Recently picked up a pair of Audiovector/F3 bookshelves that I am unable to identify, from an estate sale.
One is in perfect condition, but the other one has a voice coil rubbing in the woofer. As i'm unable to find any info about what model speakers these are, I'm also unable to find out what driver is being used.
(SR142/12 in the first pic i believe just references the rubber surround part#)
Can anyone help identify? There's also a chance the driver isn't being produced anymore, so i'd probably have to find something that will perform similarly. Driver is ~6"
One is in perfect condition, but the other one has a voice coil rubbing in the woofer. As i'm unable to find any info about what model speakers these are, I'm also unable to find out what driver is being used.
(SR142/12 in the first pic i believe just references the rubber surround part#)
Can anyone help identify? There's also a chance the driver isn't being produced anymore, so i'd probably have to find something that will perform similarly. Driver is ~6"
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From the Audiovector site:
"Audiovector drivers are designed in-house and hand built by Scan-Speak in Denmark."
To me, the rear of the basket looks similar to typical Scanspeak woofers, but the bucking magnet and front lip geometry do not.
Customized drivers are pretty common on higher end speakers, so you may not find an exact replacement without going to Audiovector.
"Audiovector drivers are designed in-house and hand built by Scan-Speak in Denmark."
To me, the rear of the basket looks similar to typical Scanspeak woofers, but the bucking magnet and front lip geometry do not.
Customized drivers are pretty common on higher end speakers, so you may not find an exact replacement without going to Audiovector.
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Have you tried rotating the driver 180 degrees from its original position?
This has worked for me before.
This has worked for me before.
Good find! I've reached out to Audiovector already, still waiting for a response.
@techtool , I've tried rotating the driver, but unfortunately this doesnt help. I am able to apply some pressure on the side opposite the rub to shift the cone back into alignment. I tried holding it in place with a piece of tape, but it doesn't seem to hold or last for very long.
Not sure if im causing more damage, or if the voice coil is degrading/deforming, or if the tape is shifting the cone into a worse alignment. Any idea how to check which it is without removing the dust cap?
Perhaps the coil was previously overheated and deformed, or the wires are de-laminating, causing the rub. Very hard to know without at least removing the dust cap. Generic replacement dust caps are available online.
If the coil is not damaged it might be possible to re-align the coil/cone if you can gracefully separate the outer suspension from the frame, find a position with no rub, and re-glue it. Good luck.
If the coil is not damaged it might be possible to re-align the coil/cone if you can gracefully separate the outer suspension from the frame, find a position with no rub, and re-glue it. Good luck.
You can typically see part of the voice coil on Scan-Speak woofers without disassembly also. Between the spider and the magnet's front plate there's normally a gap where you can see the voice coil and former. You can carefully manually displace the cone forward to see more of the coil. That might give you some idea what's going on if it's a coil failure or obvious rub.
@mattstat I wasn't able to see any gap, are you talking about detaching the spider from the basket first?
I did get a response back from an Audiovector dealer:
Very little turns up online about these speakers, so finding an original replacement driver might be out of the question.
I think my options are:
But i will see if they are able to use the original parts for a rebuild.
Or, is it possible to get any info or measurements from the working speaker to help pick a suitable replacement driver that would work well with the tweeter/crossover/box?
Open to any other suggestions on how to save these guys.
I did get a response back from an Audiovector dealer:
Very little turns up online about these speakers, so finding an original replacement driver might be out of the question.
I think my options are:
- Reach out to Scan-Speak and see if they have either a voice coil replacement or can recommend another available driver that could perform similarly.
- Remove the dustcap and take a look at the coil, to see if it's salvagable, if not:
- Ask a local reconing company if they can do anything
- Find someone (or diy?) to rewind an identical voice coil.
I believe the audiovector site says they use titanium coil formers, so if this is still intact i could use the original former.
But i will see if they are able to use the original parts for a rebuild.
Or, is it possible to get any info or measurements from the working speaker to help pick a suitable replacement driver that would work well with the tweeter/crossover/box?
Open to any other suggestions on how to save these guys.
Does the VC rub with the driver unbolted from the cabinet? Sometimes I've found with the older vifa/ss drivers with the magnesium baskets, the basket itself can get slightly deformed if the the mounting flange surface is uneven due to tight VC gap some of these drivers have. You may want to try gradually screwing down the flange turn by turn very evenly while running a test sine wave through the speaker and noting which side has more influence on making the VC rub. Placing a paper shim under that side can fix the issue.
The other alternative is ungluing the surround and gluing it back on to straighten out the VC gap again. This would be the least intrusive repair given you can get the surround off the basket without damage.
The other alternative is ungluing the surround and gluing it back on to straighten out the VC gap again. This would be the least intrusive repair given you can get the surround off the basket without damage.
No. On the current Scan-Speak models there's typically a gap in the basket that lets you see right into the voice coil. Your driver might be different due to its age or just a different basket design for that particular build.
The newer ones I have have geometry similar to this for the spider/basket/front plate
https://hificompass.com/en/catalog/speakers/woofers/scanspeak-revelator-18w8531g-00-7-mid-woofer
Hi,
Just for reference, the woofer in original post was made by Vifa (who were still in operation in 2004, but whose trademark was sold the same year), and is not a Scan-Speak design at all. More to the point, it seems to be a small-magnet variation of their TC18-series woofers. The magnet looks to be the same size as on a TC18WG, with a bucking ferrite added to the rear. Not sure what other customizations (if any) were ordered by Audiovector, though.
- G -
Just for reference, the woofer in original post was made by Vifa (who were still in operation in 2004, but whose trademark was sold the same year), and is not a Scan-Speak design at all. More to the point, it seems to be a small-magnet variation of their TC18-series woofers. The magnet looks to be the same size as on a TC18WG, with a bucking ferrite added to the rear. Not sure what other customizations (if any) were ordered by Audiovector, though.
- G -
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If the bottom of the voice coil is visible and not covered it could get drbris into the gap and cause problems. Might be a worth a try at playing face up with some lf content and see if anything drops out.