b&W ruined diaphragms

[nateyaro]

Hey guys,

I just thought I got a sweet deal on a full 5 speaker setup of b&W speakers, drove about an hour and a half away to discover all but one of them had bad diaphragms on the tweeters... I ended up getting all 5 speakers for just over $300 so I bought them to take the risk. Well, after getting them home and digging into it, I am afraid I have no way to replace them. They were the DM603 S2 series, and the DM601 S2 series.

The guy Played some music on them for me before I bought them, they appeared to make sound and sounded decent. However I don't want to keep using them and cause damage to the tweeters if they can't be fixed... I have no clue what to do, I can't seem to find parts for these anywhere. Anyone have any suggestions?

Will it damage the tweeters if I use them? One of the diaphragms is completely gone, the others are all there but dented with holes in them. I'm hoping these speakers aren't toast due to this.

Any help is welcome. Thanks guys!

 

[Silentnet]

I suspect the B&W die-hards will be by to suggest substitutions if those tweeters are no longer available. $300 seems a bit high given the extent of work needed, but not dreadful. Granted I'm also not super familiar with B&W values.

Do you plan to keep them? Repair and sell? What equipment will you drive them with?

 

[StimpyWan]

When I worked in high end audio, we sold B&W speakers. B&W provided the dealers with a parts list of various drivers that were available. The list included tweeter diaphragms. So, if you have a local dealer, give them a call to see if your DM S2 tweeters are still supported?

 

[StimpyWan]

Here's a parts list, with prices.

BW Group Parts List

According to the list, you need diaphragm ZC11541. The same diaphragm is used in the 603 S2 and 601 S2 speakers. The price is $57.92 ea. A whole new tweeter is $108.60. I believe there are You Tube videos on how to repair the tweeters (replace the diaphragm).

 

[nateyaro]

I suspect the B&W die-hards will be by to suggest substitutions if those tweeters are no longer available. $300 seems a bit high given the extent of work needed, but not dreadful. Granted I'm also not super familiar with B&W values.

Do you plan to keep them? Repair and sell? What equipment will you drive them with?

I don't think your wrong, I think excitement got the best of me. I drove about and hour and a half just to get to the location. It was a huge blow just to see all the damage. I'm now wishing I would have had the will power to just walk away. At this point, sadly I didn't and now I would like to figure out how to repair them. The sad part is, no one appears to have parts for them.... Figures...

 

[nateyaro]

Here's a parts list, with prices.

BW Group Parts List

According to the list, you need diaphragm ZC11541. The same diaphragm is used in the 603 S2 and 601 S2 speakers. The price is $57.92 ea. A whole new tweeter is $108.60. I believe there are You Tube videos on how to repair the tweeters (replace the diaphragm).

Thanks for looking that up. I had found it as well, however they show discontinued on their website. I might be stuck lurking around resale sites to try and find something...

 

[biscuithead]

I've found quite a few B&W parts at "The Speaker Exchange ". Google their number and call, don't rely on their online stock numbers. Good Luck.

 

[swechsler]

These B&W tweeters are kind of a snap-in model, they don't mount like normal drivers, so using any third party solutions would require a decent amount of modifications to the tweeter, the cabinet or both. I have been watching for these tweeters for a while, and unfortunately they don't come cheap, even used.

 

[nateyaro]

I've found quite a few B&W parts at "The Speaker Exchange ". Google their number and call, don't rely on their online stock numbers. Good Luck.

Thanks for the suggestion, I guess it never hurts to ask.

These B&W tweeters are kind of a snap-in model, they don't mount like normal drivers, so using any third party solutions would require a decent amount of modifications to the tweeter, the cabinet or both. I have been watching for these tweeters for a while, and unfortunately they don't come cheap, even used.

I was worried someone was going to say something like this... Does it hurt the speakers to use them with the damaged diaphragms? I know that's probably a newbie question, but I don't know the answer.
Thanks!

 

[StimpyWan]

Does it hurt the speakers to use them with the damaged diaphragms? I know that's probably a newbie question, but I don't know the answer.
Thanks!

It 'might' cause damage. At least on the tweeter that's missing the diaphragm. Without it, the tweeter voice coil may not stay properly centered in the magnet gap. That could cause a rub, and ruin the voice coil. But, a replacement diaphragm would replace the coil too. So, a bit of a moot point.

On the tweeters with damaged or crushed diaphragms, the same could happen. It just depends if the damage is enough to cause misalignment of the coil. Again, a new diaphragm cures all ills.

Oh, one other thing. There are B&W 'clone' tweeters available from China, on eBay. External mount designs, for 700 and 800 series speakers. I wonder if you could mount one on top of the speaker, as a temp fix? Not cheap, but you'd get sound.

Good luck with the search.

 

[nateyaro]

It 'might' cause damage. At least on the tweeter that's missing the diaphragm. Without it, the tweeter voice coil may not stay properly centered in the magnet gap. That could cause a rub, and ruin the voice coil. But, a replacement diaphragm would replace the coil too. So, a bit of a moot point.

On the tweeters with damaged or crushed diaphragms, the same could happen. It just depends if the damage is enough to cause misalignment of the coil. Again, a new diaphragm cures all ills.

Oh, one other thing. There are B&W 'clone' tweeters available from China, on eBay. External mount designs, for 700 and 800 series speakers. I wonder if you could mount one on top of the speaker, as a temp fix? Not cheap, but you'd get sound.

Good luck with the search.

Thanks for the response! I had done some searching around online hoping to find an explanation like that, but it seemed like no one wanted to give a direct answer in as simple of terms. I really like the idea of these speakers, and I've spent a while wanting to get my hands on a set of B&W so I guess I'll take my time and see what I can come up with.

If nothing else, I guess I could always try and find an affordable pair of the DM601 series and swap the diaphragms into the DM603's Those speakers seem to be able to be had as a pair for almost the same as the cost of replacement parts.

Thanks!

 

[swechsler]

I have a pair of DM-602s and a pair of DM-602 series 2. Both have one crushed/badly dented diaphragm (they use similar, but not identical tweeters). If the dome is still intact, and the voice coil is still round, then you should be able to use them without a problem. Depending on the damage, you might be able to remove the diaphragm from the tweeter (they're screwed together, and there are alignment pins so reassembly isn't difficult) and carefully push it out from the back with judicious finger pressure. Pictures of the damage might help.

To get to the tweeters, you need to remove the top woofer/mid, then you can reach your hand in and rotate the tweeter to remove it. Should be less than a quarter turn to remove.

 

[nateyaro]

I figured I'd share what I discovered. I ended up taking my speakers in to a local repair shop here in Fort Wayne IN. They said they've repaired a bunch of these and they have the parts already to repair them for me. I should have them back in a few days. The best part, the repair cost, appears to be what the cost of the part is online. I'm looking forward to getting them properly repaired.