My speakers are deceased :-( Repair or replace?

[foxysounds]

Hi everyone,

I haven't been around here for a while because I found that talking about hi-fi all the time resulted in buying hi-fi all the time and I ran out of money :-)

I've just moved my beloved JPW AP2s to their new home and on arival discovered that there's no bass! They were not bumped at all in transit but the foam surrounds for the bass drivers have disintegrated which I have since discovered is a common problem with these drivers.

I've had the AP2s from new in about 1990 and it's the one part of my system I have never upgraded - as everything else got more expensive the AP2s kept up and revealed all the nice detail so obviously replacement drivers is one option. That would cost me about £130 the pair so before I put my hand in my pocket for those drivers I have 2 questions:

- If I shell out for the drivers (which I see come with non-rotting foam surrounds these days), is there anything else which is likely to fail on JPW speakers of this age?

- The AP2s only cost me £150 so before I spend £130 on bass drivers I thought it worth asking whether there are other speakers in that price bracket that I ought to audition as possible replacements?

Thanks as always,

Simon.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Read these threads & spend £20 (or less), set aside an afternoon & do and learn something interesting. Then sit back & enjoy your speakers again.

Allison Bass Driver Repair (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17068)

More Adventures in Speaker Re-foaming (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17353)

[chelsea]

I'd get them sorted.
You will struggle to get anything close for hundreds.

[foxysounds]

Thanks for the advice Chris.

I had seen articles on re-foaming already and had decided it was too difficult for me to do but the idea of using a battery to help centre the cone within the foam surround is really interesting and makes things a lot easier. I might give it a go after all.

Thanks again,

Simon.

[foxysounds]

Thanks Stuart. I feared as much.

Simon.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Simon,
Believe me, I'm the clumsiest bugger on the planet - if I managed it with not a hint of a problem, then anyone can do it.

[foxysounds]

I finally took the plunge. I'm just waiting for the glue to dry on the first cone. Fingers tightly crossed!

[The Grand Wazoo]

Excellent!
It'll be fine Simon.

[walpurgis]

Just a little tip to those thinking of using the battery centering dodge on voicecoils, be careful with tweeters, you might fuse the coil windings. And yes, some of us do rebuild tweeters.

[seoirse2002]

How does one find out what size of foam is needed?
All I seem to be seeing is foam for bass drivers about,but its the mids on my old SMC's need refoaming and Ive a couple more sets of speakers in the garage could do with refoaming too!!:doh:
News years resolution...get them all done or give them away:scratch:

[walpurgis]

How does one find out what size of foam is needed?
All I seem to be seeing is foam for bass drivers about,but its the mids on my old SMC's need refoaming and Ive a couple more sets of speakers in the garage could do with refoaming too!!:doh:
News years resolution...get them all done or give them away:scratch:

It's best to buy surrounds that are specifically made to fit your cones, but failing that, the foam edge supplier should be able quote dimensions and you will need to measure the cone you intend to repair. You need the width of the foam overlap on the cone itself, the width of the roll or pleat and then the width of the area bonding to the speaker frame lip. Some cones have a lip that turns inward (like Tannoys), be sure the foam surround you intend to use can accomodate this. If your surrounds come without adhesive, I'd recommend 'Aleene's Original Tacky Glue', it's water based and easier to work with than contact adhesive, it also cleans off easily.

Most of what you need is available on eBay, you may need to check international listings though.

[seoirse2002]

Thanks Geoff....
Ill give it a go when I get the chance:)

[foxysounds]

Many thanks to all of you for your instructions and encouragement - my AP2s have their full compliment of bass once more and I'm a happy man :-)

Of course, a part of me will always wonder whether they would have sounded even better if I'd bought the new bass drivers - especially as moving house means that so many variables have changed that I can't easily compare the old sound with the new - but the fact is that right now they sound way better than the JPW Gold Monitors I was using in the interim. I also have a great sense of satisfaction :-)

Many, many thanks!

Simon.
:)

[John]

Sometimes AOS can save you money!
I am glad it worked out for you

[The Grand Wazoo]

Fantastic job!
I knew you could do it, well done Simon.

[walpurgis]

Many thanks to all of you for your instructions and encouragement - my AP2s have their full compliment of bass once more and I'm a happy man :-)

Of course, a part of me will always wonder whether they would have sounded even better if I'd bought the new bass drivers

Well done that man!

And, no they wouldn't have sounded better with new units, simply because the cones you have are nicely run-in. New drivers would probably take months to get near to what to were used to.