I just bought a pair of Rogers Ls4a speakers on that site.
I noticed that the woofer rubber surrounds are whitish, a frequent phenomenon, according to photos I found on the web (like this one which I enclose).
This is a normal aging or are they drying and thus may break in the near future?
I noticed that the woofer rubber surrounds are whitish, a frequent phenomenon, according to photos I found on the web (like this one which I enclose).
This is a normal aging or are they drying and thus may break in the near future?
Attachments
I've seen whitish deposits on a brand new rubber replacement surround. Might be some residue coming off the mould ? However you can wipe it off with soapy water or dilute isopropyl alcohol. If it reappears later you might need to be concerned. In that case it might be chemicals leaching out of the rubber which most likely will result in hardening of the rubber.
uh oh...I dont think its a good idea to mention "milky" and "secreted" around perv's...LIKE ME! Puts unholy thoughts into ones head
and can ruin a good thread with bad jokes....
So they do not require maintenance such as the periodic application of some product to keep them soft? Maybe it depends on the type of rubber, but these surrounds seem more rigid than others, for example compared to the likes KEF B200 woofers, to name only one.
Anything you apply will just be cosmetic. I won't say there aren't exceptions but I haven't seen any rubber surrounds stiffen up or degrade in performance over the years.
Rubber contains other compounds in them. So all surrounds will not feel the same especially with different thickness and if they are solid rubber or foamed rubber.
I would think you do not put ANYTHING on the rubber as you do not know how they will react in the long term with the material. Rubber is relatively stable by itself and so you should not have any problem. Cleaning with distilled water is fine but you shouldn't have to do it often. Safest way to clean any dust or deposits ( from the 'polluted air') is a damp soft cloth. I clean all my surrounds like that as we have a very dusty surrounding. Never caused any problems.
I would think you do not put ANYTHING on the rubber as you do not know how they will react in the long term with the material. Rubber is relatively stable by itself and so you should not have any problem. Cleaning with distilled water is fine but you shouldn't have to do it often. Safest way to clean any dust or deposits ( from the 'polluted air') is a damp soft cloth. I clean all my surrounds like that as we have a very dusty surrounding. Never caused any problems.
Ok, thank you so much to all. I will do so.
By chance do anyone knows these speakers? Little information on the net, I think the tweeter is Seas or Scanspeaks, the woofer is a version of KEF B200 developed by Rogers. Sealed box.
Someone says they are similar to smaller ls3/5a, probably they maintain the character of the BBC monitor even if they have not been designed with the BBC.
I wonder if they can sound similar to the Linn Index. I'm very curious to try them.
I currently have a nice old NAD 3120 but I read that Rogers speakers are really well matched with the Quad 303. Listen to small jazz groups and classical piano and I'm looking for a warm and non-fatiguing sound.
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The fact that my Vifa rubber surrounds stiffened up a LOT are signs of the surround structure changing. It no longer worked well with the box it was in and the bass was next to non-existant. I could no longer "enjoy the music" Another proplem common to the Vifa drivers were the magnesium frames also showing spotting and leaching of an off colored substance. Not a well thought out driver.
flawed rubber
I have a pair of Philips 8067s with cracked surrounds due I think to the cone doping stiffening the rubber. Poor application process I'd say. Also I've seen rubber surrounds detach from the basket. Still way more reliable than foam. Some cloth surrounds stiffen up, others seem good to go a century.
I have a pair of Philips 8067s with cracked surrounds due I think to the cone doping stiffening the rubber. Poor application process I'd say. Also I've seen rubber surrounds detach from the basket. Still way more reliable than foam. Some cloth surrounds stiffen up, others seem good to go a century.
I almost forgot about that. I installed my first pair of Vifa P17WH's into cabinets sometime in the mid 90's. After maybe 6 months when I took them out they had some coloured deposit on the inside of the chassis like as if it was reacting with some chemicals inside ! Quite a bit of it.I had to wipe it off with Scotch Brite ( rough cleaning pad) and wash the frames thoroughly with water. Maybe reacted with moisture in the box ? Units bought in the early 2000 still seem to be OK. But they are not yet in a box !
I have a pair of KLH Model 4 bookshelf speakers, about 30 years old, and the rubber surround on one of them is cracking. It's happening at the crease between the round part, and the flat part that attaches to the frame.
detached basket
My Vifa P21 woofer has just had the basket almost completely detach from the rubber surround. I am considering using superglue to re-attach it. Can anybody give me the benefit of their experience on this? I was also thinking of applying a suitable (soas not to overheat the coil) DC to the voice coil to pull it uniformly into the air gap during the glue setting phase to ensure that it is properly aligned/centred.
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