speaker repair

[aarono]

hi, some of you may recall my thread when I asked about how to repair the surround on my paradigm monitor.

last nite i dug the driver out of storage, and saw that it was in worse shape then I remembered.
the centre dome or cone was been pushed inwards, and then the accordion like material that you can see when you look "inside" the speaker, i think it like attached to the voice coil, it is torn or ripped, in a perfect circle near the middle.

is this thing trash or could it be fixed?
i am willin got take it to my local speakermart, but maybe it would be just as cost effective to replace it with a new one.

also, dont you normally have to replace them in pairs? ie i would have to also replace the one in the other cabinet that is not damaged?

[Nuuk]

If there is a substantial amount of rebuilding required, then yes, it is best to have both rivers done at the same time.

First find a speaker repair man, then get a quote and then you can decide if it is worth repairing or whether it is better to buy new.

[ChrisO]

If you ever have a speaker with a foam surround where the foam has deteriorated (sunlight damage in the rear car shelf) but is still in tact, you can try what I have which is to squeeze puncture repair (rubberised) glue onto/into the foam. The foam absorbs far more than you may think, and it can be spread with a finger or a brush. It does take a while to set, staying tacky for a few weeks, depending on the temperature etc. But the result is surprisingly strong (stronger than new?). I am no speaker expert, there must be a change in the characteristics ie compliance, I have often wondered if it would be beneficial to add this glue to a new speaker to reduce the effects of sunlight, or to modify characteristics(?). I doubt that many quality drivers use foam surrounds, (mine were out of two different cars) but I thought the idea may be of interest to someone.