RS-6001 Re-foam issues....help!

drdeputy

New Member
Hi...new to AudioKarma and have read one thread about this topic, but didn't see exactly my problem.

First, the glue they used is a mess....it's like tar. Finally resorted to Goof Off to get it off the poly cones.

Second, there is a thin paper gasket under the beauty trim ring that isn't going to survive. Nothing like that came with the re-foam kit. What to do?? Apparently the surround glues to that gasket and then the trim ring goes on top of it all. I can't find the gaskets for sale. Make my own out of...? Or just glue the surround to the metal basket and put the trim ring on top with no gasket?

Third, there is one place that says they have the direct replacement speakers = 902-7298 for $65 each. If worst comes to worst, I may have to go that way, but it says they are 4 ohm. I thought the factory originals were 6 ohm??

Thanks for any help or suggestions. Getting frustrated.

Have a great weekend!!

Forrest
 
I've done a couple pair of this series. It's not a necessity to get every last trace of glue off. Rule of thumb is to get all the foam off. As long as the old glue is not balled up to the point that the new foam won't lie flat, you're OK. I do a lot of scraping and it takes me a lot more time than many of the stories I read here.

As long as the foam has a good seal on both edges, and the driver to the cab, don't worry about a paper gasket. Just not important. The trim ring makes it all look nice.

These are not hard to re-do. I can't imagine having to drop $130 for new drivers.

Take your time and ask more questions if necessary. The tweeters in these make it all worthwhile. Good luck.

Thanks.....makes me feel much better. I'm anxious to move this along, but didn't want to make any deal breaker errors. Gluing the surrounds directly to the metal sounds fine to me.
 
If I'm not mistaken, the surrounds SHOULD be glued to the basket itself, then the gasket (most are self adhesive) placed on top of that followed by the trim rings.
Not that it doesn't exist, but I've never seen speakers with the gasket applied to the basket THEN the foam surround placed on top of that.
If I misunderstood your original post, my apologies.

"Second, there is a thin paper gasket under the beauty trim ring that isn't going to survive. Nothing like that came with the re-foam kit. What to do?? Apparently the surround glues to that gasket and then the trim ring goes on top of it all."
 
If I'm not mistaken, the surrounds SHOULD be glued to the basket itself, then the gasket (most are self adhesive) placed on top of that followed by the trim rings.
Not that it doesn't exist, but I've never seen speakers with the gasket applied to the basket THEN the foam surround placed on top of that.
If I misunderstood your original post, my apologies.

"Second, there is a thin paper gasket under the beauty trim ring that isn't going to survive. Nothing like that came with the re-foam kit. What to do?? Apparently the surround glues to that gasket and then the trim ring goes on top of it all."

I'm not perfectly sure which was the case. I cut or otherwise removed the old foam and then had to figure out how to remove the trim ring. That was a chore itself actually as it was -really- glued down tight. So once the trim was removed it was such a gluey, gooey mess that I don't know for sure if the I was seeing surround remnant, glue, gasket or some unholy combination. Barring quick intervention, I'm going to do without the gasket and just glue to metal and put trim ring on top and hope for the best. I suppose since the trim ring was glued to the gasket, I should glue the trim ring to the top side of the gasket?
 
Upon further reflection, the gasket was glued directly to the metal as I now was just reminded having to scrape and scrape to get the last remnants of the paper off the metal basket.

So in this case, for sure, it was basket -> gasket -> surround -> trim ring.
 
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...And we're assuming you've read up on the 3 or so ways to center the voice coil. This PDF shows doing it by feel. I'd guess this is less popular than running a test tone. I'm old fashioned and use shims. All are explained and argued about in other threads.

We expect a full report when you're done. :D

When you mention shim, I think that is only if you are replacing the dust cap, is that correct? I'm not replacing it, so I had figured on figuring centration by feel. I hadn't read anyplace about using a tone......
 
Here we go.

I have ordered some new foam for both the 8 inch woofers and 5 inch midranges on my SS-2005 Infinity speakers that I found at goodwill for $9.99 I have taken them out and began scraping them along the inside diameter of the "Beauty Ring" thinking that perhaps the foam attached there, but then I discovered the paper gasket material mentioned here. These are attached with some very sticky, gooey, tarry adhesive. So job one appears to be removing the beauty rings without breaking them and then scraping away the goo. I will try to confirm if the foam surround is glued to the gasket as yours were or the frame.

The back of the speakers say that they are Injection Molded Graphite.

Here are a few pics.

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Will upload pics of Woofer and midranges next
 
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Hi all.
First off, use hair dryer, get plastic trim rings and outer rim of basket real hot, and the rings pop right off.
The more glue and gunk you get off the basket and the cone, the better the final job. I have done 2 pair of ss-2005's,actually decient three way, good bass, after stiffening the cabs.

use Super Goof-off. softens the glue up, and 2 applications and it'll be all gone. won't hurt those graphite cones one bit. always check a small spot on the rear of a cone to check for chemical damage from Goof Off first..................

glue rings to cone first, i find something round that matches the circumfrences of glue areas on the rings to use to provide even pressure while the glue drys. glue ring to cone first.
then glue up the basket lip, and the back of your rings real good. now let the rings lay dow in place, while you GENTLEY work the cones up/down, or in/out, moving the ring gentley to find the best centered spot. having the glue tackey helps hold it, than apply your circular pressure item, 12 hours later, good to go.....
I always check them in about 4 hours, the glue is dry enough to gently push/check the cones for bind, and only once in over 20 pairs of Infinity's have I had to take one off, and recenter it, but within 4 hours, it'll come off pretty easy.
my 2 cents

Stu
 
forgot, use a scalpel or exato knife, you can cut those cardboard rings off, and put them right back on.
 
Got it!

Thanks, I used some goof off and applied it in the groove between the ring and the frame on the bottom side thinking that would soak in and loosen up that gooey tar, then using a small brush applied some around the inside ring then used a tool that is used in sculpting clay ( I'll put up a pic) to cut in between the ring and the frame on the inside,and was able to get it in there and not damage the gasket, and then with a small flat head screwdriver pushed in between the frame and the ring used a twisting motion and worked my way around.They popped off no problem. The hairdryer is a good idea I'll try it on the tweeters.

The gasket is 1/4 inch wide and not very thick (I suppose the idea is that the foam would stick better to it than to the metal frame?) is definitely applied to the frame first and then the foam surround to it, then the beauty ring with a bead of sealer or glue applied to it then onto the surround. If they made the foam out of the same stuff they made that glue, they would never rot.


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What additional bracing did you do?
 
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Can't wait to hear 'em

I have done 2 pair of ss-2005's,actually decent three way, good bass, after stiffening the cabs.

use Super Goof-off. softens the glue up, and 2 applications and it'll be all gone. won't hurt those graphite cones one bit. always check a small spot on the rear of a cone to check for chemical damage from Goof Off first..................

glue rings to cone first, i find something round that matches the circumfrences of glue areas on the rings to use to provide even pressure while the glue drys. glue ring to cone first.
then glue up the basket lip, and the back of your rings real good. now let the rings lay dow in place, while you GENTLEY work the cones up/down, or in/out, moving the ring gentley to find the best centered spot. having the glue tackey helps hold it, than apply your circular pressure item, 12 hours later, good to go.....
I always check them in about 4 hours, the glue is dry enough to gently push/check the cones for bind, and only once in over 20 pairs of Infinity's have I had to take one off, and recenter it, but within 4 hours, it'll come off pretty easy.
my 2 cents

Stu

These are actually my first three ways, they are going in a guest room with the SX-780 so that visitors may enjoy Hi-Fi. I even have the adapter cable so that those I-Pods can get connected and play. It will be nice to get the SX-780 playing regularly, I had the little advents hooked to her for a while but these should be much better, I will also look for some other speakers to run with them, I am beginning to think that 4 speakers well matched does a better job than two.I will have to listen to them for a while and go from there. Thanks for the glue up and voice coil centering info.I have seen some video's on UTube and will give it a go.
 
forgot to clarify: let inner rings dry to cone, before doing the outer edge/basket lip. I do it in 2--12 hour segments.
in pic one and two: thats the remnants of the foam surrounds. try and get it all off. w/ goof off and a rag, it usualy takes two passes. Goof off leaves an oily residue, make sure you clean it all off, it's easy to see. .

Bracing: 1" or 1-1/4" "composite" closet hanger rod.
you want composite wood, because it is basically unaffected by temprature and humidity changes. thats one of the reasons why speaker cabinets are made from particle board or MDF.
anyway: cut a piece to fit front to back, between the woofer and the mid range driver. make it just too long, and you have to use a small amount of force to slid it in place. MAKE SURE WHEN FINISHED THE ENDS ARE SQUARE TO SIDES. measure and mark where it goes, drill one screw hole, in front and in back, counter drill the center of each end of rod, gorilla glue each end, and the final area where it's gonna sit, slid it in, #12 brass screws, and let it dry.

SS-2005's came in two flavors. vented and non-vented. the non-vented units being the vast majority. that being said, if you have non vented you'll need to get some sealer foam, when re-installing the drivers, to make the cabs air-tight again. You can use weather sealer from a hardware store, I much preferr the 1/4" sealer tape from Parts Express. Does a much nicer job.
my 2 cents
good luck, it's not too hard, just don't rush it.....:thmbsp:
:music:
stu
 
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Getting there.

forgot to clarify: let inner rings dry to cone, before doing the outer edge/basket lip. I do it in 2--12 hour segments.
in pic one and two: thats the remnants of the foam surrounds. try and get it all off. w/ goof off and a rag, it usualy takes two passes. Goof off leaves an oily residue, make sure you clean it all off, it's easy to see. .

Bracing: 1" or 1-1/4" "composite" closet hanger rod.
you want composite wood, because it is basically unaffected by temprature and humidity changes. thats one of the reasons why speaker cabinets are made from particle board or MDF.
anyway: cut a piece to fit front to back, between the woofer and the mid range driver. make it just too long, and you have to use a small amount of force to slid it in place. MAKE SURE WHEN FINISHED THE ENDS ARE SQUARE TO SIDES. measure and mark where it goes, drill one screw hole, in front and in back, counter drill the center of each end of rod, gorilla glue each end, and the final area where it's gonna sit, slid it in, #12 brass screws, and let it dry.

SS-2005's came in two flavors. vented and non-vented. the non-vented units being the vast majority. that being said, if you have non vented you'll need to get some sealer foam, when re-installing the drivers, to make the cabs air-tight again. You can use weather sealer from a hardware store, I much preferr the 1/4" sealer tape from Parts Express. Does a much nicer job.
my 2 cents
good luck, it's not too hard, just don't rush it.....:thmbsp:
:music:
stu

Yes, I have all the foam residue off and about 98 percent of the adhesive, just a bit of the ring indicating where the old surround sat on the cone. I have done two applications of the goof off and it all looks good to me. I have been removing the oily residue.

I had read on some forum a review of the speakers that they were not ported, and the reviewer was surprised at that. Mine however are rear firing vents or ports. Should get my surrounds in today or tomorrow, all is in readiness ... I have some surplus closet rod around here somewhere, but I don't think they are composite material but solid fir wood.
Yes found the closet rods today and they are that old fir wood, so I'll go to the hardware store and get some composite material to brace up these boxes. It is my understanding after doing some reading up on the subject today that the intention or purpose behind bracing or stiffening of the cabinet is the reduction of unwanted resonances and therefore a better bass response. Is that right?

The specs I have for the Infinity Sterling SS2005 came from online and are this:
10.5 inches Wide x 21 5/8 Inches High x 97/8 inches tall
Mine are vinyl over MDF or HDF
6 Ohm speakers
The frequency range is 46Hz to 25KHz +/- 3Db
Crossover : 400/3500 Hz
Sensitivity : 90Db @ 2.8v @ 1 Watt Per Meter

So from what I have figured out ( and my head hurts doing so) is that these should be fairly loud because of the 6ohm rating and the 90 Db sensitivity, have good mid and treble response and not a bad bass response for an 8 inch woofer which should be aided by the rear firing port and the added stiffening. Most of the folks that have these seem to be impressed by the tweeters. The crossover ranges seems good also. So hopefully a nice addition to the gear load.



Thanks again for the advice and guidance.
 
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Yes to the unwanted resonances. These are nice garage, work-room speakers. They try too hard on bass, and if you apply too much power, they start to get muddy even after bracing, but very nice, clean, mids and highs, you'll get to appreciate those Polycell tweeters.

my 2 cents
stu
 
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