The more I read the more impressed I am with Vintage drivers, AlNiCo in particular.
Perhaps an argument thats been beat to death but kind of where I'm currently at.
Prices are outrageous and I wonder if they're worth that much in sound quality delivered but more so how bout when they need repair?
In a search on the subject 'kit' availability seemed minimal but I've seen countless threads here and there claiming this particular 'kit' could be used on that particular driver. Also seems a private club of guys doing it but you can join them for a mere $20 invested in a VHS? tape that'll teach you how to do plus get into the biz and be able to actually buy these parts. Further reading makes it appear a useful item to own should you decide to 'save money' reconing your own drivers is a 15k magnitizer ! Some 'experts' claim merely hammering on the magnets will save you this 15 thou. Gotta recone a whole bunch of drivers before you see yourself as frugile on this decision.
All the 'kits' appear to include even a new voice coil and newbee that I am I don't see why replacing voice coil would be a necessity unless it's rubbing.
With what it appears these guys charge to do the work you can buy some pretty decent 'new' drivers.
Can even 'they' recone 'anything' out there or is Vintage a crap shoot?
Old Altec Lansings don't look as good to me as they did a couple of days ago.
Whats the lowdown on all of this? I posted it here as FR is my primary concern.
Bluto
Perhaps an argument thats been beat to death but kind of where I'm currently at.
Prices are outrageous and I wonder if they're worth that much in sound quality delivered but more so how bout when they need repair?
In a search on the subject 'kit' availability seemed minimal but I've seen countless threads here and there claiming this particular 'kit' could be used on that particular driver. Also seems a private club of guys doing it but you can join them for a mere $20 invested in a VHS? tape that'll teach you how to do plus get into the biz and be able to actually buy these parts. Further reading makes it appear a useful item to own should you decide to 'save money' reconing your own drivers is a 15k magnitizer ! Some 'experts' claim merely hammering on the magnets will save you this 15 thou. Gotta recone a whole bunch of drivers before you see yourself as frugile on this decision.
All the 'kits' appear to include even a new voice coil and newbee that I am I don't see why replacing voice coil would be a necessity unless it's rubbing.
With what it appears these guys charge to do the work you can buy some pretty decent 'new' drivers.
Can even 'they' recone 'anything' out there or is Vintage a crap shoot?
Old Altec Lansings don't look as good to me as they did a couple of days ago.
Whats the lowdown on all of this? I posted it here as FR is my primary concern.
Bluto
Full message.
Buying drivers that need recones isn't a very cost-effective solution. But there are many excellent vintage drivers that just need foam or better, nothing at all.
Outrageous prices.... well, depends. Some are very pricey, but mostly they're that pricey because they're either really unique, or really nice. Many are very affordable for what you get.
<$200 gets you a pair of 123A, which is possibly the nicest, easiest to work with 12" I've ever seen. Flat to 5k please! Huge AlNiCo motor too
That's an incomparable value. Anything that performs as well (or even nearly) in modern 12" drivers costs around 2x-4x as much a pair.
Rubbing... or blown. Not to mention, that replacing 'just' the cone would be a herculean task, to get it properly aligned and attached.
So, there's an element of risk. AlNiCo motors can get demagnetized, too, and so may need recharging. 'they' can't recone 'anything' out there. Lansaplas drivers (like the above JBL) are going to get rarer and rarer for recone, since Lansaplas can't be used anymore for EPA related reasons (if I understand right)
Test them when you buy. That's the easy answer. If you're serious about it, buy a 'woofer tester' from partsexpress, and bring a laptop along. You can confirm whether the cone is behaving reasonably well (breakup in impedance sweeps will show up some nasties) and you can compare the Qts vs. manufacturer spec. Much higher (25%+) means the motor has lost some strength and may need a recharging.
There are values and moneypits as in anything else. Do your homework and you can do very well with vintage drivers. I'm fond of the vintage JBLs since they typically have extremely powerful AlNiCo motors and ludicrous build quality.
Buying drivers that need recones isn't a very cost-effective solution. But there are many excellent vintage drivers that just need foam or better, nothing at all.
Outrageous prices.... well, depends. Some are very pricey, but mostly they're that pricey because they're either really unique, or really nice. Many are very affordable for what you get.
<$200 gets you a pair of 123A, which is possibly the nicest, easiest to work with 12" I've ever seen. Flat to 5k please! Huge AlNiCo motor too
That's an incomparable value. Anything that performs as well (or even nearly) in modern 12" drivers costs around 2x-4x as much a pair. Rubbing... or blown. Not to mention, that replacing 'just' the cone would be a herculean task, to get it properly aligned and attached.
So, there's an element of risk. AlNiCo motors can get demagnetized, too, and so may need recharging. 'they' can't recone 'anything' out there. Lansaplas drivers (like the above JBL) are going to get rarer and rarer for recone, since Lansaplas can't be used anymore for EPA related reasons (if I understand right)
Test them when you buy. That's the easy answer. If you're serious about it, buy a 'woofer tester' from partsexpress, and bring a laptop along. You can confirm whether the cone is behaving reasonably well (breakup in impedance sweeps will show up some nasties) and you can compare the Qts vs. manufacturer spec. Much higher (25%+) means the motor has lost some strength and may need a recharging.
There are values and moneypits as in anything else. Do your homework and you can do very well with vintage drivers. I'm fond of the vintage JBLs since they typically have extremely powerful AlNiCo motors and ludicrous build quality.
I can't recommend anyone, as I've not needed to recone any drivers. Furthermore, it's (usually) something you try to get done locally. Orange County Speaker Repair is known as an excellent reconer, in Southern California.
Each reconer may stock different lines or be authorized to work on different lines. There's no easy answer for recones.
Each reconer may stock different lines or be authorized to work on different lines. There's no easy answer for recones.
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