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Driver surround repair experience

70.173.239.44
Posted on October 21, 2020 at 08:33:38
LtMandella
 My teenager had a meltdown and stabbed at one of my Ref3A drivers, making a couple of cuts in the surround, which seems to be the only damage to that driver.

Since they are only smallish cuts to the surround - no cone damage - I ordered a bottle of "speaker surround repair adhesive" from amazon.

I also ordered this one.
Loctite Vinyl, Plastic, And Fabric Adhesive,Pack of 2 Clear

Anyone have experience repairing a cut in speaker surround?

The driver in the other speaker is likely beyond repair but it is on it's way to Ref38 in Ontario to see if they can do anything with it. That driver is severely misaligned internally now and the coil is scraping against the magnet. Ref3A says it may not be repairable.

Replacement driver is about $380 U.S. but I am not even sure they have an exact match to the original since my speakers are about 10 years old and Ref3a - like many manufacturers - makes changes to the drivers over time for various reasons.

 

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What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 21, 2020 at 11:13:59
Coner
Audiophile

Posts: 3703
Location: S.W. Washington state, USA
Joined: November 17, 2001
 It matters....some glue solvents can melt foam.
I would only trust the stuff Parts Express sells
in 1 oz. bottles. It has no solvents and water based.

Dries clear and flexible.

 

RE: Driver surround repair experience, posted on October 21, 2020 at 12:35:44
immatthewj
 I have done a replacement on the rotted foam surround of a subwoofer driver, but I have never done a repair to damaged surround.

I would probably be inclined to want to change the surround, but as long as the repair is on the way, you may as well see how well it works, & if it doesn't, change the complete surround.

Good luck on this!

 

RE: Driver surround repair experience, posted on October 21, 2020 at 15:15:33
immatthewj
 . . . and if it comes to a surround replacement, I bought a kit from SpeakerWorks.com. I replaced foam with foam, but if yours is rubber, I did get the impression that they sold those also.

 

RE: Driver surround repair experience, posted on October 22, 2020 at 05:56:16
The Dill
Audiophile

Posts: 2197
Location: Portland, Oregon
Joined: July 1, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 3, 2016
 Contact Jamac, they specialize in speaker repair.

 

Or me, cuz I worked there....nt., posted on October 22, 2020 at 21:57:21
Coner
Audiophile

Posts: 3703
Location: S.W. Washington state, USA
Joined: November 17, 2001
 nt

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 23, 2020 at 07:24:01
LtMandella
 Thanks, I ordered a bottle from Parts Express, along with a sheet of foam to see if I can also replace the damaged grill foam.

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 23, 2020 at 21:59:06
Coner
Audiophile

Posts: 3703
Location: S.W. Washington state, USA
Joined: November 17, 2001
 Good job. The shop here uses the same product...in 5 gal.
pails. Then poured into 16 oz. bottles.

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 23, 2020 at 22:12:35
LtMandella
 the part of the surround that is damaged is not foam, maybe rubber, maybe
something else, have to ask my contact at Ref3A.

They have been very helpful so far although I expect they cannot promote any DIY fixes.

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 11:21:47
Coner
Audiophile

Posts: 3703
Location: S.W. Washington state, USA
Joined: November 17, 2001
 Without a picture of the damage, I can't say how successful
the gluing will be, but most likely will work. It adheres to most
materials.

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 11:32:45
rivervalley817
 if I may ask ... how's the kid doing after the outburst?

you can ignore this or just tell me to mind my own business as well

all understood in advance

best regards,

oh, and in my experience applying the repair sealant very thinly produces the desired result irrespective of the surround material, that's what it's for ... have done it 4X myself ... pulled the driver and did both sides of the tear, but I'm a bit 'retentive' about things so ...

best regards again,

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 11:45:11
LtMandella
 I sent him to be with his mom for a while - they are down the road, not too far.

The corona isolation has been hard on him - he is an only child stuck in an apartment with his old man for past few months - that is part of the problem.

I had to start setting some limits on his computer gaming and screen time and that set off the tantrum.

I saw an article recently that some European phsyc organization recently characterized computer gaming addiction as a disease, and I agree.


 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 12:01:49
LtMandella



damaged surround - pierced with a knife I guess.

the other driver is sent to Ref3A- damaged internally- voice coil oontacting magnets. Waiting on their prognosis...

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 12:17:18
LtMandella
 I will probably unscrew the mounting screws and pull the driver away from the cabinet far enough to perhaps apply some thin cloth medical tape to the back of the surround, to provide some support for the torn area and glue.

I am concerned about adding too much weight to the torn area though. I wonder if the resulting uneven weight distribution around the surround could negatively affect the performance of the driver.

It sounds fine right now actually, damaged as it is. I am running the system in mono until I get some resolution from Ref3A on the other driver.

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 12:27:37
rivervalley817
 wonder what his screen time is like down the road

not that mine went very well but .. in my experience, stay close to him via phone contacts during this phase ... one thing that in retrospect I should have done differently ... amongst a few others

thanks for sharing, it reminds me of some parallel experiences

think I'll spin some Chinese Cafe this afternoon

hang in there & good luck with the repair. that goes for the speaker too

best regards,

 

RE: Driver surround repair experience, posted on October 24, 2020 at 12:28:57
LtMandella
 Jamac actually might be practical for me. I consider the speakers to not be "shippable". They shipped from Ref3A in what I would call a "pallet", strong wooden custom constructed, all one piece shipping container for both speakers.

However I have a brother I have not seen in years in Portalnd and it is only an overnight drive thre from Vegas, so Jamac could be an option, thanks for that.

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 12:44:54
LtMandella



full driver shot...

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 13:04:47
rivervalley817
 carefully goop that front and back and you'll barely know it was damaged

if it changes the response by any meaningful measure I'll eat a bug and let you pick it out ... just don't get too carried away with the bug choice

regards,

 

RE: What IS the surround made of?. Foam or rubber, or cloth...., posted on October 24, 2020 at 18:42:36
rivervalley817
 I don't think that a small deformity in the surround will affect it's 'real world' performance so long as nothing is interfering with cone excursion

... I never noticed anything untoward from my repairs anyway

that appears to be a treated closed cell foam btw

I don't know if you've worked on speakers before, but use two hands [one at each end] of your screwdriver to guide it into the screw head slot to ensure control. I've had them pulled right into the cone by the driver magnets ... yes the magnetic field is that strong on good drivers!

best regards,

 

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