I am looking for a pair of dead carver 48 inch ribbons. I have a pair of Carver AL-III speakers that are working but have loose ribbons. I am looking for for a pair of bad ribbons to try rebuilding as the cost of replacements is out of this world. I do not want to kill the ones I have as they are still working until I can come up with a good way to change the ribbons in them.
I'm not looking to pay much above shipping cost for a pair.
I'm not looking to pay much above shipping cost for a pair.
Loose ribbons can often be tightened. Post a picture if you can, and I may be able to help you. I've done many, and have also tried the rebuilding. The problem is that all of the film/ribbon material is gone. Dave at carveraudio has it all. He's not selling. At one point, decades ago perhaps, Graz of Apogee repair fame, said he'd look into making the material if I sent him a sample. I never did, and I'm sure that offer is off the table. I also talked to Bob carver about this, but he said everything was sold, or confiscated when the creditors came calling.
If you come up with a source, let me know please.
If you come up with a source, let me know please.
There tosted
The speakers were moved in the back of a truck with out having the ribbons covered. One was ripped but was able to pull it back together with silver duct tape ( not duck tape ) and got it working again, but both ribbons rattle even at low input.
I have not taken them apart yet to see what the damage is, but I did have to push several of the back magnets back into the frame.
Kapton is not hard to get in the the size needed just wondering if Mylar would not be better as you could heat shrink it to set your resonate frequency, and the kapton only seemed to be used so it would stand up to the etching which I don't plan on doing. And kapton would require building a jig to pull it to the proper tension..
Some time in the next week or so I hope to get time to start taking them apart and see what is wrong and what needs to be done to them. If t turns out to be a bigger problem then it looks like then i'm only out the $20 I paid for the speakers.
The speakers were moved in the back of a truck with out having the ribbons covered. One was ripped but was able to pull it back together with silver duct tape ( not duck tape ) and got it working again, but both ribbons rattle even at low input.
I have not taken them apart yet to see what the damage is, but I did have to push several of the back magnets back into the frame.
Kapton is not hard to get in the the size needed just wondering if Mylar would not be better as you could heat shrink it to set your resonate frequency, and the kapton only seemed to be used so it would stand up to the etching which I don't plan on doing. And kapton would require building a jig to pull it to the proper tension..
Some time in the next week or so I hope to get time to start taking them apart and see what is wrong and what needs to be done to them. If t turns out to be a bigger problem then it looks like then i'm only out the $20 I paid for the speakers.
The aluminum conductor wasn't "etched". It was glued onto the Kapton film, and the reason Bob chose Kapton was the higher melt point, and the better dimensional stability. It didn't stretch as easily, or shrink with heat. BUT -
B&G use mylar type film, and it seems to have worked out for them.
From your description - I think you need professional rebuilding, or use the B&G replacement drivers. Despite B&G's claims, it seems unlikely those are in fact 100% drop-in compatible. The notch filters are certainly a bit off, and the sensitivity maybe also a little higher because of the lower mass of the films used. Still,relatively minor tweaking and some playing around with a router too is needed from what I've read. The driver frames are not identical.
It's a shame as they were an interesting design, but when proprietary drivers are used, and the company stops making them... Infinity also has done this, and you can find users scouring the Internet for parts speakers. It happens...
best of luck.
B&G use mylar type film, and it seems to have worked out for them.
From your description - I think you need professional rebuilding, or use the B&G replacement drivers. Despite B&G's claims, it seems unlikely those are in fact 100% drop-in compatible. The notch filters are certainly a bit off, and the sensitivity maybe also a little higher because of the lower mass of the films used. Still,relatively minor tweaking and some playing around with a router too is needed from what I've read. The driver frames are not identical.
It's a shame as they were an interesting design, but when proprietary drivers are used, and the company stops making them... Infinity also has done this, and you can find users scouring the Internet for parts speakers. It happens...
best of luck.
THE SAD SAD TRUTH; THE LATEST DIRTY LOW DOWN...
B&G is DEFUNCT
JAMES SAUTER IS OUT OF KAPTON
I HAVE A PAIR OF CARVER AMAZING PLATINUM'S AND ALS III"S
AND ALL MY RIBBONS ARE "FINE"🙂
But I just bought a pair of Apogee Calipers😕
B&G is DEFUNCT
JAMES SAUTER IS OUT OF KAPTON
I HAVE A PAIR OF CARVER AMAZING PLATINUM'S AND ALS III"S
AND ALL MY RIBBONS ARE "FINE"🙂
But I just bought a pair of Apogee Calipers😕
DIS-Elektrostaten :: exclusive Lautsprechermanufaktur
German Manufacturer/Repairer of electrostatic and planar loudspeakers
German Manufacturer/Repairer of electrostatic and planar loudspeakers
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Apogee Ribbon
Last edited:
- Status
- Not open for further replies.