speaker surround foam repair

[stevej37]

I have a pair of Yamaha floor speakers for the front sides on my 7.1 surround sound.
I had the cover off one yesterday and noticed this about the lower 8" speakers.



The cones and caps are perfect yet...but I need to fix the foam. I've never done this before and was wondering how much of a job it would be to use a kit like this to fix them? Or would it be better to just replace? (they are prob 15 years old)
The kit is $35 and it will do 4 speakers....perfect.

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Speaker-Foam-Surround-Repair/dp/B00CQ8P9QO/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FLCPLXV2EVQJ&keywords=yamaha+NSA2835+foam+surround+repair&qid=1677362022&sprefix=yamaha+nsa2835+foam+surround+repair%2Caps% 2C117&sr=8-1

The speakers are NSA 2835...the towers also have two other speakers above the ones in the pic...a 5" and 3.5"

[Chocaholic]

I’ve never done it myself but understand it’s pretty easy to do. Certainly worth a try if you like the speakers. At 15 years old,the caps in your crossovers are nicely broken in. Shouldn’t need human intervention for at least another 15. Give it a whirl.

[908/930]

Pretty easy to do, I have done mine a couple times. Hopefully the wires are long enough so you can remove the speaker and rest it on the cab.

[stevej37]

With doing just the foam...I'm thinking/hoping I could lay the cabinet on it's back and do the work without taking the speaker out. I would have a dust-buster running to catch any debris while tearing the old foam out.

[serene911]

Good video on You Tube by Simply Speakers about 26 minutes long. The video
would not embed. Just did mine a month ago.

[908/930]

You need to remove the speaker, the cone needs to be supported from behind to clean and then glue on the new foam. There are videos to explain on some of the sites that sell speaker surrounds.

Serene can type faster than me.

[stevej37]

I'll watch that...I saw a shorter one 'Parts Express' and he did one clumsily.

I can remove the speakers....didn't think of being able to support the back. The outer rim would work, but the cone side...I see what you mean.

[Ayles]

There are some pretty good videos on youtube regarding how to do this. Definitely confidence inspiring.

[gumby]

I did mine also, the instructions are very good
you will need a very sharp razor blade and be very through

https://www.simplyspeakers.com/speaker-foam-repair-new-edge-it-kits.html

[stevej37]

I'm going to try it...I just clicked on 'buy' on Amazon...won't be here until Mar. 9

I really didn't hear any sound degradation lately from the speakers....does the foam affect the sound greatly?? Or was it a slow change that I didn't notice?

[908/930]

The last time I ordered foam from SpeakerWorks, so far it has been good, they also have a video. Hard to tell what suppliers have better quality foam.

Sound will be different when enough foam support is lost, the speaker coil will start rubbing in the mag.

[stevej37]

The reason I went with the ones on Amazon was because of this....

"Same surrounds that professional reconers use; not cheap Chinese imitations!
Easy to follow step-by-step installation instructions
Premium professional-grade speaker adhesives"

Hoping that's true.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by 908/930

The last time I ordered foam from SpeakerWorks, so far it has been good, they also have a video. Hard to tell what suppliers have better quality foam.
Sound will be different when enough foam support is lost, the speaker coil will start rubbing in the mag.

I hadn't noticed it yet...but it was prob getting to that point real soon.

[908/930]

I found with mine that I did not notice any change in sound with a chunk out like in your pic, likely certain frequencies would just cancel out. I was still using mine while I waited for the kits to arrive just didn't push them hard. From what I have read all of the foam surround degrade sooner or later, so you should be good for another 10 years.

[stevej37]

^^^ I'm sure I'll keep using mine until the kit arrives. (Mar. 9)
Whenever I watch tv using just the tv speakers....it sounds like an old radio.

I appreciate all the good advice.

[Scott Douglas]

Fun project, I redid my speakers a couple years back.
The things I found most helpful were:
1) Clean all the old foam off the cone so it's got a nice clean as can be edge to glue to
2) Glue one edge at a time, meaning glue the foam to the cone edge and let it fully cure, then do the other edge on the frame.
3) Take your time and don't rush it. Glue drying takes a certain amount of time, no way to get around it.

A lot of people use different methods of making sure the voice coil doesn't rub. I just made sure to not put any preload into the foam when gluing it to the final edge. I checked this by gently pressing the voice coil in/out when setting up the final edge clamping.

Good luck and have fun, hope they sound like new when you're done.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

With doing just the foam...I'm thinking/hoping I could lay the cabinet on it's back and do the work without taking the speaker out. I would have a dust-buster running to catch any debris while tearing the old foam out.

My guess is that the speakers should be pretty easy to remove, a few screws, and I'd expect the wires to be push on connectors.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Fun project, I redid my speakers a couple years back.
The things I found most helpful were:
1) Clean all the old foam off the cone so it's got a nice clean as can be edge to glue to
2) Glue one edge at a time, meaning glue the foam to the cone edge and let it fully cure, then do the other edge on the frame.
3) Take your time and don't rush it. Glue drying takes a certain amount of time, no way to get around it.

A lot of people use different methods of making sure the voice coil doesn't rub. I just made sure to not put any preload into the foam when gluing it to the final edge. I checked this by gently pressing the voice coil in/out when setting up the final edge clamping.

Good luck and have fun, hope they sound like new when you're done.

Good advice...Thanks!

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by masraum

My guess is that the speakers should be pretty easy to remove, a few screws, and I'd expect the wires to be push on connectors.

Yes, I checked that out yesterday and it looks to be very easy to get them out.
I'll do the two speakers on the cabinet shown....but the other cabinet speakers look to be in great shape as far as the foam goes.
I'll prob just keep an eye on that one and do them when needed. The kit will do four cones.

There is a quartz free-standing heater that is sometimes used and is close (3ft. away) from the bad speakers. I think that contributed to drying out the foam.

[stevej37]

The Yamaha speakers will go under the knife in a couple of weeks. If they don't survive...they will be replaced.