| Author | Message | ||
     Midknyte |
My winter project, if I were to call it that, is to finally get around to rebuilding one of my PC's to make it into an mp3 jukebox slash family web surfer. Got everything hooked up to the stereo, hit play, and blech! It sounded bad. In a there's just no reason for it to sound so bad, bad. I pop the grills on the speakers to play with the crossover settings and horror or horrors - foam rot! My right woofer foam surround had disintegrated in a "I know you're spending money on something else and not me" way. All this talk of home automation and integration. Don't be fooled - your appliances have been talking to each other since the dawn of time. They know. And I know, to never, ever, open my paycheck while sitting in my car... I said "Poop!" or something very near. It's that special frustration you reserve for things that cost you something, even if back in the day, and you hate to have to replace. It's also a "I just don't need an excuse to spend money right now" kind of frustration because my next stronger "drug" would be a pair of Magnepans. I start calling and web surfing with the frugal goal of replacing the woofer. But it is not really an acceptable solution. I'm finicky enough to know that if I replace one woofer, I'm going to want to replace the other to insure that they sound the same. And even then, they won't sound as same / good as they probably should because whatever I buy will not have been designed for the enclosure as the originals had. I say "Poop!" again. Some more web surfing, and --> Look what I found! (A DIY repair kit) Quite rather believable looking. About half to a third the cost of replacing the woofer(s). And what's the worst that could happen? This posting is to report that it indeed worked. Very well. As in, p1$$ off the neighbors' neighbors well. (It sounds good again) Save the link above, if you have an audio investment. It may come in handy someday. | ||
| U4euh |
Dayhem! Bout 9 months too late. I didn't even realize to look on the web for speaker repair. I traded a set of Polk Audio to my dad for his JBL monster floor speakers. Got them into the living rom and had the same start up sequence that you did. I ended just trashing the 15" woofers, which were 1000 watt continuous capable. Replaced them with some 200 watt JBL's and put them in the barn with the Buell. The Building really rocks but I would much rather have them in the house, in usable condition. | ||
| Whodom |
Midknyte, thanks for the product review and URL. I had found those a couple of years ago, a week or two AFTER I bought new woofers for our stereo system for the same reason. Good to know they work well. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Folks, There are folks that specialize in speaker repair. I had a set of Advent's resurrounded for about $30 each. They work perfectly. It can be done with these kits but care must be taken to keep the cone in alignment. That's where the shims come in. There are a number of JBL authorized repair centers in the US. They all can recone or resurround a speaker. This is a common problem with sound reinforcement installations. Think of all the rock bands around and all the sound reinforcement speakers involved. Both guitar and mains. This place is in St Paul. They do killer work. I just called them, they charge between $32 and $45 per speaker for new surrounds. They do mail work too! http://www.midwestspeaker.com/ For the shipping costs and their low rates, It might be worth the saved hassle factor. Besides, you know it will be done right. Good luck! Brad | ||
| New12r |
I would have someone else do the repair, If the voice coil is not shimmed right you will burn it up. I have a friend in Atlanta who does repairs, I worked with him for a while and it is some tricky work that seems easy. By the way, I have a pair of magnapan MG-2's here at the house, just no amp to run them. They need a lot of good power and a big space to make them sound good. (Message edited by new12r on December 21, 2005) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My dad had is AR15 speakers re-coned they sound mint and I think the whole project cost less than $50. I think the guy is in Canton Ma. I will ask my father for more info if you want. He said that most of the other customers at the place were musicians with blowed-up amps. | ||
| Midknyte |
All done...  cap & foam   gratuitous buddy pic  | ||
| Loki |
had my vintage Cerwin Vega D3E woofers reconed not to long ago. Never noticed just how bad they were sounding till after the redo. | ||
| Bomber |
the best news for you guys is that in 20 years or so, $100 speakers will sound just fine ;-} | ||
| Whodom |
the best news for you guys is that in 20 years or so, $100 speakers will sound just fine Some of us are already there- a side effect of having spent a lot of Saturdays when I was a kid at work with my Dad, who was a construction equipment (dragline) operator. Hmm, wonder what the dB level was standing 4 feet from an unmuffled International UD-14 4-cylinder diesel? | ||
| Bomber |
Who -- my aural accuity is due to my habit of standing right next to the marshal stacks, small arms fire, and a lifelong tendancy to ride without hearing protection (or any protection for far too long) -- while I DO wish I could have my highs back, and that the darned ringing would stop, I'm not sure I'd change a thing, tho -- most of it was way too much fun ;-} | ||
| Whodom |
Bomber, I know just what you mean. Who knows, maybe one of these days they'll come up with a pill that'll re-grown the broken off hairs in our inner ears that supposedly cause the tinnitus. Take care, though. It's just as easy for you to lose what you have left. When I first went to work I had to have a hearing test and the audiologist freaked out. He really impressed on me that I needed to protect the hearing I have left. I'm pretty religious about wearing ear protection now. | ||
| Bomber |
me too, Who -- that majik pill would be great, wouldn't it? nonetheless, 4 feet from Pete Townsand's amps certainly did seem like a great spot mumblemumble years ago ;-} | ||
| Midknyte |
I need a pill that re-directs hair growth. I can grow hair just fine. Just not where I wanna... |
