As some may know from the "K2-S5800/K2-S9800 On Sale" thread, I ordered a pair of Array 800's from Harman's clearance sale that had loose heads. On the 1400 Array, the head ships separately, you attach the head to the enclosure and cover the screw with the adhesive horn emblem - once it's on, you can't take the head back off. On the 800, the head is factory installed, but not supported sufficiently by the packing material to prevent damage in shipping - I suspect that knocking an upright box over in any direction would loosen it up.
I purchased (I think) about the second to last pair they had, so I assume no replacements were available. I also assumed replacements would have a good chance of being damaged. After disassembling them, a repair seemed pretty straightforward, so I figured I'd document it here in case someone else needs it. My goal was to repair them in a way that didn’t require the adhesive emblem be removed/ruined, and that could be undone later, if need be.
By the way, I realize there are other, possibly better ways to execute this repair - I am not going back and redoing them, but welcome input. I understand there are those here who would mill new pieces in stainless, turn them in ironwood, or CC the networks while the speakers were open, but I’m not any of those people, though I wish I were
First, some pictures of one damaged speaker, and the removed head. You’ll notice from the removed head that it was held in place by a threaded insert that was screwed into the MDF of the cabinet top, and also from the back by a L bracket that was also held in place by smaller threaded inserts. IMO, screwing threaded inserts into MDF does not maintain adequate structural integrity – T-Nuts from the back would have been much more robust.
Damage to the cabinets: