Infinity RS 225 Speakers

[dtbm51]

I love these speakers and have had them trouble free for 17 years. Recently while watching a movie with a lot of bass (Maleficent), I noticed one of the speakers started crackling, it sounded fine as long as there was no bass, but as soon as the bass started, there was the buzzing/crackling sound.

I took the front cover off and noticed that the outside part of the surround material was broken off in small pieces. I have tried to find a speaker repair store locally (I use to use Sound Advice where I purchased these from), but it seems this is a dead art.

Can you give me suggestions on what I can do or who I can call? I would hate to dump these speakers for what seems to be a benign problem, or incur costs to buy new ones as I know to replace these with an equivalent quality would cost me more than I can afford right now.

Thank you.

 

[stereofanboy]

It kind of depends where you are. Post your location and maybe an AKer will know a place local to you.

If you must ship them to get them fixed, that cuts way down on the economic feasibility of paying someone else to do the repairs. There are several well known speaker shops in Florida and California that do refoaming and others around the country that aren't as well known.

You might consider doing them yourself. eBay seller GeoAliWil has the foam kit for these for $24.70 with free shipping and he doesn't appear to be the cheapest. I mention him because I just refoamed a set of these last week and got the foam kit from him. Perfect fit and George is a nice guy to deal with.

I only learned to refoam because my local stereo repair shop wouldn't do refoaming. After I built up a hoard of ten or so pairs of speakers needing refoaming I took the plunge and haven't looked back. It isn't hard to do, and will save you a little money over getting someone local to do it, and a lot over getting someone elsewhere to do it.

 

[dogwan]

Easy...

I recently refoamed a pair of RS425's. Very similar except with an added passive radiator. A search on Ebay and you will find several vendors selling a specific refoam kit ala....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Infinity-6-5-RS-225-Speaker-Foam-Surround-Repair-Kit-/290863559033?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item43b8d1b179

If yours are like the ones I did you have a phase plug in the center of the woofer. This makes the job easier because you can shim the cone to center without having to remove a dustcap. I used strips of inkjet photo paper stock which turned out to be a snug fit. Just try your best to attach the new foam to the back of the cone like the originals. The only hassle I had was geeting the old foam off cleanly. Lots of tutorials on the web. This was the first set of speakers I refoamed and it turned out great.

 

[ivandezande]

Do it yourself. Very easy to get the hang of.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=171543044297
These are from Rick Cobb, a very respected guy on here. Everything included, these using the test tone so you don't have to shim.
Also only $20. Consider a recap while you're in there.

 

[crazy-in-az]

I agree with everyone else- try replacing the surrounds yourself. You save some cash and get some great experience while you're at it.