Audiophiles: refoaming speakers?

[Schumi]

So I bought a slick set of JBL LX500 floor speakers circa 1997-98 a few months ago. I absolutely love them. For the money they are excellent quality speakers. I would have preferred a set of LX600's (larger woofer, still looking for a set actually) but these were a steal of craigslist.

I had some friends over and got a little loud with them one night. I wasn't overdriving them wattage wise, but my not-so-great quality amp (also working on upgrading this) was on the distortion edge and the bass cooked the woofer foam surrounds.

They are 10 years old and based on the cabinets were not used a lot when they were new, so the foam was pretty fragile. It was perfect when I bought them but exercising them that much fatigued one of them (just one of the woofers) to break up.

Does anyone have any experience re-foaming the surrounds on woofers? They are very small woofers, only 6 1/2". I would think the smaller the woofer the harder to do this actually. Is this something you take somewhere to get done if you want it done right or should I trust these kits I see on the internet?


The other option is buy two new 6.5" woofers of an equal or higher quality. Unfortunately I priced some and it would be $50-$80 it looks to get high quality drivers, which is too much to spend on a set of speakers this old.

Thoughts?

[rouxroux]

I've had great results refoaming the surrounds on old Dahlquist and Advent woofers (10"), and also small woofers in old A/D/S and Visonik Davids. Just take your time and do it right.

[Gogar]

There will be a local shop (probably a pro-audio contractor or something) that will re-foam them for you, for not too much. If you can't find it, i know the JBL guy here and he can recommend a shop in SL for you.

[Hugh R]

Not too hard, as others said take your time.

[Schumi]

Any specific DIY kits/sites online to buy from? Are all foams created equal?

I have seen kits specifically made for a certain type of driver, although I haven't found any specifically for what is in the LX500s. And then I have seen universal kits where you specify the ID and OD of the ring....

[70SATMan]

I'd look into having it re-coned. Probably a bit cheaper than all new driver. I see places advertised all over the Bay area for this. Take a look on your local Craigslist and I bet you'll find someone. Or, find a nice high end shop and ask for a referral for a repair shop.

Well, since you fired the first JBL salvo, I gotta return fire with some vintage Klipsch, LOL

I just brought three of these big boys home this evening. Got Sarah McLachlan flowin like warm butter. The third isn't shown. I'll probably sell it off. To big for my use as a center. The slanted Heresys on the ends were my mains. They will become my sides. I've also got another pair of Heresys that are like the big Corns (Decorators) that I need to strip off a cheesy black paint job then I'll refinish them to match. I might use them to build a custom center though. In the future I might try my hand at a custom veneer on the Decorator cabs..

Course now I have to rearrange some furniture to get a decent soundstage again. I'll probably end up using the whole back wall.

[Schumi]

Those are the business.

I am not a fan of newer JBL stuff, but they made some nice higher-end stuff in the 90's. These LX500's were $400 new back in 1998 and rival he sound of BA's that went for more than $1000.

This is just after I bought them:




The bass was pretty astounding considering the small woofers. I had intended to use them in a 2.1 configuration with my Yamaha home theatre sub but they sounded better by themselves. I unhooked the woofer with the cracked foam and am now using the yamaha to make up the difference.


I love late 80's to 90's audio equipment. Something about the looks of it. I hate hate HATE all that fake brushed silver home theatre in a box looking equipment out nowdays. I liked blocky, black, simple amps and tuners. Rotel's 900-series stuff is my favoutire. Red LED's. no flashy nonsense.

If I had a bit more bank right now I would have picked up a new 2006 m.y. Rotel 1000 series integrated amp on craig's that I saw for a while back for... get this... $450. Now that is a steal!

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by Schumi

Those are the business.

I am not a fan of newer JBL stuff, but they made some nice higher-end stuff in the 90's.

Man, you should have seen the look on my wife's face this evening. I warned her of the size before I went to get em and I reiterated that when I got out of the Jeep on my return. She just said Damn! She loves me!!

I love vintage Jubes and ALs too but, I keep coming back to heritage stuff. Horns and the sensitivity....My first pair were 86 LaScalas while I was in the Nav. To friggin big to haul around so I sold em. I started getting back into the swing 3 years ago with the Walnut Heresys on the ends. I'm happy now. Luckily my house is not big enough for Cornerhorns, HAH! The nice thing about the vintage is that they are all 76-80 and huge bang for the buck. THe big Cornwalls were $600/pair. The Heresys were $400/pair since they are the veneered walnut.

I'm simplified right now. I've got a Yammy HT receiver and a BluRay that I use for my CD transport. Next up will be a vintage cassette deck. I have about 700 that have been stored for about the last 15 years. No vinyl for years and years but, may get back into that. My daughter loves it though. She goes to the flea market and brings a couple home every other weekend it seems. I gave her my 70s Kenwood receiver and turntable. I mounted a couple of small Klipsch bookshelf 1.2s up in the corners of her room.

The Rotels are great too. I'm thinking of separating my mains and center with a three channel amp so I can switch between HT and music easier. It'll also give my HT a boost.

Though, I'm feeling the rush of nostalgia. I might end up going all vintage Sansui. They damn near ruled in the early 70s. Gave HK a run for the money for sure. I don't think I'll ever go tubes. I've listened to a couple of all tube pre/amp systems and they are phenomenal but, I'll never have a second system devoted to two channel. Well, that and the money involved I get enough stink eye already for the Porsche hobby!

[tabs]

I have a pair of JBL L65's. JBL WILL refoam them...I have had it done twice. Ozone deterioates the foam over time..inevitable.

I also run McIntosh C27, MC2125 and MR 78..all bought 30 years ago...

[pwd72s]

I had my 1980 JBL's refoamed...by a pro. Lovin' the results. 10" woofers...

[Schumi]

Originally Posted by 70SATMan

Man, you should have seen the look on my wife's face this evening. I warned her of the size before I went to get em and I reiterated that when I got out of the Jeep on my return. She just said Damn! She loves me!!

Haha! I look at speakers like furniture. It's necessary to make a room.


I looked into building my own multi channel monoblock chipamps, a la a Gaincard. I even have 5 LM3886 amp chips right here on my desk. But after researching, I figured I owuld end up spending about $100 to build a nice unit. For that money.. I'd rather spend a little more and pick up on old Rotel 985, even if it doesn't sound as good (and it wouldn't.) A friend did end up building a stereo chip amp that puts out around 40 watts per channel. It is one of the best sounding amps I've ever heard.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Schumi

I had some friends over and got a little loud with them one night. I wasn't overdriving them wattage wise, but my not-so-great quality amp (also working on upgrading this) was on the distortion edge and the bass cooked the woofer foam surrounds....

As you have discovered, underpowered amps pushed beyond their limits (to the point where the waves begin to clip) will damage speakers more quickly than an amp with lots of power will. Typically, it's the mid-range drivers or tweeters that go first, and amp/speaker power ratings don't mean squat in that regard.

[David]

I refoamed my 80's vintage Bose 301's for the garage. I found an online site that sells kits.

Sounds great although I don't listen to music quite as loud as I did 20 years ago

[ramonesfreak]

ive refoamed speakers myself. it was very easy with a little patience. a local shop had a foam kit for the woofer size which included the glue. took me about an hour or so. you can likely find them online. If not, you can get onto audiokarma.org and ask where people get their foam kits

[T77911S]

schumi,
the foam dries up and goes bad, not anything you did or did not do. i had a small set of JBLs that did the same thing back in the early 90's. replaced the speakers with something cheap but held on to the originals for many years. one day i was cleaning and through them out, then the other ones did the same thing. wished i had kept the originals and had them reconed.

70satman.
i had a set of heresys. sounded great except no low end. very nice hi's. i now have the KLF20's. what an AMAZING speaker. the lows go down almost to the sub range. the hi's may not be quite as nice as the heresy's, but they are still very very good. i picked up a klipsch sub to go with the heresy's, the KLF's are about 4hz from that subs range, i think they go to 32.

iv got an NAD2200 PA, another good amp for a low price. they were made cheap but sounded really good. i had to go in and fix some solder joints. 100watts per, but lots of reserves.

[TimT]

http://www.wooferrepair.com/

[dhoward]

Thanks for the link. I have a pair of JBL 4410's that need foam.

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by T77911S

70satman.
i had a set of heresys. sounded great except no low end. very nice hi's. i now have the KLF20's. what an AMAZING speaker. the lows go down almost to the sub range. the hi's may not be quite as nice as the heresy's, but they are still very very good. i picked up a klipsch sub to go with the heresy's, the KLF's are about 4hz from that subs range, i think they go to 32.

I agree! I love clean vocals and that's where those horns really shine! I did a couple of small things to improve my Heresys on the lows but, short of getting a sub I needed more. That's why I decided to find a set of Corns. After listening quite a bit last night I've decided I'm not even going to bother with a sub unless I have some cash to toss away. As long as I gave the Corns enough air to breath with a bit of wall I found them enough for my taste. My youngest approved as well after listening to one of her Pussycat Dolls CDs. I'll have to damp them just a bit though. Sitting flat on my hardwood floor they sometimes got a little boomy. The ports on the Cornwalls make more of a difference in my mind than the woofer size.

The guy I bought the Corns from had a set of 76 Decorator Heresys in his den and was suprised by a CD I brought to listen. Brought out a huge Bass sound out of those original puppies. I was a bit surprised too. Has a lot to do with the recording mixes as well. He had been thinking about selling those and getting a pair of KG4s. He changed his mind.

Once I build my custom center the set of Heresys under the TV will go into my bedroom for mood music baby!

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by 125shifter

I refoamed my 80's vintage Bose 301's for the garage. I found an online site that sells kits.

Sounds great although I don't listen to music quite as loud as I did 20 years ago

That's why you need to toss them thangs and get some proper speakers. I've always thought the Bose didn't sound as good until you were really starting to push them. I get amazing clarity and detail at low background levels.

I remember when I bought my LaScalas the salesman in the PX was trying to get me to buy the 901s. He had them cranked yelling "DON"T THESE SOUND GREAT!"

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by Schumi

Haha! I look at speakers like furniture. It's necessary to make a room.

That's why I searched and searched for a pair of the Decorators. I love the wood faces. I told my wife once I get some glass tops made we could use it as a plant stand.