Advice on a 030 System Restoration - D130 re-cone?

[Baron030]

Last February, My dearly beloved D130s finally gave up the ghost. http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/images/smilies/cryingsmiley.gif

After, 32 years of rocking & rolling, the drivers started to sound bad.
And after making a quick inspection, I found that the suspensions are definitely shot.

Well, I have finally stopped grieving over this loss and I have now gotten on with my life.
During these last few months, I have been working on a quad amplified 15” 4-way satellite system, as therapy.

So, you would think that by now, I shouldn’t care about my old 030 system anymore.
But, I have not been able to bring myself to throw out the old drivers.This thought is just too painful.
Fortunately, I have a nephew, who is very interested in my old 030 system.

So, has anyone attempted to restore a 030 system?
Then again, is it really worth the expense?
Can E-130 re-cones, really sound as good as the original D130 cones did?
Fortunately, my 075s and N2400 crossovers are still in good working order.
So, I only need to re-cone the D130s.

And if for some reason it is not practical to restore the 030 system, then I have another possible use for my 1973 vintage D130s.
My nephew is a musician. So, I could re-cone the drivers for a bass guitar application.
In which case, what would be the best re-coning option for bass guitar.
I really would like to keep my old system in the family.

So, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Baron030.

[Zilch]

Reconed with JBL kits, your D130's will sound like original. Keep that 030 together. They are classic.

For nephew's bass guitar, you want E140's....

[toddalin]

Last February, My dearly beloved D130s finally gave up the ghost. http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/images/smilies/cryingsmiley.gif

After, 32 years of rocking & rolling, the drivers started to sound bad.
And after making a quick inspection, I found that the suspensions are definitely shot.

Well, I have finally stopped grieving over this loss and I have now gotten on with my life.
During these last few months, I have been working on a quad amplified 15” 4-way satellite system, as therapy.

So, you would think that by now, I shouldn’t care about my old 030 system anymore.
But, I have not been able to bring myself to throw out the old drivers.This thought is just too painful.
Fortunately, I have a nephew, who is very interested in my old 030 system.

So, has anyone attempted to restore a 030 system?
Then again, is it really worth the expense?
Can E-130 re-cones, really sound as good as the original D130 cones did?
Fortunately, my 075s and N2400 crossovers are still in good working order.
So, I only need to re-cone the D130s.

And if for some reason it is not practical to restore the 030 system, then I have another possible use for my 1973 vintage D130s.
My nephew is a musician. So, I could re-cone the drivers for a bass guitar application.
In which case, what would be the best re-coning option for bass guitar.
I really would like to keep my old system in the family.

So, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Baron030.

OCS can redo D,E,K130s for $194 each. If you have them redone as D,E,K140s (which was preferential for bass guitar), the price drops to $176. Luckily, you can still get either 8 or 16 ohm (probably what you have) cones for these. Most cones now only come in 8 ohm.

Boy, I remember in the '70s when they used to charge $2/inch and these were $30 to redo. Seems to me that they should have recouped their investment by now. :blink:

[edgewound]

I think you should restore the 030...It's given you years of pleasure...give back to it. There are tons of D/K/E130,140 frames floating around just dying to be reconed properly...E130 cone kits installed is an improvement. Handles more power, better low end response. One caveat though. Early D130's have a narrower gap, .053in vs. .057in. Current cone kits might not fit without having the factory machine out the gap. Sometimes a current cone kit might fit without rubbing, but not always....depending on the production tolerance.

BTW...have you ever heard (2)D/K/E130's in a sealed cabinet for bass guitar? It's pretty killer....a lot of actual tone.

[Baron030]

I though I would post this as follow up message...

This is just to let everybody know that I have taken Zilch's and Edgewound's advice. And I'm restoring my old 030 system for my nephew. Just last night, my D-130s came back from Orange County Speakers. From first impressions, it looks like OCS did a really fine job and they look as good as new. So, I am really looking forward to breaking them in soon. But, the 030 restoration will have to take a back seat to my other DIY speaker project for a few more weeks. I am currently using my Baron enclosures as a temporary home for some 2226s. But, once the sawdust settles a down bit, I will be putting D-130s back into the their rightful homes.

Thanks you, Zilch and Edgewound for convincing me to do the right thing.
And hopefuly, here is to rocking for another 32 years… :cheers:
Baron 030

[Baron030]

Well, I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving.

In my own case, I heard some very disturbing news from my nephew.
One of his D/E-130 driver’s, is now cutting out intermittently, which would suggest that it might need to be re-coned again.
With only a little over a year of playing time on it, I am more than little reluctant to suggest that he send the driver back to OCS for another re-cone.

Also, he commented on the fact that one of the 075s sounded a little raspy.
In a way, I am not surprised to hear that the 075s are finally giving up the ghost.
Considering, that I purchased the drivers in 1973, now might be a good time to get the 075s overhauled.
Particularly, while genuine JBL 075 replace diaphragms are still available.

I would like to recommend to my nephew a real expert to handle these repairs.
And from all the posts that I have read, Edgewound sounds like the man for the job.

Edgewound, if your not to busy could handle these repairs, could you please, send me a PM with all details I need to get these family heirlooms back in good working order.

Thanks,
Baron030 :)

[OC Speaker]

Well, I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving.

In my own case, I heard some very disturbing news from my nephew.
One of his D/E-130 driver’s, is now cutting out intermittently, which would suggest that it might need to be re-coned again.
With only a little over a year of playing time on it, I am more than little reluctant to suggest that he send the driver back to OCS for another re-cone.

Also, he commented on the fact that one of the 075s sounded a little raspy.
In a way, I am not surprised to hear that the 075s are finally giving up the ghost.
Considering, that I purchased the drivers in 1973, now might be a good time to get the 075s overhauled.
Particularly, while genuine JBL 075 replace diaphragms are still available.

I would like to recommend to my nephew a real expert to handle these repairs.
And from all the posts that I have read, Edgewound sounds like the man for the job.

Edgewound, if your not to busy could handle these repairs, could you please, send me a PM with all details I need to get these family heirlooms back in good working order.

Thanks,
Baron030 :)

Hi Baron030,

Did OCS recone the speaker that is intermittent? If so, it would most likely be covered under warranty if you wanted to send it back. It sounds like it's just a leadwire issue, which is a fairly easy fix regardless.

Also, the 075 tweeters probably need the magnets recharged at this point as well. As you said, the original diaphragms are also still available.

I'm not trying to take away work from Edgewound. I just wanted to make you aware that we would most likely warranty the D130 if it was done by us.

Take care,
Eric Sunda
OCS, Inc.

[Baron030]

Hi Eric

Yes, OCS did the re-coning of the speaker that is intermittent.
After reading the warranty info on the OCS web site, it states that your warranty is only good for one year.
Unfortunately, I had the both D130s re-coned back in late February of 2006.
So, I guess that does make it over a year now.

Actually, when I got the drivers back from OCS in March of 2006, they sat around in boxes completely unused for several months.
Until, I was able to complete the project that is pictured in my Avatar.
So, both D130s didn't see any actual service until somewhere around October of 2006.
When I delivered the two enclosures like what is pictured below to my nephew as an early Christmas present.

I have asked my nephew to crack open the enclosure and do some inspections and a resistance test on the driver.
But, I have not heard anything yet from him as to what he has found.
I really am hoping that it is just a loose lead wire or something like that.

So, for now, things are still very much up in the air.

Baron030

[OC Speaker]

Hi Eric

Yes, OCS did the re-coning of the speaker that is intermittent.
After reading the warranty info on the OCS web site, it states that your warranty is only good for one year.
Unfortunately, I had the both D130s re-coned back in late February of 2006.
So, I guess that does make it over a year now.

I would be willing to work with you on it if you want to send it back. We may still be able to get it through as a warranty as long as there was no abuse (burnt voice coil, etc), which I'm sure there wasn't.

If you would like to discuss it over the phone, please feel free to give me a call at 1-800-897-8373, extension 217 (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time).

Best Regards,
Eric Sunda
Orange County Speaker, Inc.

[Harvey Gerst]

Baron,

Call Eric. I've known him for many years. He'll honestly check it out and if it's his fault, he'll make it right. He's a good guy.