Proac/Seas woofer surround crack

[rob g]

What about the drying effect of air conditioning?

[gootee]

Problems with speaker surrounds must be common because there's a guy on ebay who sells a lot of surround-replacement kits, for all kinds of speakers. He includes the foam/rubber rings, glue, instructions, and a few other needed bits. They're not too expensive and apparently it's not too difficult to replace them.

[jerome69]

Originally Posted by JDeV

Actually not at all. No sunlight ever, avg. room temperature of 24deg. C. I got them since 2005. Any ideas how to preserve them now? I read about some 3M spray glue, will it help?

mineral oil ... but i am not sure.
I think it is a shame for a driver at this price .

[rob g]

Originally Posted by gootee

Problems with speaker surrounds must be common because there's a guy on ebay who sells a lot of surround-replacement kits, for all kinds of speakers. He includes the foam/rubber rings, glue, instructions, and a few other needed bits. They're not too expensive and apparently it's not too difficult to replace them.

They have to be the right type of surrounds, profile, mass, etc.
The drive unit response is not merely the effect of the cone and motor system.

[gootee]

Originally Posted by rob g

They have to be the right type of surrounds, profile, mass, etc.
The drive unit response is not merely the effect of the cone and motor system.

Of course. The guy has different surrounds for each make and model of speaker that he supports.

[JDeV]

Originally Posted by rob g

What about the drying effect of air conditioning?

I don't have airconditioning (we have very pleasent climate in Cape Town ) but lives 2km from the ocean. Can the moist air be a problem?

[jerome69]

The problem is large temperature variation of bad rubber...

[rob g]

Originally Posted by gootee

Of course. The guy has different surrounds for each make and model of speaker that he supports.

Which probably covers a lot of classic models well enough. It is worth pointing out that there are significant variations even amongst apparently similar models.

Some manufacturers have to reject batches of the surrounds offered to them based on the formula used in the manufacture of the surrounds offered.
Some surrounds will not suit hot tropical countries for instance, room temperature will change response.
As Jerome69 points out this is variations in rubber. Some will harden with age but you have to be wary that the design parameters of the drive units are not based around that stiffness.

Also apparently similar foams vary significantly. Some foams will rot away in years, other will last decades.

That said replacing drive unit surrounds will be fine in many cases.

[JDeV]

Originally Posted by JDeV

I now got my Seas W18E001 drivers ( 4 of them on the THOR's) and they are also cracking on the surrounds. Are there anyway to save them? Can it be repaired or the cracking stopped from getting worse.?

I got some good news, directly from SEAS:

"Dear Johan,

This type of cracking has nothing to do with sunlight (ozone).

The reason for this is a chemical reaction between the magnesium cone, the glue, and the rubber.
We have seen it happen before, but do not fully understand the reason why it happens on a few drivers.

The good thing, is that this should not influence the acoustical properties of the driver. We have tested a similar driver, and no repair is needed. It’s just a cosmetically issue.

We believe that you still will have many, many years of the perfect listening experience. "

[rabbitz]

Originally Posted by banana

My major concern is whether the quality of Nextel 5" would be affected, as I'm planning to use it for my next project

I did have a problem with a poorly fitted surround on a 5" Nextel W15LY001 but SEAS Norway sent a replacement to Australia. I'm sure it's not a common problem as every other SEAS driver I have had has been perfect.

The thing is to inspect on receipt and yell out quickly to the supplier if there is a problem.