Infinity Monitor Jr.

[HIP 490]

I have a pair of Infinity Monitor Jr loudspeakers that I bought in Chapel Hill NC in 1973 and used them almost daily until about 5 years ago when they were replaced with a Bose Surround system. I have had the Infinity speakers stowed away until recently when I decided to spruce up their appearance and try to sell or trade them. Being a woodworker and furniture maker I had no trouble copying and replacing the chip board grill frames that were literally disintegrating. I repaired and refinished the walnut cabinets, even replaced the veneer on the bottom of one of them. While working on the cabinets I removed the speakers, carefully packed them and stowed them out of the way. Time comes to replace speakers that had been wrapped in paper I notice that one of the midrange had the wire going to the dome broken and when I touched the wire on the other side it just fell apart too --- so where do I go from here? Are these repairable? Replaceable? Do you think spending money on this project is advisable? Do these speakers have any value, as they are?, if the midrange problem is fixed ?

 

[gdmoore28]

Quick ebay history check shows them selling in excess of $400/pr in pristine condition. Because yours' are no longer in that category, you might see roughly half that amount. In my world, that's still worth pursuing.

Repairing the broken tinsel lead is a very iffy proposition. If you can post some very clear, up close photos, we might be able to advise you. All depends on where the breakage occurred, and the condition of the remaining tinsel.

GeeDeeEmm

 

[goodolpg]

Common problem with those dome midranges.
They can be fixed, Millersound is one place that does that. There are others.
Questions of value should be in Dollars and Sense.

 

[HIP 490]

Quick ebay history check shows them selling in excess of $400/pr in pristine condition. Because yours' are no longer in that category, you might see roughly half that amount. In my world, that's still worth pursuing.

Repairing the broken tinsel lead is a very iffy proposition. If you can post some very clear, up close photos, we might be able to advise you. All depends on where the breakage occurred, and the condition of the remaining tinsel.

GeeDeeEmm

Thanks for the reply --- each lead is broken in 2 places -- 1 as it exits the face and 2 at connection to dome. I have been able to uncover a very short 1/16" piece of lead coming from face but the dome lead is broken below the surface of the glue or whatever it is that the lead goes through. I have tried a number of solvents trying to uncover the leads with little or no success (what is this stuff). The refinish job was easy and did not cost anything but some finish and time so I would be more than happy to get $100 each for these --- are they worth anything in current condition?

 

[HIP 490]

Common problem with those dome midranges.
They can be fixed, Millersound is one place that does that. There are others.
Questions of value should be in Dollars and Sense.

Any idea what repair would cost?

 

[gdmoore28]

Typically, in current condition, they are worth what you can sell the components for. Cabinets, unfortunately, seem to be a throw-away component. (Not to me, I save them.) I'd be inclined to list them on CL in case somebody local to you needs them as spares.

Your domes will need to be sent off for repair.

GeeDeeEmm

 

[goodolpg]

Any idea what repair would cost?

No, but if you Google Millersound that will give you contact info.
Great people, who do great work at a fair price.
There are others, I suppose someone with good eyes (or magnifying helpers) and soldering skills could fix them. I have personal experience with Millersound repairing Infinity parts so I always recommend them. As do many others.
If you were going to keep them it would probably be worth while.
Might not be as worthwhile if you were selling.
Shipping and packaging will be expensive so local sale is your best bet which will limit the market for them.

 

[HIP 490]

Can anyone identify the material, glue or whatever the tiny leads and their connections are covered with? Is it soluble in anything? I have tried: alcohol, lacquer thinner, acetone and MEK to no avail

 

[tubed]

Can anyone identify the material, glue or whatever the tiny leads and their connections are covered with? Is it soluble in anything? I have tried: alcohol, lacquer thinner, acetone and MEK to no avail

The material at the dome is probably indelible for all intents and purposes.
The coating on the tinsel wire can be softened and carefully removed with paint stripper.
You'll probably have to solder a new tinsel under the dome and lead it back out the dome.

 

[gdmoore28]

Many years ago I had the privilege of taking a tour of the Peavey raw speaker manufacturing plant in Meridian, Mississippi. I wish now that I'd asked more questions on the types of glue that they used in manufacturing their speakers. If Peavey is still as customer friendly as they used to be, a call to them in Meridian might hook you up to one of their engineers. I've done this dozens of times, and oftimes I end up speaking to the very person who designed what I had questions about.

In the meantime, Parts Express sells a product called "Un-Cure" that dissolves already-cured Cyanoacrylate super glues, which is what I believe is used for securing the tinsel lead as it passes through the cone. I can tell you from experience that "Un-Cure" does exactly what it is labeled to do. You might give it a try. Manufactured in the USA by BSI: www.bsi-inc.com

GeeDeeEmm

 

[dogwan]

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....quantum-midrange-repair-with-pictures.398687/

I believe that is the Peerless MTL44 or MTL37 dome. I've repaired a broken MTL44 using the technique in the above thread.

I didn't take pictures of the process, but here is an after pic (post #38)
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/rare-klh-speakers-research-ten-scx-3a.284537/page-2

You will need nerves of steel and a steady hand. But it can be done.