Blown mid range driver - can it be repaired?

[MisterMoseley]

Evening all
Another one of those questions which, in many ways, I’m a bit embarrassed to ask because I realise that I should know the answer!
Recently picked up a pair of Castle Avons (in fact saved them going to the dump) and was fully intending to use them in a second system.
The cabinets have polished up really nicely.
Tweeters look immaculate - not a mark on them.
The mid range drivers - gaskets obviously re-glued in the past.
Now the problem. No sound coming from one of the mid range drivers. I removed it from the cabinet - and this is where I’m probably not going to use the proper terminology.
The two thin copper? wire strands, from the +ve and -ve cables, to the voice coil - one of these has snapped off and is in mid air - connected to nothing.
Can it be repaired? Is it worth the cost?
If it can’t be repaired, I guess I need to call someone like Falcon to see if they can suggest a replacement. But I realise I’d need two.
Or, best to search on E-bay for a used driver?
The last thing I want to do is to consign these speakers to the re-cycling centre! The cabinets alone are bits of furniture.
Am very grateful for any pointers and as ever, I do regard all replies as a learning exercise. Thanks

[Lawrence001]

Add a photo of the broken wire. The problem is that when they break they tend to be at at the delicate thin voice coil wire but you never know it might not be that bad.

Even if it is bad I actually once repaired a B139 broken wire just as it goes into the speaker voice coil gap which was a very delicate operation!

[MisterMoseley]

Add a photo of the broken wire. The problem is that when they break they tend to be at at the delicate thin voice coil wire but you never know it might not be that bad.

Even if it is bad I actually once repaired a B139 broken wire just as it goes into the speaker voice coil gap which was a very delicate operation!

Hi Lawrence.
Thanks for the reply. Photo attached. I have no idea what the brown gunk is, but that's where the wire has broken.
Since my original question, I've sent a message to Wilmslow Audio to see if they have drop in replacements.
However, given that these were never going to be anything other than 2nd system speakers, I may just decide that they're too expensive to put right and cut my losses by selling for spares/repair.
Thanks
30244

[Lawrence001]

I can't see clearly where is supposed to join the voice coil but neither wire should be touching the back of the cone. If you get a well focussed shot of the other angle looking up I might be able to see where they've come off.

[Lawrence001]

Also if the white wire is burnt someone's probably already tried a repair once. Might be able to be redone though.

[MisterMoseley]

I can't see clearly where is supposed to join the voice coil but neither wire should be touching the back of the cone. If you get a well focussed shot of the other angle looking up I might be able to see where they've come off.

Hi Lawrence.
A couple more photos. The one highlighted green is the tinsel wire off the back of the -ve terminal. This connection is OK as far as I know. I'm not sure if wires are joined under that brownish gunk or whether it is some sort of glue or similar to hold the wire in place.
Second photo. The bit highlighted red is the tinsel wire broken away and in 'mid air'. The bit highlighted in pink is where the tinsel wire continues on into the voice coil??
Any help or thoughts much appreciated.
Wilmslow have also now replied and as ever, really helpful. Sadly, the drop in Monacor replacements are over £115 each and for a pair of speakers which were only ever going to be on reserve duty (and worth about £150 working), it would be a waste of money for me to buy the Monacors.
So I think it's repair if possible and sensible cost. Second option, try to find a spare mid bass unit on E-Bay. 3rd option, sell on as spares. 4th option, remove tweeters, working mid range and Xovers and try to sell them in dribs and drabs.
Thanks again.3024730248

[fatmarley]

If you're anywhere near Cheltenham I could have a look. It's not something I've ever repaired before though...

[MisterMoseley]

If you're anywhere near Cheltenham I could have a look. It's not something I've ever repaired before though...

That’s a very kind offer. Thank you.
I’ve just sent a message to someone who repairs amps, TTs, etc to see if he can do speaker repairs.

[Macca]

I would open up the working speaker and see how the wiring on that driver is configured, should give you some idea of what goes where.

Really hard to tell from the photos.

[fatmarley]

You can buy tinsel wire on eBay. As long as there's enough to solder to where it joins the cone, I'd replace the other piece of wire that is soldered to the terminal.

It would be worth experimenting with a cheap, old driver first.

[MisterMoseley]

I would open up the working speaker and see how the wiring on that driver is configured, should give you some idea of what goes where.

Really hard to tell from the photos.
Thanks Martin.
I haven’t removed the working mid range driver yet but will do so. At least it’ll show me if that brown gunk stuff is on both speakers or whether it’s some sort of repair.

[MisterMoseley]

You can buy tinsel wire on eBay. As long as there's enough to solder to where it joins the cone, I'd replace the other piece of wire that is soldered to the terminal.

It would be worth experimenting with a cheap, old driver first.
Thanks for this.
I confess to having a real problem trying to determine the exact path of the wires, where they’re joined/soldered, etc. And that’s with the speaker in front of me!
That brown stuff (hardened glue?, resin?) is a real pain as it hides what’s going on.
Good idea to try out first on an old driver.

[Macca]

The Severn was quite a feted speaker in its day, I seem to recall Hi-Fi World often recommending them at that price point.

I can only remember hearing the 'Trent' which was a little bookshelf job, I was not so keen on those.

[Lawrence001]

It looks to me like the card/pulp material they were attached to (which is the part of the cone that goes into the voice coil) has ripped away, like the wires were pulled I can't see how overheating would cause that but maybe there's a tension in place and overheating causes a break which then pulls it away.

If you can't see the wires where the voice coil starts to join them back to, then I'm not sure how you can fix them.

I think a bit of slightly watered PVA glue could be used to stick the card material back but without soldering the wires back it's pointless.

Basically I probably have to see them to know but if you can see little wires coming out of the middle you might be ok

[MisterMoseley]

Thanks, Lawrence.
I’ve just e-mailed someone local who, I think, may do speaker repairs. I’ll see if he comes back to me. If he does, then I could drop the speaker off for him to have a look.
I’m going to remove the working driver in an attempt to see if the brown coloured ‘stuff’ is on both. If it is, then probably factory applied. If it isn’t, then it’s probably a previous repair to the non-working speaker.
Thanks
Stuart