Mount the thing high up out of reach of the child.
Acoustically, not important. I see no need to do it.
The speaker repair men here will laugh because I insist, and use a scalpel to cut most of it out, then glue another one on top after removing as much as they can of the old one.
Laugh because it makes little if any acoustic difference.
Geometry : it is at the center, so it has the lowest wave effect on the sound pumped by the transducer (cone and all). Think that over.
Use some suitable color paint (even marker ink works), to cover up the damage.
Too much thinner may cause the cone to warp, be careful if you do use any type of solvent...
As for children, be thankful that this is much less than what they can do.
I knew a kid who pushed a naphthalene ball up his baby (3 year old) sister's nose. He is a doctor now, girl is a dentist. But at that time it was a big fuss up.
Acoustically, not important. I see no need to do it.
The speaker repair men here will laugh because I insist, and use a scalpel to cut most of it out, then glue another one on top after removing as much as they can of the old one.
Laugh because it makes little if any acoustic difference.
Geometry : it is at the center, so it has the lowest wave effect on the sound pumped by the transducer (cone and all). Think that over.
Use some suitable color paint (even marker ink works), to cover up the damage.
Too much thinner may cause the cone to warp, be careful if you do use any type of solvent...
As for children, be thankful that this is much less than what they can do.
I knew a kid who pushed a naphthalene ball up his baby (3 year old) sister's nose. He is a doctor now, girl is a dentist. But at that time it was a big fuss up.
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Unsubtle maneer for illustration: "I never purchase again your ZZ Top Sonus Barber front grills" 😉
Notice : carefull with the vacum cleaner...if the voice coil is veilled because forcing off axis then it' dead.
Notice : carefull with the vacum cleaner...if the voice coil is veilled because forcing off axis then it' dead.
Thank you so much for your replays. I've ordered replacement dust cup from ebay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/314009226146?var=612685828141) and will try to glue them on top of the old ones. Thank you all for your assistance, I will update you as soon as I receive the cups.
If you think that you might struggle explaining to your wife what you and s friend are doing with a stocking and vacuum cleaner, you could try a rolled up piece of paper, and a short sharp suck. I have tried melting wax, letting it set with string in it, and pulling on the string, but this didn't work.
I had some soft domes that still had dents in once sucked out, but after a few months the dents disappeared of their own accord.
I had some soft domes that still had dents in once sucked out, but after a few months the dents disappeared of their own accord.
Instead of any solvent, I'd use a sharp blade like an Exacto knife or a half razor blade to carefully separate the dust cap from the diaphragm. Patience is the key.
I have found a replacement paper dust cup that perfectly fits over the old one. Could you please recommend me what glue to use. The cone is made of cellulose/synthetic foam sandwich
Thank you!
Thank you!
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I've measured midwoofers of similar size with severely dented/crumpled dust cap. There is no impact up to 1 kHz.
Olympica woofer is crossed over at 250 Hz, so there is nothing to worry about as long as the cone is not torn. Add any dustcup you like or don't bother at all.
Maybe comission protective grills and mount them on light-duty, easily removable adhesive like blu tack?
Olympica woofer is crossed over at 250 Hz, so there is nothing to worry about as long as the cone is not torn. Add any dustcup you like or don't bother at all.
Any polyurethane or polychlorophrene glue, the ones with solvent smell. Don't use water-based glue like PVA, they are next to impossible to remove from paper cone.
Maybe comission protective grills and mount them on light-duty, easily removable adhesive like blu tack?
Barbaric. I see a lot of people doing that, though. Why not the proper way, with solvents? 95% of drivers can be taken apart with nothing but xylene/acetone, and the rest - glued with epoxy or acrylic glue - will give themselves to a (temperature-controlled) heat gun.
Most glues used for dust caps melt when heated up, while the other glues used around the voice coil are 2-component heat resistent. I removed paper dust caps with a hot air gun. As this is an aluminum cap, it should be even simpler to heat it up, only at the center.
You should remove the driver from the cabinet for simpler handling. If it has a hole in the magnet, you can push it from behind while heating from the front. If no hole exists, you can take a vacuuom cleaner with a round nozzle to pull it of once hot or a non magnetic tool to pry on the edge of the cap. Do not forget: Anti magnetic! Try on the magnet first!
Once you got it off, you can take a rounded tool and rub out the dent from the back while the cap lies on something flat and even. Look into your kitchen drawer for something with a smooth, rounded end. If this works (it does, but depends on your skills and patience) , spray paint the cap and glue it back on to the chassis.
Vacuuom cleaners are a a great tool to fix dents in speakers. I usually fix some hose or tube to the end, using tape. So you can match the size to the problem. If paper cones get soft after reshaping, a clear coat hardens them again. Nail polish works well.
Anyway, the dent in your speaker does not change anything in sound! Best for the speaker to leave it allone.
You should remove the driver from the cabinet for simpler handling. If it has a hole in the magnet, you can push it from behind while heating from the front. If no hole exists, you can take a vacuuom cleaner with a round nozzle to pull it of once hot or a non magnetic tool to pry on the edge of the cap. Do not forget: Anti magnetic! Try on the magnet first!
Once you got it off, you can take a rounded tool and rub out the dent from the back while the cap lies on something flat and even. Look into your kitchen drawer for something with a smooth, rounded end. If this works (it does, but depends on your skills and patience) , spray paint the cap and glue it back on to the chassis.
Vacuuom cleaners are a a great tool to fix dents in speakers. I usually fix some hose or tube to the end, using tape. So you can match the size to the problem. If paper cones get soft after reshaping, a clear coat hardens them again. Nail polish works well.
Anyway, the dent in your speaker does not change anything in sound! Best for the speaker to leave it allone.
Put the damned grilles on the speakers!
Common sense if you've got small children around.
**** happens and even if this one has no bearing on the sound, it means sleepless nights to a number of average audio maniacs/ philes/enthusiasts.
I can confirm that the trick with the vacuum cleaner works perfectly, provided the material is able to get back to its normal form (no sharp dent, smooth material fibre etc). Did it on the paper dustcone of a 15”er.
I can confirm that the trick with the vacuum cleaner works perfectly, provided the material is able to get back to its normal form (no sharp dent, smooth material fibre etc). Did it on the paper dustcone of a 15”er.
Ah yes-the joys of parenthood. Here we have all of the tried and true methods of transducer bodywork, but here is what I did. In my case it was not my daughter but my son who defaced my beloved Spendors. After the two week waiting period I called my son into the room and asked him if he had done the damage. He shook his head yes, then dropped his little head and cried in anticipation of an *** whooping. I pulled him very close and asked him to look at it. I asked him "Do you remember what you did?" and he shook his little head yes. Then I took his little hand and led him over to the opposite speaker. I knelt down and pulled him close. In my best fatherly tone I told him "I want you to do the same thing to this speaker." He dried up and looked over at me and his little eyes just beamed. "Go ahead." He stretched out his arm and took a good look at his right hand. (If he had been a lefty I would have probably put him out of his misery at birth) With three well-placed pokes the task was complete. Let me tell you guys- the result was as if I had taken a splash off of the left woofer cap and transferred it to the right. He is my son after all. I grabbed a bag of Chee-tos and we watched Cars for the fortieth time. We laughed and laughed. The next day I re-installed the grills and never thought about it again. About six months later my friend who had bought the same speakers on my recommendation dropped by and we were drinking Coronas and listening to a flea market Johnny Hartman album. He says "Man-what are you doing here. I can't get my speakers to sound nearly this good." I took another sip and got up and walked over and removed the speaker grills. "Here's what you do. I know it sounds a bit like snake oil but it absolutely transformed these Spendors. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself I can turn you on to the guy that did mine."
Yeah it only affects the BW above the DC's diameter, so for 1" = ~13543/pi = > ~4311 Hz
