Bowers & Wilkins: disintegrating foam on CM6 S2?

[Exophile]

Just purchased a pair of B&W CM6 S2; got a decent deal for some demo speakers at a high end store. Started playing with them, and tried to pull apart the supplied two-piece foam inserts for the rear bass opening. I cannot do it without tearing and ripping the foam, and the foam also feels sticky. Leaving it on some wood for a day leaves a sticky mark on the wood.

I sent warranty/repair inquiry to B&W, but wonder whether this is a well-known occurrence, or whether something else is going on. I have seen sticky foam in museum collections (I am a natural history curator), but only with foam several decades old. Thanks for any experiences or hints.

[struth]

Ozone deteriorates the foam apparently.(older foam) the new stuff is 'supposed' to last longer, but time will tell. have heard that furniture polish helps remove any stuck to the units.

[Exophile]

Agreed on ozone, seen that with decades old wet-suits, but brand-new-out-of-the-box? The speaker model was introduced 4 years ago, which gives the absolute maximum age. Could easily register the speakers with B&W, so under full warranty. B&W speaker warranty is 6 years.

[struth]

But the bungs could be older. They could have been made many moons ago for a different model, or could have just been made from old stock foam.

[Exophile]

Theoretically yes. Just wondering have other people noticed that, too? Will be interesting to see what B&W will reply.

[Haselsh1]

Had a pair of CM8 S2's for around a year but never had a problem with the foam bungs however I never used them on a daily basis. They were OK though when I sold the speakers in January of this year.