Second Worst Nightmare Comes to Pass! What to do Now???

[toddalin]

Yesterday the slant plate on the left speaker fell off. While I didn't see any damage to the plate, of course the vanes had to puncture the foam surround, (and scratch the black paint)! So now I need to assess my options and looking for suggestions. (Worst nightmare would be that it takes out the cone rather than the foam and breaks the plate.)

The L/C/R woofers are all AlNiCo 2205s reconed as 2235s, maybe about 6 years ago. At that time the three magnets were also recharged.

The damaged foam still feels supple and doesn't deteriorate when lightly rubbed. At ~6 years, I guess they would be about 1/3 of their usable life.

The options I've come up with are:

1) Have the damaged woofer refoamed and replace it back into the left cabinet.

2) Have the damaged woofer refoamed and replace it into the center cabinet taking that speaker and putting it in the left cabinet.

3) Have the damaged woofer AND the right woofer refoamed and replace the pair,

4) Have all three woofers refoamed.

5) Try to find another original 2235 recone kit and have the damaged woofer reconed, changing it into the center speaker and worry about the redoing the foams down the road.

Has anyone had a 2235 refoamed and done comparison tests with a stock cone to see if there is a difference?

Speaker Repair Pros (formally Orange County Speaker) would do the work ($55 each P/L) and install the foams to the rear of the cones.

Thanks guys

[Mr. Widget]

Properly refoamed, it should perform as new. I would have Edgewound refoam the woofer and put it back into the cabinet it came from.


Widget

[grumpy]

How big of a puncture? might be perfectly taken care of with extra refoam glue if
the bits are all there and can be nudged back into place. Do want to make sure it's sealed.
If nothing else, this could keep you running while you decide your next step. :)

[toddalin]

How big of a puncture? might be perfectly taken care of with extra refoam glue if
the bits are all there and can be nudged back into place. Do want to make sure it's sealed.
If nothing else, this could keep you running while you decide your next step. :)


I don't have refoam glue, but had considered that using rubber cement and just waiting to do them all at once in 5-10 more years. It may be do-able (doubtful though), but as long as none gets on the cone, it really couldn't make matters worse..., could it?

The speaker would still need to be removed to push the foam forward to do a good job, and I figured that as long as I have to remove it anyway, it may be best to just get it refoamed. But, it may remain a better a match repaired.

Where would one get re-foam glue locally?

[grumpy]

I'm sure I have some if you want to try.
If the proper surround is used (size and compliance), it should have little effect on the sound.

[toddalin]

I'm sure I have some if you want to try.
If the proper surround is used (size and compliance), it should have little effect on the sound.

Thanks.

I'll just have the foam replaced. If it turns out a bit different (e.g., even different colored foam), I'll move it to the center.

I already put the L112s in the place and connected them to replace the L/R in the mean time. They actually sound very nice..., but not quite the same thing.

BTW, OCS reconed the 2205s as 2235s and also refoamed the L112 woofers. They did and excellent job with the L112 foams on the rear and no glue shows on the cones' front surfaces.

[mech986]

Hi Todd,

Sorry you had this happen. Did the velcro let go of each other, or did the velcro let go from the lens or the cabinet?

I would suggest having Speaker Repair Pros just do it with a new surround, I'm confident they would have the correct ones just as they did when they were with OCS. If you're really OCD about it, I think I have some 2235 replacement surround I bought from OCS about 3-5 years ago, so they're aged a bit! But in comparing them to new, there's no difference, narrow roll, same inner and outer edge spacings, thickness, etc.

[toddalin]

Hi Todd,

Sorry you had this happen. Did the velcro let go of each other, or did the velcro let go from the lens or the cabinet?

I would suggest having Speaker Repair Pros just do it with a new surround, I'm confident they would have the correct ones just as they did when they were with OCS. If you're really OCD about it, I think I have some 2235 replacement surround I bought from OCS about 3-5 years ago, so they're aged a bit! But in comparing them to new, there's no difference, narrow roll, same inner and outer edge spacings, thickness, etc.


Thanks Bart,

I had the grill off and when I was removing the port plug, the velcros let go from each other. At this point, there is not a lot of "sticky" to them and they come apart very easily.

Thanks for the offer, but if Speaker Repair Pros does the work, I imagine that they would want to use their parts to ensure the outcome.

[mech986]

Thanks Bart,

I had the grill off and when I was removing the port plug, the velcros let go from each other. At this point, there is not a lot of "sticky" to them and they come apart very easily.

Thanks for the offer, but if Speaker Repair Pros does the work, I imagine that they would want to use their parts to ensure the outcome.

Oh, for sure, they would use fresh, just joking that if you wanted matching aged surrounds.

[toddalin]

Actually, I found that I had them reconed in 2007, so it's been ~9 years.

Linda says do them all. Wives are like that.

Now I just need to get over the depression and get the motivation to do it. The center's a bi-ach and requires a second person for replacement of the speaker cabinet with a stand for the TV scream.

http://www.audioheritage.org/photopost/data//525/medium/Stereo_007.JPG

Will also probably, finally, remove the dividing networks in the tweeter circuit from the use of the 075s in the old days. These were a Zilch recommendation because with the 075s, there was very little travel on the L-pad before they were too loud. The dividing networks made the L-pads usable, but are unneccessary with the less efficient 2405s, which now about max out the L-pads.

[mech986]

If you have your wife helping, and you have T-nuts securing the driver screws, I've had good luck with removing every other screw, then the bottom most and loosening the top screw enough so that the bottom of the driver frame pops forward. Then holding or resting the driver on a suitable support, then removing the last screws and taking the driver out. Its a little nerve wracking but it works.

Replacement is the reverse, using some screws fed into the T-nuts to take the weight, then aligning the frame with the cabinet, then screwing them down.

Beats removing the TV, then putting the sub on its back.

[toddalin]

I don't think I have T-nuts on the center channel woofer.

I do have a friend who will help though. Just a matter of scheduling lunch.

[mech986]

Best then to be very careful and hold woofer till all screws out and then remove, or proceed with your plan to put the subs on their backs. Good luck.

[toddalin]

Best then to be very careful and hold woofer till all screws out and then remove, or proceed with your plan to put the subs on their backs. Good luck.


IIRC, the hole in the center speaker is a bit oversized allowing the speaker a bit of wiggle room so that both speakers end up at the same distance from the bottom of the cabinet.

After I open the center, I can go through and replace the washer/nut with a T-nut one at a time to maintain the spacing.

Just another thing on the agenda. :yawn: