| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
Once again, I return to my Buell buds to ax a quextion: How easy/difficult is it to do a full refurbish on a home stereo speaker? I've got a vintage Cerwin-Vega 12" passive subwoofer, blown, foam all shot to shiznit, that I need to repair. Option #2 is to simply replace the speaker in the cabinet enclosure, but given the age of the piece, I doubt I can find an OEM replacement. So, either I can DIY it, or spend significant $$$ to ship and have it repaired. Been too long without my hi-fi operational, need to rebuild the system and get my tunes on again!  HALP! | ||
| Reepicheep |
www.parts-express.com has a variety of parts that could help you (both new components, and repair parts for the current components. I've not tried any. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Find a spec sheet. Frequency response, wattage, etc. Then find a comparable new driver. New drivers will run cooler, have more durable cone materials, more durable surrounds, and stronger frames for less flex and deformation. And you should be able to find a damn close match, spec wise. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
CV used to sell surround replacement kits. Now, if it's actually blown, that's a whole other story. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
If the coil is still ok and the cone is still ok, you can have the suspension ring replaced. My dad had his old AR15 speakers fixed like that. He said it was crazy cheap. I'll see if I can find out the place he sent his to. I think it was $11 per cone or something. | ||
| Reepicheep |
A passive enclosure should be much less fussy about specs also... Unlike a tuned port enclosure. It's already kind of a "cheater" box to get a lower frequency out of a lower enclosed volume. | ||
| 86129squids |
Actually it is a tuned port enclosure, wired with a passive crossover, line input only. Joe, that's a great idea, but given that the speaker was sold new sometime in the early 80's, it'd be a challenge to get the specs just right. FWIW, I actually found a guy in Knoxville who can do the refurb, extra dynawhoppin bonus points is that he has a hi-fi component tech guy next door who can freshen up my Teac 10 band per channel passive EQ. We had a fun conversation about what "hi-fi" means in today's world, what with everyone using earbuds and Ipods now. It just isn't the same as enjoying a bona-fide hi-fi. One of my best buddies is a musician and sound engineer... I do understand and appreciate that kind of work. One of my fave quotes: "Hearing, the ear, is the truest of the senses." Kierkegaard | ||
| Preybird1 |
they can be rebuilt with like components. We just had some klipsh concert speakers rebuilt but they were 3k to rebuild and 8k new 20 yrs ago!! These speakers are so big that they will blow your ear drums 3 blocks away and i am not kidding! it takes 3 people to lift one of them up and move it around. they are solid oak and weight 250 lbs each. The main speakers a 6' tall and the smaller set are 3.5' tall and costs $3500.00 new. I would rebuild em also! i just gave away my old system to a close friend for nothing and got me a new pioneer blue-ray theater surround system. Got it for $750 | ||
| Hootowl |
Several musicians have remarked recently that the iPod is the worst thing to happen to music, ever. Their thinking is, why should I expend all that effort to create nuance in my music, when my audience is listening to it through tiny little earphones? They're only hearing half of it. The more complex the music, the more you're missing. Orchestra, big band, Pink Floyd, etc. On the other hand, when it's a guitar, a beat box, and a breathy chick in a tight skirt, well, maybe you aren't missing much. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I've got to say that I think it's a bit disingenuous to say that you're only hearing half the music in earphones without qualifying the statement with the word "crappy" in front of the word "earphones". I've got a really nice set of earbuds that really sound great. That being said, there is no substitute with surrounding yourself with soundwaves. ANALOG RULES  Oh, and I think a new set of speakers might be in order. (Message edited by pwnzor on June 17, 2013) | ||
| Hootowl |
Not disingenuous, but I'll give you mildly inaccurate. Disingenuous implies intentional deception. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Squids, check out this place. You can have them do it or they will sell you the surrounds. http://www.midwestspeaker.com/ They do REALLY good work. I've had them do everything from Advents to JBL's. Very reasonable prices and very high quality workmanship. I brought in an old set of baby Advent drivers a while ago, the lady at the counter recognized them from across the room. She said you can't buy anything close to the old drivers anymore. She assured me that it was well worth the price to have them fixed. I have a set of Tannoy drivers I need to get over there. | ||
| Bbbob |
Replacing the surrounds is very inexpensive & very easy to do at home. It's worth buying a kit to do at home. Once you're done you'll know if the drivers are shot without a big $$ investment. I've replaced the surrounds on probably a dozen sets of speakers all older than 1975. The drivers turned out to be good on all of them. There is a guy on ebay somewhere near Tampa that sells model specific kits pretty inexpensively... | ||
| Bbbob |
A lot of good info on audio equipment here... http://www.audioasylum.com | ||
| Loki |
and I am still rockin' a set of D3E Cerwin Vegas. Bought em new in '86. Just need some freshening up. | ||
| Sleez |
i have a set of DCM Timeframes for sale, if anyone is interested, PM me. my DCM Timewindows are not for sale, they still rock!!! | ||
| 86129squids |
Wait- Sleez, are you talking about those magnetic membrane thingy speakers? Crap, forgetting the different terms between regular speakers and those other thingy types. My Dominican GF uses the "wordy" thingy quite a bit. Somehow I remember DCM as a brand. BTW Sleez, what, do the Timeframes not rock anymore? What's the difference between those and the Windows? | ||
| Sleez |
you are thinking of Planar speakers? these are not those, just good american made speakers from the late 80s. Timewindows were top of the line, for general consumer units at least, they cost me 650 ea at cost in 88, the Timeframe 400s are their little brothers. I don't need them at the moment. they still get good reviews, especially from the analog crowd. http://www.dcmspeakers.com/heritage.htm http://www.dcmspeakers.com/manuals/TimeWindowSeven .pdf some 97 specs/reviews; http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/dcm.html (Message edited by sleez on June 20, 2013) |
