First Congratulations .. For future reference I just want to understand this ... There No Available replacement surround for ren 80 ??? and Bill is simply going to repair the existing surround ... ( If a Ren 80 has a shot surround it cant be replaced and whole woofer has to be replaced ? )

Not exactly. Watkins still makes the original surrounds and will replace it for $65ea. plus shipping both ways which is about as much as one of the good used ones. Bill said "butyl doesn’t go on smooth (as foam does), where it attaches to the cone. Only the factory can get it that way. (Unless a non-aggressive adhesive is used, in which case it wouldn’t hold over time!)." Watkins can repair it like new but it is not cheap. more info on Watkins surrounds here http://www.watkinsstereo.com/refoaming.html
 
Those are all foam surrounds in the attachment. He would just replace it with foam and you would be good to go. I bet most of us would not hear a difference between it and the original...
 
Those are all foam surrounds in the attachment. He would just replace it with foam and you would be good to go. I bet most of us would not hear a difference between it and the original...
OK, that may be the case as I did not speak with Bill Watkins, it was just my understanding from the website That they only use the original type of surround. Quote from Watkins website "Surrounds are made with many different degrees of compliance (stiffness). To obtain the correct amount of cone movement and thus the same volume of bass and low distortion as our original design, we use only our original type of surround"
 
OK, that may be the case as I did not speak with Bill Watkins, it was just my understanding from the website That they only use the original type of surround. Quote from Watkins website "Surrounds are made with many different degrees of compliance (stiffness). To obtain the correct amount of cone movement and thus the same volume of bass and low distortion as our original design, we use only our original type of surround"

I'm sure they would be at least as good as new. As from what is said here they do top notch work.

I only have experience with Millersound as they are local to me. They are cheaper from what prices I have seen. He just rebuilt a second pair of Watkins woofers for me (Quantum series) for far less than I would have paid for 1 used woofer on eBay. New surrounds, cones (originals were damaged), spiders and put dynamat on the baskets. Also shimmed my magnets so they were just where it needed to be. They are freakin awesome.

Great job on the grill clothe. No better way to freshen up the appearance of a pair of speakers.
 
MillerSound do fantastic work.
I needed my 5" Watkins woofers repaired last year and they did a great job at a very reasonable cost.
I knew they were busy, and the more I read about them the more I felt honored that they actually had time to repair my stuff.
Glad it worked out well for you.
 
That is fantastic. I'll bet they're going to sound great. You've just convinced me to send off my polydomes.

Oh and what you growing ?

I know it's off topic but if it's tomatoes, I envy you, I tried last year. I'm a huge BLT guy.
 
That is fantastic. I'll bet they're going to sound great. You've just convinced me to send off my polydomes.

Oh and what you growing ?

I know it's off topic but if it's tomatoes, I envy you, I tried last year. I'm a huge BLT guy.
They sound fantastic and the repairs are air tight. You will not be disappointed.
And im not growing anything but we have all sorts of goodies growing in the mountains here in Idaho and huckleberry season is close. makes for the best jams, jellies, syrup, pies and much more. And morel season is just starting to come to an end.
The forest is very giving around here.
 
That's awesome, don't forget about trying a sub with those. I have some 90's incoming this Tuesday. I'm kinda jealous you have so much in your backyard available. Probably the only thing I miss living in Northern California is being able to make road trips to pick roadside blackberries and the like to make homemade jam and pies.

I'm sure the guys at millersound would enjoy the gift if that's what your intentions are.

A few weeks ago my best friends truck broke down. I loaded up my truck on a rescue mission. Try as I could the belt on his dodge diesel fried along with a mess of other stuff. I towed him to my place, gave him our spare vehicle. That Monday I towed it to my mechanic shop. They did a great job and fixed him up. I stopped in a week later, brought everyone donuts, coffee and water to Thank Them for taking care of my buddy.

Wish I could share the look on everyone's faces. Even the waiting customers. It really surprised them. I wasn't expecting the reactions I got. Taking a minute out of your busy day is really worth it.
 
There is an Infinity HPS-1000 in the area, i think i am going to have to pick up to try it with these ren 80s soon. The bass is not bad on the ren 80s, very tight and clear bass but only down to 35hz. The HPS-1000 is 1000w powered 15 with 2 15" passive radiators in a sealed box. Does anybody have any experience with the hps-1000. If so is there any common issues i should look for while picking it up. I cant imagine it would be anything short of an experience hearing this sub with these speakers!

And yes i will definitely be sending off some jam or something of the sort soon. Some people on the east don't even realize huckleberries exist!?!?
 
Glad you are getting them back to such great shape .. My request to Mr Legall would be ...( Please eat more Kale ..)
Amazing what a Small World we live in HiFiAaron ... I hadn't noticed you are in Northern Idaho .. My eldest brother lives in Salmon and is a " Food Person " ( Chef in local restaurant and now part owner in a local café ) goes out picking Morels when in season ... Itried them once and YUM ! I realize people on net don't like to share location but are you near Salmon ? Just would warm my heart to know there is a pair of Infinity Renaissance 80s living ( and thriving )there .. Great Idea to send the Legalls a care package of country goodies ..!! I bet those rens are going to be awesome when you add that sub .. All things are relative .. My Kappa 6.1 is only rated down to about 48 hz but they have plenty of bass for my taste in my smallish room ( my downstairs neighbor would agree )
 
Hey folks...so what I am about to say may be considered heresy on these parts, but it is kind of a half-baked idea I've been having recently...

So i have a pair of Ren 80s in the black (not piano black) finish, and I was wondering about re-finishing them into a high-gloss white finish. Has anyone ever done such a thing? I remember a thread or post here about another user considering it but I don't think it ever happened.

So yea, kind of heresy I know, but more a thought than a real plan at this point.

Here is a guide that outlines the process on MDF (but i think the Ren cabinets are oak?):

http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/67501/how-to-paint-mdf-to-a-mirror-finish-worklog
 
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Truthfully.....

I'd listen to them over a period of time to see what they sound like first, then I would ID all the parts in the speaker to see what else has been changed. Then I would compare the technical specifications of the parts installed to the OEM parts replaced. Because, just in case the person that modified those speakers knew what they were doing !!!!

You wouldn't want to be turning a rear engine Porsche into a VW Bug; could be that an audiophile updated those speakers with updated OEM parts. Then, having updated parts from the same speaker manufacturer doesn't effect the value of a speaker....infinity is infinity !
 
Glad you are getting them back to such great shape .. My request to Mr Legall would be ...( Please eat more Kale ..)
Amazing what a Small World we live in HiFiAaron ... I hadn't noticed you are in Northern Idaho .. My eldest brother lives in Salmon and is a " Food Person " ( Chef in local restaurant and now part owner in a local café ) goes out picking Morels when in season ... Itried them once and YUM ! I realize people on net don't like to share location but are you near Salmon ?

I live about 300miles north of salmon idaho.

So i have a pair of Ren 80s in the black (not piano black) finish, and I was wondering about re-finishing them into a high-gloss white finish. Has anyone ever done such a thing? I remember a thread or post here about another user considering it but I don't think it ever happened.

I used to do wood boat restoration and if you want it white my advise would be to carefully sand the current finish off. You must be careful when sanding, always use a block or soft block and be extra careful not to over sand any one spot as if you go high gloss you will see every low. The best way to make it white is to use a quality white polyurethane style pant. Roll it on and wipe it off like stain. It will come out white and the grain will still be visible. after that you have a few options for finish but to get high gloss you will have to buff it which means you will need many layers of finish. Keep in mind any mistakes a long the way will show on a high gloss finish. There is much more you need to know to do the job right. Due to the nature of these speakers and the advanced skill level necessary for this type of job i would advise having any finish work done by a professional wood worker. Find some one that does high end work and you wont be disappointed.

Truthfully.....

I'd listen to them over a period of time to see what they sound like first, then I would ID all the parts in the speaker to see what else has been changed. Then I would compare the technical specifications of the parts installed to the OEM parts replaced. Because, just in case the person that modified those speakers knew what they were doing !!!!

You wouldn't want to be turning a rear engine Porsche into a VW Bug; could be that an audiophile updated those speakers with updated OEM parts. Then, having updated parts from the same speaker manufacturer doesn't effect the value of a speaker....infinity is infinity !

These speakers have all the "OEM" components and have not been modified from original. I also don't plan on modifying them as they sound perfect the way they are. I am looking into a sub woofer to run with my renaissance 80s though.
 
I used to do wood boat restoration and if you want it white my advise would be to carefully sand the current finish off. You must be careful when sanding, always use a block or soft block and be extra careful not to over sand any one spot as if you go high gloss you will see every low. The best way to make it white is to use a quality white polyurethane style pant. Roll it on and wipe it off like stain. It will come out white and the grain will still be visible. after that you have a few options for finish but to get high gloss you will have to buff it which means you will need many layers of finish. Keep in mind any mistakes a long the way will show on a high gloss finish. There is much more you need to know to do the job right. Due to the nature of these speakers and the advanced skill level necessary for this type of job i would advise having any finish work done by a professional wood worker. Find some one that does high end work and you wont be disappointed.

Thanks for your advice!
 
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