what is that "spooch"

OK, I have been getting my system together after being in moth balls for a couple of years. I fried my McIntosh system right before storage and didn't realize it, but I fried my JBL 4311Bs as well. What is the slime that drains out of the woofers and onto the face of the speakers? Is that something that only happens when there is a problem? The reason I ask, one of the replacement speakers (used) that I got also has it and it does not sound as good as the other replacement, so I am wondering if I bought a bad replacement also. Anyway, thanks for the help.

buzz

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Your 4311b's use the 2213H woofer. The 2213H uses a linen or cloth type surround that is treated with a black, gummy substance/treatment. I've seen where this treatment will, over time, run down the front of the speaker. See the pictures below that were copied from a couple of recent eBay ads.

I don't know if it's due to heat, humidity or a combination of both. But I've seen this in about three of the eBay ads for 4311's over the last 60 days or so. So it's not necessarily uncommon. I believe the treatment is meant to keep the surround pliable so as long as there's still some coating the surround and the surround is still pliable, the speakers are probably still fine...as far as the surrounds go anyway. Regarding the difference in sound quality between the original and the replacement speaker, there could be something more going on with the replacement speaker. Here's a couple things to check:

1) Make sure the replacement speaker is a 2213H and not a 2213 (non-H) or some other model #.
2) If you have an ohm meter or multimeter you could check the resistance of the voicecoil. I'm not sure exactly what the DCR reading should be but if you measure both woofers there should not be a significant difference in the readings between the two speakers.
3) Try swapping the woofers to see if the degraded sound follows the woofer or stays with the cabinet. I'm just wondering if your Mac fried a midrange or tweeter when it fried itself and the woofer's getting blamed for the bad sound.

Ed S.