what would these be worth? Ive only been able to get rough prices from finished items on e-bay (mainly the CDs and a very generic RCF L12 search) as everything else draws a blank... or comes back to this post
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Posted By: colint
Date Posted: 07 June 2018 at 5:56pm
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I would love to have these but alas have no use for them ------------- Never criticise another man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. Once you have, call him what you like, you're a mile away and you've got his shoes! |
Posted By: Jimmer
Date Posted: 07 June 2018 at 6:26pm
 MUST.......NOT.......BUY.......MORE.......VINTAGE......MARTIN........  ------------- Light travels faster than sound....That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak! |
Posted By: colint
Date Posted: 07 June 2018 at 6:30pm
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I know, I love these boxes too in fact the FR3 and the H350's are by far my favourite cabs from Martin. ------------- Never criticise another man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. Once you have, call him what you like, you're a mile away and you've got his shoes! |
Posted By: csg
Date Posted: 07 June 2018 at 7:05pm
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ive got a soft spot for these too - maybe we can come to a deal....let me know what you want for them - chris@fsl.online ------------- “The fact is this is about identifying what we do best and finding more ways of doing less of it better” |
Posted By: mk2_ginger_biscuit69
Date Posted: 07 June 2018 at 9:05pm
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i too love the sound of these, they look like they should sound terrible, but they sound superb! wouldn't really have any use for them sadly, one day ill have the money and space to hoard cool things  ------------- ''Remember that the object of a subwoofer is to enhance the output of your main speakers, not overpower it'' ''Dubstep - an elongated electronic fart'' |
Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 07 June 2018 at 9:12pm
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Gah - you are making me not want to sell these Still trawling E-Bag to get an idea of what these are worth, nearest I can get is a pair of VRS800. Part of me wants to keep and refurb, the sensible side of me is saying sort your life/projects out, as currently I havent a rig that can make any money.
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Posted By: colint
Date Posted: 07 June 2018 at 10:15pm
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A rig that makes money! Now that's funny lol The down side of these boxes is as you know they are bloody big and heavy the upside is they do sound good for a box that was intended as a sidefill. As for value? It's the sort of box a collector may pay 3-400 quid a pair for but most would shy away from because of the being such a pain to move. Sadly (very sadly) most of this sort of kit gets stripped down for component value which is a real shame cos it really is part of pa history when everything was done right, the whole of the Martin Audio stable was a complete package when this stuff was new, from the modular pa, le400, FR3 h350 it was all designed to work together. ------------- Never criticise another man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. Once you have, call him what you like, you're a mile away and you've got his shoes! |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 08 June 2018 at 8:04am
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Completely agree Colin,the number of times i have seen really very useable Martin, ASS, Mega,Court,and Harwell boxes broken up so the owner can make a few extra quid selling them as parts,and then the cabs get to be just firewood is very sad. Once they are gone,they're gone. ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 4:40pm
| My time with these has come to an end, just back from dropping them off to their new owner, wish I could have kept them (they sounded lovely last night, neighbours maybe not so much enjoying it!) but for me, its one less project I need to get on top of and I am very constrained for space at the minute. |
Posted By: Jimmer
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 4:51pm
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Did Chris snap them up? ------------- Light travels faster than sound....That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak! |
Posted By: csg
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 6:10pm
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No! ------------- “The fact is this is about identifying what we do best and finding more ways of doing less of it better” |
Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 7:08pm
| I wont go into details, but they went to the person who I outbid when these were on EBay (also a forum member) and who has kept in contact every time I mentioned selling them, it seemed only right that they had first refusal |
Posted By: csg
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 8:15pm
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not a problem to me, ive had a few over the years so probably my fair share! ------------- “The fact is this is about identifying what we do best and finding more ways of doing less of it better” |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 9:12pm
Thanks Iain, ok,5 hours later....quick sand-down,3 coats of paint, cleaned drivers and re-doped surrounds,re-sprayed horns, re-sprayed speaker clamps, WD40 all the bolts and t-nuts, glossed grills, new screws,and they look a lot sharper now.  ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 9:17pm
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Blimey, you dont hang around They look awesome!
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Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 9:46pm
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The arthritis in my thumbs is killing me now though Iain! I can hardly hold a cup of tea. By the way,would you believe it....you wait ages for one set ,then another pops up on ebay!...just spotted these! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/martin-audio-h350-speakers/273279335156?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649" rel="nofollow - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/martin-audio-h350-speakers/273279335156?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: Pinyorouk
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 11:05pm
They are looking great! What did you paint them with paint wise? |
jbl_man wrote:Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 11:33pm
I wont be buying those Tomorrow, I crack on with the MT102s, you have inspired me with the transformation
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Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 15 June 2018 at 11:33pm
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Thank you Sir. The usual Alcroft/Tuffcab black,three coats,with a
roller. Gave them a light sanding,as some plonker has previously painted
them with matt blackboard paint a long time ago,so that made a good
undercoat. The HF2 Horn flares were given a tin of satin black car spray. Same with the speaker clamps. Grills....just standard black gloss metal paint.  ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: Pinyorouk
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 1:58am
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Thanks JBL, impressive!
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Posted By: Jimmer
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 8:04am
They look lovely Ian, all in a day too!  ------------- Light travels faster than sound....That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak! |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 9:01am
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Thanks James, just an afternoon really, but this fine weather does help, paint is dry in 15 minutes.....paint one cabinet,by the time have painted the second,first one is already dry ready for another coat. By far the most time comsuming thing is removing rusted/corroded/rounded-off screws, once they are out,it's easy. Bit like doing a 1970's car, same age really! ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: jammin75
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 9:05am
very nice------------- feel the vibes !!! "Who Feels it Knows it" Strong like Lion |
Posted By: Robbo
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 4:11pm
| Ian--If its any help,I have some of the original Martin Audio badges for cabinets from that era--let me know--Cheers--John. |
Posted By: djeddie
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 6:06pm
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Is there anything you haven't got John? BTW, nice one Ian! ------------- Chas n Dave : it's like Drum and Bass but with beards. E=mc² ±3dB |
Posted By: Robbo
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 6:14pm
| No gear left at all now Eddie as I sold everything off after having the heart attack--I can actually get cars in my garage for the first time in about 40 years or so but I still keep finding small bits and pieces when tidying the garage and office--Cheers--John. |
Posted By: madboffin
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 10:22pm
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Excellent work Ian, they look very nice. |
Posted By: madboffin
Date Posted: 16 June 2018 at 10:31pm
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Re that pair on ebay... They've obviously had a a busy life and a lot of servicing done over the years. Interesting ATC's in them - 12 ohms like the Malcolm Hill spec, with single half-roll suspensions and big domes. I'm not aware of any being supplied like that from the factory, but it looks like a reasonable alternative to (or replacement for) the original RCF's and provides a 4 ohm load without the autotransformer. |
Posted By: Father-Francis
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 7:13am
Hi John would you be willing to part with them , I need some regards Francis ------------- Music is the strongest form of magic.(+45 31879997)blakmanpro@gmail.com, foa@sweetboxaudio.dk |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 11:27am
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That's odd,the pair on ebay,it popped up a few bids with 20 minutes to go,and then just vanished? ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: IainB
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 2:38pm
Finished at £247, looks like a couple of last minute bids that were under the 2nd bidders bid from what I can see
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Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 3:18pm
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Ok,thanks Iain,wonder why it wont show up, usually when it ends you can see the final price. Did anyone on here get them? ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: madboffin
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 3:46pm
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Ebay have just introduced yet another, er... enhancement to their pages to improve the customer experience: When you click on a sold item, you now get taken to a random current auction. If you look carefully, at the top of the page is the line: "The listing you’re looking for is no longer available. Check out this similar item we found for you." In Ebayspeak, "similar item" seems to mean either: Something completely different and unrelated, of no interest whatsoever Something similar, but on the other side of the world, with the postage cost being several times the item's value But if you click on the word "listing" you will be taken to the original sold item page, from where you can click on "see original listing" to get to the page you actually wanted. To save you all that nonsense, here's the direct link: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/martin-audio-h350-speakers-/273279335156?nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=fq1lHnBeENcrzbfnkYRkVNAgDSw%253D&orig_cvip=true" rel="nofollow - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/martin-audio-h350-speakers-/273279335156?nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=fq1lHnBeENcrzbfnkYRkVNAgDSw%253D&orig_cvip=true The tosspots who run ebay have long seemed to be determined to drive away as many customers as possible by making it increaingly awkward to use. Long ago, it was a nice user-friendly online car boot sale; not any more... |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 3:59pm
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Thanks, i just clicked the direct link,and it came up with this pile o' sh*te instead! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H-K-AUDIO-ELIAS-PX-EPX-112-A-pair-of-active-gig-DJ-SPEAKERS-PA-AND-STANDS-/113045488226?oid=273279335156 ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: csg
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 6:42pm
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well, looks like ive got another pair of 350's...and happy at £247. All the ones i have had in the past have been RCF loaded, but i'm looking forward to seeing what the ATC's can do. Ive got a big soft spot for ATC, having a pair of SCM40's at home. These will be re-ferb'd and will probably serve as side fills on smaller jobs. John - if i can join the queue for a pair of metal martin badges please... ------------- “The fact is this is about identifying what we do best and finding more ways of doing less of it better” |
Posted By: madboffin
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 8:16pm
That's weird, the direct link works for me. But I am using Firefox and have blocked some of the ebay scripts and 3rd party links from running. |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 9:42pm
Well done Chris. Weird those are fitted with Pa75-314 looking at the photos...those being the bass version,i would have thought the pa75 std with the ally dome would have been more in-keeping with the RCF original sound. Not sure about the eminence hf driver, that deffinately needs to come out. Interesting,the horn flare is the standard martin HF2 modular series horn, with an adapter bolted on the back to mate with the Emilar...remove that,and you could bolt a 2"exit big-boy driver (2441/2445 etc) straight on, but would, of course, make the already heavy cabinet even more so. Would be very loud though!  ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: csg
Date Posted: 17 June 2018 at 10:15pm
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Yes Ian, the emmy 1"ers will be coming straight out, and fitting a larger driver is a good shout. Ill probably go with a 2-1.4" adaptor and probably a nice Neo RCF 1.4" which should play nicely from 1000Hz or so. The HF2 should support that, and if these are long coil ATC's ( which they look like) then they will appreciate the lower x point. Bi-amp will also be the way forward, so the filters, which already look meddled with will most likely come out. That will improve the phase response and the weight! just need the time to drive to Cannock now! ------------- “The fact is this is about identifying what we do best and finding more ways of doing less of it better” |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 18 June 2018 at 10:48am
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Looking at the photos closely on the ones you have bought Chris, the handles have 'ML' painted onto them in several places....these probably belonged to ML Executives at some time past,which would explain the flying rings added too. ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: Hemisphere
Date Posted: 18 June 2018 at 11:22am
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I would take my hat off to eBay if they ever developed an AI that could reliably recommend a "similar item" for half the stuff people on here use it for. ------------- Phase 1: Post on Speakerplans Phase 2: ????? Phase 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zc4bGkU05o" rel="nofollow - Profit! |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 18 June 2018 at 11:38am
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A freind was looking for a Plate vibrator to do his driveway with, well you can imagine what happened when ebay sent him a 'similar item'. What could possibly go wrong? ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: Robbo
Date Posted: 18 June 2018 at 12:02pm
| Sorry guys but all of the Martin Audio badges are now spoken for---just in case I do come across any more, I will post them on here again--Cheers--John. |
Posted By: mini-mad
Date Posted: 18 June 2018 at 3:34pm
I believe you.... I really do! He just couldn't remember the word "aggregator" could he.. ------------- If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down. |
Posted By: Hemisphere
Date Posted: 19 June 2018 at 4:22am
 How embarrassing! ------------- Phase 1: Post on Speakerplans Phase 2: ????? Phase 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zc4bGkU05o" rel="nofollow - Profit! |
Posted By: thomed
Date Posted: 11 April 2020 at 6:33am
| jbl_man do you know if that horn lens is a proprietary design and made only for Martin? If so, do you happen to know who was the manufacturer doing the work at that time? I am currently looking for a pair of these lenses for a restoration project. Haven’t had any luck sourcing a pair in my location even though I used to see a lot of these HF-2 horns used in the Modular System that the bar bands used to tour with in the 80’s and 90’s. Any info would be greatly appreciated. |
Posted By: jbl_man
Date Posted: 11 April 2020 at 10:54am
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The Martin horn, (HF2) was their own cast alluminium one. It is the same one fitted in the modular system,and their bigger monitors. Only option would be to find some used ones, they rarely pop up on ebay, but keep checking from time to time. Have you tried emailing Martin themselves,on the off-chance they have a few laying forgotten in a storeroom somewhere? ------------- Be seeing you. |
Posted By: madboffin
Date Posted: 11 April 2020 at 8:17pm
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Failing any turning up on ebay, I think your only hope is that somebody will have a couple of redundant ones lying around in a corner of a warehouse somewhere. Maybe left over from a dismantled speaker system; they were used in LE600 wedge monitors, H350's, FR3 and HF2 top boxes, and a few custom systems. The cast horns were manufactured, to Martin's design, by a small company in Mitcham called Wallace Engineering. But that was over 30 years ago... |
Posted By: thomed
Date Posted: 12 April 2020 at 2:51am
| Thank you jbl_man!!!! Greatly appreciate all your expertise and information with regards to the inquiries into sourcing the horn lenses. I have an email into Martin Audio now to see if they have a pair tucked away on a shelf in the warehouse somewhere by chance but that’s a real long shot. I will keep my search engines running for all things Martin related to the restoration such as badges, horns, drivers, etc. Also, if any members here have any spare parts feel feee to reach out and send me a message. Again, a big thank you for all your time and information and if you have any leads or catch an auction on your side of the pond that I may not see or missed please feel free to send me a message anytime. |
Posted By: Digbethdave
Date Posted: 26 November 2023 at 3:50pm
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I've just posted a pair of H350's for sale on FB market place. |