New to recone have couple ??

[Joespride]

I'm not particularly techy but am pretty handy at times with tedious tasks patience wears thin quickly Looking at pics of recone kits they look straight forward but I'm wandering just how tedious they are to get RIGHT. I'm not much at soldering either. Is this a beginner project or something best left to pro's. Joe. Drivers are 2245h

[hjames]

I'm not particularly techy but am pretty handy at times with tedious tasks patience wears thin quickly Looking at pics of recone kits they look straight forward but I'm wandering just how tedious they are to get RIGHT. I'm not much at soldering either. Is this a beginner project or something best left to pro's. Joe. Drivers are 2245h

ReFOAM jobs are user friendly, its just the foam surrounds you are replacing.
reCONE jobs are best left to JBL authorized shop to be sure you get the same specs afterwards.

I don't believe replacement cone assemblies made by JBL are offered to the general public,
and, with aftermarket parts, who knows what specs they hit?

To make sure your speakers work the way they were made to work,
you need the original parts, or JBL factory replacement parts.

I've done a number of surround replacement jobs - maybe a dozen or so speakers now,
and it can be messy, tedious work, but precision is required if you want them to work right.

2245s are 18 woofers - a lot of energy working in there, and a lot of mass.

You might want to practice with a 10 inch or so before you do something like a pair of 18s

[brutal]

ReFOAM jobs are user friendly, its just the foam surrounds you are replacing.
reCONE jobs are best left to JBL authorized shop to be sure you get the same specs afterwards.

I don't believe replacement cone assemblies made by JBL are offered to the general public, and, with aftermarket parts, who knows what specs they hit?

To make sure your speakers work the way they were made to work,
you need the original parts, or JBL factory replacement parts..

All very true. However, there's always a possibility to get chummy with your local "authorized JBL shop" and get kits if you know what you're doing. My 2245H recone kit and basket are in the basement waiting for my time now.

[Mike Caldwell]

Proper clean up of the speaker frame to be reconed is the hardest physical part. Getting the cone properly aligned and glued in place is about patience and finesse. As noted after market kit are all you can buy retail unless you "get chummy" with your JBL dealer, lets just say it helps to "get chummy".
If you want to get the feel of reconing then an after market kit would be less expensive to work with. JBL's are a bit easier to recone than some others because the kits are pre assembled. Some brands of speakers the kits are just that a kit where you completely assemble the voice coil, spider to the cone as you do the recone.

[Eaulive]

Proper clean up of the speaker frame to be reconed is the hardest physical part.

And a part often overlooked, I say without doubt that cleaning the gap and the bottom of the magnet pit is one of the most critical tasks.

[Mike Caldwell]

And a part often overlooked, I say without doubt that cleaning the gap and the bottom of the magnet pit is one of the most critical tasks.

Yep, clean the gap, you clean the gap again, blow it out, then clean it some more, check it with a bright light and clean it again.

Same goes for replacing a diaphragm.

If the speaker has a burned up or other wise damaged voice coil then just when you think your done cleaning the gap start over and do it all again.

[maxwedge]

I know OP is inquiring about recones but what is involved with drivers. Cleaning the gap part is very clear and understood but besides running some frequency tests, what more is needed? I want to change some diaphrams on my 2445's.

[Mike Caldwell]

I know OP is inquiring about recones but what is involved with drivers. Cleaning the gap part is very clear and understood but besides running some frequency tests, what more is needed? I want to change some diaphragms on my 2445's.

When you have the driver open check the foam on the back cover, depending on the age of the driver it could be turning to mush. Do not use a screw driver with the interchangeable bits to remove or replace the diaphragm. The magnet can pull the bit out of the screwdriver and into the diaphragm!! With a tone generator you want to sweep down to around 400hz or so and listen for buzz or overtones during the sweep. Shifting the diaphragm slightly and the tightening pattern of the screws can help cleaning up any buzz or overtones. You want the diaphragm screws tight enough to hold it in place yet be able to slightly tweak it around. Depending on the output of your tone generator you may need a small amp to drive the driver with a little power to "excite" it.
When putting the back cover on make sure the wires to the terminal are to the outside of the diaphragm.

[maxwedge]

Thank you Mike for the tips.