What could have happened here??

[MoonBassAlpha]

I have replaced the foam surrounds on a couple of pairs of hifi speakers (AR18s) and it's not that hard, just a bit time consuming.
These were 8" cones, and you buy the foams and stick it with something supplied that looked very much like Copydex, a latex based adhesive of some sort anyhow.
I'd say the chances of a result are good, and found centring the cones fine, the cloth support behind the cone pretty much did it for you, you just have to make sure the coil doesn't rub in the magnet as you gently push it in and out.

[squire5]

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='880546' date='Jun 29 2010, 12:26 AM']This might be irrelevant as I'm not too sure what goes on with speakers BUT I had a similar sound coming from one speaker in a Hartke 2.5XL cab years ago. Turned out to be the dust cover had worked it's way loose. A little bit of silicon was used to reattach it and everything worked lovely. This was done by Ernie McMillen in Comber, so if that's anywhere handy to you, PM and I'll pass on his details.[/quote]

Thanx for that Gareth.I have dealt with Ernie in the past.He refretted my Takamine acoustic a few years ago.A good man and good at his job.I actually was going to try some sort of flexible repair,and MoonBA suggested Copydex.I'll mibbe have a go with that,and see what happens.It doesn't really matter if it's successful or not as I've already replaced the damaged drivers,but it'll make an interesting project to while away the dark summer days

[squire5]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='880728' date='Jun 29 2010, 10:33 AM']I have replaced the foam surrounds on a couple of pairs of hifi speakers (AR18s) and it's not that hard, just a bit time consuming.
These were 8" cones, and you buy the foams and stick it with something supplied that looked very much like Copydex, a latex based adhesive of some sort anyhow.
I'd say the chances of a result are good, and found centring the cones fine, the cloth support behind the cone pretty much did it for you, you just have to make sure the coil doesn't rub in the magnet as you gently push it in and out.[/quote]

I hear what you're saying MBA,but it's not just as simple as the surrounds simply coming away from the frame.That would be easy.The cones have actually fractured well away from the area where they attach to the frame.A different kettle of wossname altogether.

[escholl]

Fibreglass or kevlar cloth/tape and some silicone or resin?


I've no experience with any of that mind, i'm just trying to think of what would be strong, light, and flexible. I would probably try duct tape myself

[MoonBassAlpha]

[quote name='squire5' post='880779' date='Jun 29 2010, 11:16 AM']I hear what you're saying MBA,but it's not just as simple as the surrounds simply coming away from the frame.That would be easy.The cones have actually fractured well away from the area where they attach to the frame.A different kettle of wossname altogether.[/quote]
I can see that from the photos.
The point is that you stick something on that bridges the break, in my case it was foam surround, but you could try several layers of tissue built up using latex with each layer, front and back. If the glue is really thick you can water it down a tad, just make sure you overlap the cone and the outer with something, as just butting the 2 edges together and gluing is unlikely to last long.
You WILL succeed!
(good luck )

[thepurpleblob]

I think you are all overthinking it. It's just fatigue. Speakers are mechanical things that move. Like all mechanical things that move they will break someday. The rubber bit around the outside is under the greatest strain and is a very likely failure point. Speakers breaking in pairs seems quite common - fwiw, my theory is that they don't go together, you only notice when the second one goes.

There are places that can repair or replace bust speaker cones. Not sure if it will be worth it. Here's the first one off Google (for example) - [url="http://www.djequipmentrepairman.co.uk/speaker/"]http://www.djequipmentrepairman.co.uk/speaker/[/url]. There's a very good guy near me that does this that I can actually recommend (Magnum Sound in Wishaw, Scotland)

Edited June 30, 2010 by thepurpleblob

[squire5]

- fwiw, my theory is that they don't go together, you only notice when the second one goes.

[/quote]

A good point indeed .I do remember a while back there was something untoward with my sound.I didn't remove the grill that time and thought no more about it,but the more recent episode caused me to take the grill off because I knew there was something badly wrong,and it was only then that I noticed the damage.That would explain everything.Definite food for thought.
I'm not going to pay to have them repaired as I've already replaced them,but I'm not averse to a little DIY as MBA suggested.Thanx for your input guys.Much appreciated.

[RhysP]

[quote name='thinman' post='878835' date='Jun 27 2010, 02:02 PM']That is a bit worrying.

I had a similar thing with some hi-fi speakers. I had a pair of Heybrook HB1s on which the outside part of the cones appeared to perish - both went at almost the same time. My mother-in-law had a pair of them too and they went the same way at the same time - it's as though some materials have a self-destruct date! Maybe the glue in yours is similar![/quote]

EXACTLY the same thing happened to my HB1s.