Binding posts suggestions

[brainsmasher]

Great speakers you got there, I have a set that need attention as well. One question about the binding posts is are the speakers going to be on stands because there is the chance of the posts going lower than the bottom of the speaker. The pair I have 3 of the 4 surrounds have turned stiffer than a brick bat and barely make noise. I did some reading on the humanspeakers site and the surround issue was addressed as, original rubber is the best, foam replacements are still quite good and aftermarket rubber surrounds are the worst choice of the 3. I will be re-reading this thread when I start digging into my set. Keep up the good work.

 

[shacky]

I just checked the pair of 201's and they are as stiff as an eighteen year old in heat.

Looks like I need to learn how to do surrouns.

 

[pat5jfet]

Twist two leads together to make a parallel stack. The values add in parallel so a 4.0 and 4.7 will be 8.7. I glue my stacks with epoxy or rtv then solder..
Rubber surrounds may still be OK but they do get brittle and stiff with age. Foam just rots out. IMHO you should check with a speaker rebuild specialists about your butyl surrounds.

 

[shacky]

I brought one of my wooders over to NewFoam in Rochester. A little like asking a doctor if you need a chest x-ray but he thought they were too stiff. I wouldn't have gone forward with refoaming except that I too felt they were limiting movement of the cone. I'm sure they were still air tight. Flexibility is another story.

Since the pair of 202's seem to be putting out a lot more bass than the 201's I decided to tackle the 201's first.

It's a challenge getting the old rubber surround off the cone. Tends to want to peel the top layer of paper off. Have to go real slow. :yes:

At first I thought the spider may have problem since the woofer doesn't seem to have much travel. Checking second woofer to make comparison.

With 8 of these to do I have to do it myself. Can't afford to have someone do them at 40-50 a pop.

 

[shacky]

I'm a bit stumped on getting new binding posts in place. I was planning on putting then in place of the spring jobs. But I'm not sure now that I look closer.

Anyone have suggestions? Sorry this is a duplicate of my surround post if you looked at that already.

 

[fiddlefye]

Nice that there's a thread going on the 202's. For years I hadn't seen any but mine. I have a pair that I've had for years and have been thinking they need to get into the cue for restoration. They've never sounded as good as I think they should and given the improvement to my 100's and 50's from re-capping etc. I think they should be really nice.

I'm wondering if there is any sort of product that could restore the flexibility of the rubber in the surrounds without compromising it in any way? I'd really rather not replace any of the rubber ones as they're all whole and functional on my pair....

 

[luvvinvinyl]

Those rubber surrounds, if they are original, are whole and functional, barely, but not up to optimum performance. They stiffen, with the passage of time.

Check them yourself. The rubber should be supple, and easily deflected, in a small spot, by a gentle touch. Take a Qtip, and gently push straight in, on the middle of the roll. Does the rubber dimple in, in a small radius? If not, they are already past their useful life. More likely that the area of deflection is broad and shallow, or even that the cone starts to move.

Time for new ones.

 

[sleddogman]

I'm a bit stumped on getting new binding posts in place. I was planning on putting then in place of the spring jobs. But I'm not sure now that I look closer.

Anyone have suggestions? Sorry this is a duplicate of my surround post if you looked at that already.

1. Clip the red and black wires at the solder points to the spring clips.
2. Drill out the two rivets on the backside holding the spring clips to the board.
3. Remove the spring clips from the other side.
4. Locate or fashion 2 suitable thin rectangular pieces of black or white plastic (or wood or whatever) about 2" wide and 1" high.
5. Carefully layout 2 center points exactly 3/4" apart. Lightly center punch the marks to help start and guide the drill bit.
6. Drill the holes in both the plastic plates and through the crossover board.
7. Put a dab of glue on the back of the plastic plates and attach to the board. You don't need much as the new posts should have mounting nuts.
8. Insert the new posts and tighten them up.
9. Solder the red and black wire to the new posts.

10. Viola! You're done. Go have another beer and start contemplating doing stuff like this and speaker refoaming as a neighborhood side business.

P.S. If nothing else, toddle over to Radio Shack and buy two paired banana plugs (278-308) to use with your current speaker wire. Insert them into the binding posts so that they act as an alignment tool to make sure you've got the 3/4" distance between the posts correct before you tighten things up.

 

[shacky]

SledDog,

I started working on this tonight before checking you post. What I ended up doing was drilling out the rivets that held on the old spring setup and expanded those holes for the new binding posts. I ike your idea better but never considered the standard banana plug separation of 3/4 inch. I may try that on my next pair of speakers I tackle.

For now I think this will work and keep things looking as original as possible. I plan to cover the holes between the post - maybe with red and black dots?