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Boston Acoustics Speaker ID

original foams look like new

I've owned a pair since the early 90's and they are still my main set... really clean and accurate sound. Now I've been wondering over the past few years as to my foams... I check them out once a year and they are like brand new... so my question to AK'ers is did BA coat the foams of later production models? My foams look like a black sparkly color and as if they were right out of the box yesterday... or does maybe being in colorado w/ a dry climate have something to do w/ this? I've got rotted foams on my brauns, AR's and JBL's but I'm amazed at how well these BA T1030's have held up. Thanks in advance...
 
shang said:
I've owned a pair since the early 90's and they are still my main set... really clean and accurate sound. Now I've been wondering over the past few years as to my foams... I check them out once a year and they are like brand new... so my question to AK'ers is did BA coat the foams of later production models? My foams look like a black sparkly color and as if they were right out of the box yesterday... or does maybe being in colorado w/ a dry climate have something to do w/ this? I've got rotted foams on my brauns, AR's and JBL's but I'm amazed at how well these BA T1030's have held up. Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...

I don't know if the 8 inch woofers were ever coated, but it does appear that the midrange driver on my set has been coated. It appears that there have been a few variations of these speakers though. I just got my foams from Rick Cobb and they are slightly too large for my drivers. After chatting with him, it appears that BA sometimes used 6inch drivers that had slightly smaller recessed areas to attach the outer edge of the foam, but he hadn't heard of that for the 8inch drivers before. I will need to trim about 1/8th of an inch from the foams to make them fit in my drivers (they are about 1/4 inch to big in outside diameter). Just hope I don't screw up cutting them!

Has anyone else had an issue with the foams they used being too big?
 
Hi
Go here. I always go here for my speakers. They are an old speaker repair company and they also sell parts and have a store on eBay. I never get the wrong parts and they are always the proper ones to fit the application. While I do order by model # I also try to give an overall measurement just in case.
When you put in those new generation Boston surrounds you are going to feel as iv the foams are too high (or the cones too low) That is as designed. Do not worry. I weight the surround slightly with something round to make sure it is making contact while drying. Clean the cone surfaces with Alcohol before gluing for a better bond to plastics. Ailenes works. The stuff that Msound provides is easier to control and works better. Have fun. Those are great speakers.
msound@citlink.net
 
nick_ville said:
I should have been more clear. I don't think it is Elmer's, but it was white.
Click to expand...
I was not talking about the glue they sent with the foams.
That glue is fine but if you need more, buy Aleene's tacky glue.
Do not use Elmers.

shang said:
so my question to AK'ers is did BA coat the foams of later production models? My foams look like a black sparkly color and as if they were right out of the box yesterday... or does maybe being in colorado w/ a dry climate have something to do w/ this? I've got rotted foams on my brauns, AR's and JBL's but I'm amazed at how well these BA T1030's have held up. Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...

Not sure.
My pair had grayish black (not pure black) foam and while it is still usable, I could see signs of rot when I stretch the foam but it was still pliable so should work fine for few more years.
That pair was in Denver so your pair must have different foam material.
Here is what mine looked as attached previously in this thread:

attachment.php
 
To continue with the refoam for theses speakers, I trimmed about 1/8th of an inch off of the outside edge of the surround. Following this, the surround fit pretty much perfectly. During the install, the only difficulty was that the cone was slightly lower than the inside edge of the foam, so I needed to bring the cone "up" slightly to meet the foam. Once the glue set a little bit, they held just fine.

I tested them briefly through my HT setup (Denon AVR-990 and Rotel RMB-1075), and I felt they were a little bright in this setup. I think they will benefit from some more listening before I decide anything, and the new foams might need to loosen up a little bit too. They might have sat for a long time unused too, so the caps in the crossover might need to get worked in again. I understand that they are only rated to go down to 40hz, which isn't that surprising after my first listen. I think a little more time will do them well. I think that I might also try them with my Nikko amps, since they are bi-amp capable, and see how they do with that. Maybe they are asking for more power!

I will post a couple more pics in a little while for reference.
 
baco99 said:
the foams will need some time to burn in too.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think they will be really nice. I have come to realise that I might be noticing some real acoustic issues in my listening space/HT. There really seems to be a dip in the lower frequencies, which is likely why I wasn't noticing the low end when listening to the T1030s. I guess I'll need to investigate basstraps and treatments!
 
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