Speaker Refoam

[Jason05216]

Not a boat audio question but I thought maybe some of you would know....I've got some old home speakers that I am wanting to use again. They are 3 way with 12" subs. The foam around subs is shot. I looked at some videos online and it looks like it isn't too hard to refoam these and the kits aren't too expensive. Does anyone have experience with this, is it really pretty simple, is it worth doing or should I just get different speakers?

[Stazi]

I wow don't bother


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[Fastest1]

Refoaming and reconing is pretty inexpensive.
Check around music stores.
Musicians destroy speakers regularly.


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[Pound]

Parts Express has tons of resources and parts specifically for these kinds of projects. and many others.

https://www.parts-express.com/resour...nd-replacement

[David Analog]

Even in a conditioned home environment, foam speaker surrounds will fail in 20 years or so. A re-foam is very common in vintage speakers. Foam has improved and you would be good for another 25 years. Today, home speakers are geared towards multiple smaller diameter drivers in a slender cabinet with a smaller footprint and are intended to serve the home theater market versus the two-channel music market. In many cases it is very difficult or very expensive to find the more musical properties of vintage speakers in modern speakers. For example, in the late '70s or early '80s a JBL 4311 monitor or home version L100 two cubic foot bass-reflex 12" 3-way would cost a bit over $700 a pair. Today the closest replacement, although improved, would be $3250 for a set of studio monitors. So there are speaker rebuilders who can do this for you or you can buy a re-foam kit from Parts Express or Simply Speakers and do it yourself.

[Jason05216]

Even in a conditioned home environment, foam speaker surrounds will fail in 20 years or so. A re-foam is very common in vintage speakers. Foam has improved and you would be good for another 25 years. Today, home speakers are geared towards multiple smaller diameter drivers in a slender cabinet with a smaller footprint and are intended to serve the home theater market versus the two-channel music market. In many cases it is very difficult or very expensive to find the more musical properties of vintage speakers in modern speakers. For example, in the late '70s or early '80s a JBL 4311 monitor or home version L100 two cubic foot bass-reflex 12" 3-way would cost a bit over $700 a pair. Today the closest replacement, although improved, would be $3250 for a set of studio monitors. So there are speaker rebuilders who can do this for you or you can buy a re-foam kit from Parts Express or Simply Speakers and do it yourself.

Thanks for the replies.

David...I ordered a kit from Simply Speakers and am going to give it a go myself. Seems crazy not to when the replacements for the woofer are over $140 each. While I've got these apart is there anything else that I should do to them? Back in the day these were pretty good sounding speakers and you are right they are pretty big compared to what you see today. I don't remember what I paid for them but it was over $500 which was quite a bit for me as a 15 yr old back in 1980.

[David Analog]

Thanks for the replies.

David...I ordered a kit from Simply Speakers and am going to give it a go myself. Seems crazy not to when the replacements for the woofer are over $140 each. While I've got these apart is there anything else that I should do to them? Back in the day these were pretty good sounding speakers and you are right they are pretty big compared to what you see today. I don't remember what I paid for them but it was over $500 which was quite a bit for me as a 15 yr old back in 1980.

Right, 'IF' you could find a direct replacement, today the cost would be at least a 4 X multiplier, and the choices are few. Yes, vintage is a bit of work, but once the work is done, the value is certainly with the vintage. Oftentimes when a speaker is 35+ years old, the series electrolytic capacitors are upgraded to a film cap. However, if you already have film caps and/or the sound quality is still good, then avoid the added work, especially in this complex crossover network. Capacitor identification and access can be a challenge. No other parts (coils & resistors) will degrade. If the speakers pass the sound test and visual inspection, they are typically good to go. Check that the internal damping material hasn't bunched up over time. Place the woofer on its magnet and aimed straight upward and check for VC clearance (which is very small to begin with) in a gentle and centered manner prior to the re-foam. Check for magnet creep where the glue fails and the motor shifts off-center. Rare issues but worth checking at the time. Not a bad idea to rotate the woofer mounting 180 degrees. That's about it.

[Jason05216]

Right, 'IF' you could find a direct replacement, today the cost would be at least a 4 X multiplier, and the choices are few. Yes, vintage is a bit of work, but once the work is done, the value is certainly with the vintage. Oftentimes when a speaker is 35+ years old, the series electrolytic capacitors are upgraded to a film cap. However, if you already have film caps and/or the sound quality is still good, then avoid the added work, especially in this complex crossover network. Capacitor identification and access can be a challenge. No other parts (coils & resistors) will degrade. If the speakers pass the sound test and visual inspection, they are typically good to go. Check that the internal damping material hasn't bunched up over time. Place the woofer on its magnet and aimed straight upward and check for VC clearance (which is very small to begin with) in a gentle and centered manner prior to the re-foam. Check for magnet creep where the glue fails and the motor shifts off-center. Rare issues but worth checking at the time. Not a bad idea to rotate the woofer mounting 180 degrees. That's about it.

Thanks for the advice. The kit came in today so I'll give it a go tonight. The kit has shims for the VC so hopefully with that I won't have any issues there. Sent my NAD 3020 out for a rebuild. One of the things that most people were talking about online with that amp is the electrolytic capacitors drying out and failing. Hopefully the rebuild goes OK.

[David Analog]

Thanks for the advice. The kit came in today so I'll give it a go tonight. The kit has shims for the VC so hopefully with that I won't have any issues there. Sent my NAD 3020 out for a rebuild. One of the things that most people were talking about online with that amp is the electrolytic capacitors drying out and failing. Hopefully the rebuild goes OK.

Know that integrated well. Have a NAD 3020 and a 3020a from the mid '80s. Still going strong without a restoration....yet. Noise free and crazy powerful per the conservative rating. One is running a garage system and it rocks! The other is back-up when a restoration is needed.

[Jason05216]

Well, I got the refoaming done and it was pretty easy. Took about 1 hour to do 2 speakers. Turned out good and the speakers seem to be working fine. Got a little crazy with the glue so it's not as neat as i would like but no one will notice with the grills on the speakers.