Replacement woofer recommendation

[David Davenport]

About 20 years ago my son and I built a pair of speakers that I designed for him. They were a MTM configuration using a Morel tweeter and Eclipse 8” woofers in a six-foot-long TL. My son loves them and still uses them although he complains that they no longer produce the bass that they once did. A quick measurement of the woofer low-end frequency response shows that the rubber surrounds have stiffened with a substantial rise in fs. I am a hesitant to just replace the surrounds because I don’t know if generic surrounds will give the results that I want. I would replace the woofers with the same model except that they are no longer made. So my next choice is to replace the woofers with new ones.

I would like recommendations for 8Ohm, 8” woofers that will work well in a six-foot-long TL with a price of about $50 each or less. The budget is flexible, so if there is a real gem for a little more money, I’ll certainly consider it.

Thanks, Dave