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A6497 movements sound loud ... Is it just the movement?


PeteM

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I was playing about today moving dials and movements into different cases and noticed something... that I hadnt picked up on before..

Without boring you with all the variations I did I found that it wasnt so much the movement that makes a loud ticking sound but rather the case that allows it to do so.... now I do mean the case not the caseback.. nor do I mean the rep movement is as quite as the Gen..

I took the latest fully serviced rep high beat 6497 with dial fitted etc and put it in a gen case, a JF case, an EL case and the newest HB and NF factory case... in all I used a Jakob closed caseback

The movement in the gen case was very quite... only really noticeable to your ear

The JF case was pretty much the same as the gen case....

The EL case was louder but....

The latest HB and NF cases were amazingly loud.... I dont think it could be louder...

So although I always think a proper service is advisable, indeed necessary, and it does sound quieter after a service... what is really causing the much of the loud ticking sound so many guys complain about is the case itself... certainly from my own laboratory research !!! ;)

I think IMHO it highlights some of the points made in previous threads regarding gen case manufacture and rep case manufacture processes...

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Interesting point, I had a titanium Helenarou homage that I would leave on my desk with a skeletonised 6497 about a metre away, and it sounded like it was wired to explode!

It could be the movement centering ring inside the case. I suspect the gen is vibrationally isolated so that any vibrations in the movement aren't as easily transferred to the case. Remember that sound waves conduct very easily in solid materials, and I doubt very much there would be a difference in this figure in rep or gen case constructions. I would suggest it's all down to how the movement is attached to the case.

Edited by subbiesrock
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Nice experiment.

Did all cases have crystals of the same thickness and material? Did they have identical crown tube sizes? Same gaskets within crown tube, on crown, and equal amounts of greasing? Same distance from underside of crystal to top of dial? Did you compare case wall thicknesses between them all?

Lots of different factors that may contribute to one case, or the other, being louder or quieter ...

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I doubt it has anything to do with the H-factory using trumpet mouthpieces for their rehaut-bezel assembly.

Wait a second! You know what? If I put my rep right against my ear, I think I can just make out "Taps" being played ......

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The crystals were either gen or matts 1:1s or JFs, the crowns were all gen and tubes to match.. the caseback was the same each time..

Not perfect for categoric but certainly strong indication...

Your right Doc I should measure the case thickness'...

Having listened to them again... I found mine all beat out 'High on the Hill' so I guess it depends where the watch lives..... :)

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I didnt place it straight on table as it created a resonance... so I sat it on a teatowel folded up...

I ceratinly found it louder on my wrist but I think that was subconcious... if you know what I mean...

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I'm wondering also if perhaps the heights of the cases may vary slightly, meaning that perhaps on some cases the distance between the underside of the caseback and movement plates is greater than on other cases. Maybe all it takes is a little extra space for the ticking to begin to resonate and increase in volume .. did you try putting a thinner caseback on the gen/Fu case to see if that made it louder (maybe even a DSN auto caseback which would really leave a lot of space between the bottom of the movement and the inner surface of the CB)?

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I'm wondering also if perhaps the heights of the cases may vary slightly, meaning that perhaps on some cases the distance between the underside of the caseback and movement plates is greater than on other cases. Maybe all it takes is a little extra space for the ticking to begin to resonate and increase in volume .. did you try putting a thinner caseback on the gen/Fu case to see if that made it louder (maybe even a DSN auto caseback which would really leave a lot of space between the bottom of the movement and the inner surface of the CB)?

Thats a good point... I only have one thinner CB (cartel) I will try that... :)

movement dry = loud

movement with revision / service = quiet

rolli

All the movements used have been serviced in last few months by Zig :)

Thats more the point I was trying to make... its the cases I believe that are creating the extra noise... as I varied the cases in the combinations I used... but not the crystals, tubes, CB etc

I also found a Swiss noisier (just serviced) in the H factory case than the JF or Gen....

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Also, don't forget, as you get older your hearing loss usually increases. So a member in their 40's or 50's may not notice that loud ticking, while a member in their 20's may. I'm lucky, or cursed (depending upon how you look at it :lol: ), I can still hear processor in my computer step up or down in speed (a very high pitched pulsing sound).

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Also, don't forget, as you get older your hearing loss usually increases. So a member in their 40's or 50's may not notice that loud ticking, while a member in their 20's may. I'm lucky, or cursed (depending upon how you look at it :lol: ), I can still hear processor in my computer step up or down in speed (a very high pitched pulsing sound).

I must be on this Age bracket koz I can't hear a darn thing!:lol:

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Funny I cant hear a thing either..... unless someone drops a quid on the floor... I can hear that within a 30 mile radius !!!

I can even hear the crunch of a fiver being pulled from a pocket within 5 miles !!!

And I aint even Scottish !!!

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Funny I cant hear a thing either..... unless someone drops a quid on the floor... I can hear that within a 30 mile radius !!!

I can even hear the crunch of a fiver being pulled from a pocket within 5 miles !!!

And I aint even Scottish !!!

Sixxxxx!!!!!! where are youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.......Pete is talking behind your back again!:bicycle:

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