Is this worth repairing? Is it difficult? Subwoofer Foam surround replacement

[Destination: Moon]

I guess 30 years has not only made me more brittle but my speakers are too.
Attached is a pic of my Infinity Modulus MKI Subwoofer. Still works and sounds ok.
It's a servo design and seems like the electronics are prone to failing so not sure it's worth a great deal of time or new driver - if that's even an option? Looking for advice from anyone that's repaired or refurbished old speakers

 

[DVDdoug]

Looking for advice from anyone that's repaired or refurbished old speakers

Search for "speaker reconing". You should be able to get a quote and decide if it's worth it. The cone looks in good shape and if spider is in good shape they can just replace the surround and that should be cheaper than a full recone. ...I wonder if the reconing company can replace the foam with regular rubber (which will last longer) without fouling-up the speaker's characteristics...

I visited a reconing shop in L.A. with my boss many-many years ago. If you had a frame with a magnet they could restore the speaker.

There are DIY kits but you're taking a risk of making things worse.. Still if you foul things up it could be professionally reconed.

If you wanted to replace the driver you can use speaker design software such as WinISD, and enter the box volume, port info (if any) and Thiele Small parameters for various drivers to predict performance.

But... Does a "servo" mean the driver has extra "feedback" connections? In that case it would have to be replaced with an identical driver, or you'd also have to replace the amplifier and you'd just be keeping the box.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

You might be able to purchase a re-foaming kit which will work with this speaker if you want to do the work yourself. Its kind of messy and requires a bit of care, but it is pretty straightforward.

 

[Destination: Moon]

Search for "speaker reconing". You should be able to get a quote and decide if it's worth it. The cone looks in good shape and if spider is in good shape they can just replace the surround and that should be cheaper than a full recone. ...I wonder if the reconing company can replace the foam with regular rubber (which will last longer) without fouling-up the speaker's characteristics...

I visited a reconing shop in L.A. with my boss many-many years ago. If you had a frame with a magnet they could restore the speaker.

There are DIY kits but you're taking a risk of making things worse.. Still if you foul things up it could be professionally reconed.

If you wanted to replace the driver you can use speaker design software such as WinISD, and enter the box volume, port info (if any) and Thiele Small parameters for various drivers to predict performance.

But... Does a "servo" mean the driver has extra "feedback" connections? In that case it would have to be replaced with an identical driver, or you'd also have to replace the amplifier and you'd just be keeping the box.

Thanks so much. Yeah, I think it has servo feedback coil and circuitry.
Why would the spider be damaged?

From your comments, it's starting to sound like the ROI in trying to salvage this speaker may not be worth while when a new decent Sub is 500 and probably more capable?

 

[AdamG]

https://www.simplyspeakers.com/
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/infinity-speaker-foam-edge-repair-kit-fsk-10a-1.html

 

[Chrispy]

I got a freebie sub way back, a similar Infinity servo model. I was successful at refoaming, just took my time and got familiar with the subject first. Still works and its been at least 10 years since. If'n I can do it....

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

The biggest danger in re-foaming is slicing your finger(s) off with the razor blade used to scrape the speaker's frame.

 

[eddantes]

Considering how cheap and easy-peasy it is; and it's not as if you're refoaming Wilsons... I say go for it!

 

[Destination: Moon]

The biggest danger in re-foaming is slicing your finger(s) off with the razor blade used to scrape the speaker's frame.

No like! I'm ok with tools. Rebuilding our deck as we speak - er type

 

[Chrispy]

I am happy to have been injury free with my refoaming experience The deck hasn't hurt me yet either but I gotta bunch of work to do on it this year....so we'll see

 

[Destination: Moon]

I am happy to have been injury free with my refoaming experience The deck hasn't hurt me yet either but I gotta bunch of work to do on it this year....so we'll see

Finally enough room to have a proper beer . Gonna be a late dinner

 

[Chrispy]

Finally enough room to have a proper beer . Gonna be a late dinner

Nice. Mine is more a replacing the boards and cleaning up some railing supports. I see lots of sanding, replacing boards, staining in my future but have at least plenty of room....something like 800 sq ft on the back deck?

 

[Destination: Moon]

Nice. Mine is more a replacing the boards and cleaning up some railing supports. I see lots of sanding, replacing boards, staining in my future but have at least plenty of room....something like 800 sq ft on the back deck?

800 feet! Holy crap!

Ours was in really bad shape. I was replacing boards for a few years but that was no longer feasible....

 

[Chrispy]

800 feet! Holy crap!

Ours was in really bad shape. I was replacing boards for a few years but that was no longer feasible....

Fortunately I can still get away with board replacement, the supports are still in good shape. I let it go one year longer than I'd prefer but Covid and all that to an extent....but I love hanging on my deck like I've been doing for the last hour or so having a beer I have some speakers out here and a bunch of cooking apparatus so good to have a big deck....just somewhat a pain to maintain!

ps I can't see the somewhat similar mountains to yours beyond my trees, tho Nice view you have!

 

[iMickey503]

I did a Recone Job and it just took some time. It was Easy. I even used foam not really made for the sub. Cost me $12 Smackers. Used GLue from that Manley Craft store. I did not take out the whole cone. Just slit the dust cap so I could fold it over. Put in Spacers (Card stock paper Junk Mail) Then laid down the glue and foam.

Hardest part was removing the old foam from the Basket.

You might not even have to do that. I was working with some FLOPPY 15" drivers.

Its easy man. I did not even try hard. It was like my First one I ever really did as a Pair.
Sorry for the GREAT AUDIO QUALITY! Its sucks mad Balls. But the video is OKAY and Photos.

 

[Sal1950]

From your comments, it's starting to sound like the ROI in trying to salvage this speaker may not be worth while when a new decent Sub is 500 and probably more capable?

Foam kit is like $25, go for it. If it don't work out get a new sub from Dayton for under $200 or Monoprice for a little more.
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-SUB-1200-12-120-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer-300-629
https://www.monoprice.com/category/audio-video/speakers/subwoofers

 

[valerianf]

I did a speaker re-foarming with a 12 inch woofer.
It is not so difficult.
As said before main issue is the blade/cutter holding not to damage a finger or the speaker itself.
Second difficult point is when you glue back the membrane on the foarm it is tricky to center it properly.
I will do it again if needed.

 

[BrianP]

I've re-foamed a couple dozen pair of woofers over the years. Requires patience, a steady hand, and ability to follow instructions to the letter. You're less likely to cut yourself if you use a chisel, not a razor knife, to remove the old glue and crud from the frame. You can also soften it beforehand with acetone.

A number of companies will do the work for you, at a reasonable charge.
Madisound lists the following repair outfits:

• DHS Speaker Service (Feeding Hills, MA)
• HiFi Haus Speaker, Turntable, Amp Repair (Madison, WI)
• Midwest Speaker Repair (Roseville, MN)
• Millersound (Lansdale, PA)
• Orban Audio (North Canton, OH)
• The Loudspeaker Store, LLC (Kent, WA)
• Simply Speakers (St. Petersburg, FL)
• Sound Projects (Baltimore, MD )
• Speaker Repair & Reconing Center of Colorado (Englewood, CO)
• The Speaker Exchange (Tampa, FL)
• Van L Speakerworks (Chicago, IL)

To which I would add Speaker Works in Eugene, OR. They offer the widest variety of refoaming kits, probably enough to fix any driver ever made. Parts Express also carries a limited number of refoaming kits.

 

[KR500]

I ordered a surround repair kit for my Infinity 10 inch woofers from PE years ago but had to to return them , they didn't fit.
YMMV

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Don't forget when re-foaming a speaker; you must carefully remove the foam from not only the frame but also the speaker cone. Removing the old foam from the speaker cone is a rather delicate operation which requires a careful hand, and just leaving the old foam on the cone is not a good option. A chisel won't work for this.