replacing aquaplas

[dblaxter]

hi ,
i purchased some replacement cones for 2214's ,the kits from jbl are not available rihgt now ,next time will be august (maybe) of coarse these do not have the aquaplas coating , has anyone here ever tried or know of a siutable replacement , i have a collision repair shop , with digital scales for proper wieghts , water based & organic based coatings , the proper equipment to apply, so before i experimented , i was hopeing that someone has tried to replace already so any info would be great , did some forum searching ,i did not find anything on replacing .
thanks
michael

[Zilch]

That's one I've never seen, either.

I'd weigh the replacement cone assembly and the original, and make up the difference (if any) with latex paint evenly on the back of the the replacements.

I'd also have the JBL cone kits on order in case it didn't work real well....

[edgewound]

You could try Cascade sound dampening spray. I believe its a water based material. It's used to spray on inner body panels to reduce vibration, and isolate road noise from car interiors for auto sound. Worth a try...cost a few buck a can.

And if that doesn't turn out so good....try Zilch's plan with the factory kits


Good luck

Edgewound

[GordonW]

I've actually created a "pseudo-paper-mache" Aquaplas-"substitute" using latex paint, which I mixed up shredded tissue paper (in the last case, plain old double-ply toilet tissue) into. Seemed to work pretty well... a bit more "mottled" in appearance ("wrinkly" might also be a good descriptive adjective), but seemed to mimic the behaviour of the Aquaplas pretty well, in the measurements I took.

Just be sure, if you do this, to take the time to do this LITTLE BY LITTLE, in very thin layers... you have to WAIT for the water to dry out of the coating, before you can get a correct weight measurement. It can be a bit maddening, having to "inch up" on the correct weight, but it's REALLY easy to lose patience and overshoot the correct weight, by slapping on too much at one time...

Regards,
Gordon.

[Robh3606]

Number one problem is you don't know the composition of the Aquaplas. How much mass to add or required thickness. You can't assume there is only one composition of the aquaplas. It may be tweeked depending on the required mass added as well as the thickness required. You don't know if the cone you have now is the correct mass now or how much to add to get the correct mass. What ever you come up with it won't be the same as an original recone kit. Any kind of doctored aftermarket cone is not going to have the same response as the original. You may get close, might sound OK but it won't be the same. You would have to measure the T/S and get response graphs to see what you have and decide if you think it will work where you want to use it. Many of these drivers are designed with specific rolloff characteristics. Not something your likely to get right. Also remember the crossovers are designed with this in mind so using a driver like this in a stock cabinet with a stock network is not likely to work well. These are highly engineered drivers can't just slap anything into them and expect to get the desired response.

Rob

[edgewound]

IMHO...Sometimes when the right parts are not available...and the equipment is personal stuff....it's ok to tinker. It always becomes a learning experience. I learned alot when I was a kid by taking things apart...and was thrilled to show my dad that I put it back together and it still worked...My dad was thrilled to...But he's gone now, and I can't show him in person anymore.

You can sometimes go back and make right if you need to.

Thanks...tinker and learn...we're all still learning.

Edgewound

[Robh3606]

"IMHO...Sometimes when the right parts are not available...and the equipment is personal stuff....it's ok to tinker. It always becomes a learning experience."

We all tinker it's part of the hobby. I do it all the time. Have done some stuff that would make a JBL engineer cringe. My point is tinker all you want just don't expect OEM performance if you choose too. Especially where you are modifiying a cone assembly in a driver.

Rob

[edgewound]

We all tinker it's part of the hobby. I do it all the time. Have done some stuff that would make a JBL engineer cringe. My point is tinker all you want just don't expect OEM performance if you choose too. Especially where you are modifiying a cone assembly in a driver.

Rob[/QUOTE]

Rob...

I fully agree

Edgewound

[Ian Mackenzie]

Michael,

Can you show us a picture of the after market recone kit?

Aside from what's already noted the actual cones have a specific fibre composition and this would also vary according to the application and the kit maybe different from the JBL cone.

It maybe a good idea just to try the kit before any doctoring is done.

As a side note I recall the Tannoy 15 inch drivers had an interesting evolution over time as the business passed through different owners. I do remember seeing an upgrade kit at one point for add on ribbs which are glued the to rear of the cone...presumably to add rigidity....this was a factory kit!

You can buy driver assembly parts through the suppliers listed in Speaker Builder resource book. There are people around who specialise in providing spiders, dust caps and numerous other parts for R & D driver development.

As Rob says its cool to tinker just don't expect it to end up being the same spec as the JBL part.

The Doctor

[mikebake]

As Rob says its cool to tinker just don't expect it to end up being the same spec as the JBL part.

The Doctor

Naw! Once again, I say &*#^$ tinkering, I see it as a waste of time for the result, and not going at it the right way. Cripes, people do that on here and it sounds like the maroons on Audio Karma. Do it the right way, for goodness sakes...............

The theme lately concerning drivers, as I discern it here, seems to not give enough credence to how tightly engineered some of these things are. I don't really get the monkeying around. Fun, perhaps, but falls short, IMNSHO. Are ya HEARIN' me here, guys?
I think some people are not gettin' that idea, and are consequently leading some others astray.
Or, maybe I just need to head back out to the garage and fire up the 4430's again tonight.....................................

[edgewound]

At the beginning of this thread, the point was that the factory kits aren't available til AUGUST....GEEZUS....if he wants to tinker...let him tinker...it HIS personal stuff....AND THE FACTORY PARTS AREN"T CURRENTLY AVAILABLE...read it before you go off!!!

THanks and goodnight

Edgewound

[Lancer]

Cripes, people do that on here and it sounds like the maroons on Audio Karma.

I think that's actually a great suggestion! Leave genuine Altec and JBL questions here and move the bullshit hack crap to AudioKarma!

The theme lately concerning drivers, as I discern it here, seems to not give enough credence to how tightly engineered some of these things are. I don't really get the monkeying around.

Maybe this site needs another forum header such as DIY Modifications or something - perhaps "replacing aquaplas" really doesn't fall under Technical Help. :dont-know



JBL Pro states that they will have four 2214 kits available as of July 12th. After that a run is scheduled in mid October.

[mikebake]

At the beginning of this thread, the point was that the factory kits aren't available til AUGUST....GEEZUS....if he wants to tinker...let him tinker...it HIS personal stuff....AND THE FACTORY PARTS AREN"T CURRENTLY AVAILABLE...read it before you go off!!!

THanks and goodnight

Edgewound

AUGUST!? Heavens, who can wait a few weeks! Anyway, I was just using it to make a broader point. There has been a fair amount of hack jobs, and ill-informed choices in other threads, and now that Giskard has tired of being the torch bearer, there isn't always a counterbalance. That's all.

[edgewound]

IMHO...Sometimes when the right parts are not available...and the equipment is personal stuff....it's ok to tinker. It always becomes a learning experience. I learned alot when I was a kid by taking things apart...and was thrilled to show my dad that I put it back together and it still worked...My dad was thrilled to...But he's gone now, and I can't show him in person anymore.

You can sometimes go back and make right if you need to.

Thanks...tinker and learn...we're all still learning.

Edgewound

My whole point to my comments here...because I am also a torch bearer to doing things the factory way...is why not let a guy learn how tightly engineered these things by doing some experimenting on his own. Correct parts will still be available to do it right, but not always plentiful. Four kits available by July 12? Hardly a surplus...then not til October. Let him learn....it's fun....and this is a hobby for some...a living for me.

Edgewound

[mikebake]

My whole point to my comments here...because I am also a torch bearer to doing things the factory way...is why not let a guy learn how tightly engineered these things by doing some experimenting on his own. Correct parts will still be available to do it right, but not always plentiful. Four kits available by July 12? Hardly a surplus...then not til October. Let him learn....it's fun....and this is a hobby for some...a living for me.

Edgewound

Point taken. I was primarily speaking mostly of other scenarios.