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Can these B&W's be repaired.

Athalwolf

Athalwolf

Addicted Member
https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van/ele/d/vancouver-bw-685-speakers-with-stands/6869087347.html

I posted this ad to Lower Mainland Deal Alerts for the local Ak'ers but the thread has been very quiet lately so I'm not sure anyone has seen it.

Can these tweeters be changed? Is it worth it? Speakers and stands for $75 bucks seems good if the tweeters are not crazy expensive and can be changed easily. What's with the vacuum seal? I was not aware speakers were vacuum sealed even after 5 years here at AK. Anyway if it's a great deal I'll run over and grab them while the local AK'ers wake up.

Edit: It seems that the tweeters are available for $75.00 USD each which is about $100.00 CAD. So about $275.00 CAD total for the speakers and stands.

http://bwgroupsupport.com/parts/price-avail
 
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I think the vacuum seal is just something the guy "thinks" is there, but then I don't know B&W.

The tweeters might be fixable by another sort of vacuum, your shop vac or whatever. With a small nozzle on the hose it will pull the domes out.
 
Montycat said:
I think the vacuum seal is just something the guy "thinks" is there, but then I don't know B&W.

The tweeters might be fixable by another sort of vacuum, your shop vac or whatever. With a small nozzle on the hose it will pull the domes out.
Click to expand...

Hi Andrew I just added some info to my post you may not have seen. I do have a good Miele vacuum with adjustable suction.
 
Seems like a reasonable bet to me. But what do I know? (See my DCM thread ;) )

They were very well reviewed. If you don't need the tweeters it's a good package. Investing another 200 will make it a lot less so but if you really like them and your OCD kicks in, at least the option is there.
 
They look like metal foil dome tweeters, so the vacuum trick is unlikely to work, unlike with polyester or other synthetics.

Seen a pair of Kef Q Compact with similarly mangled tweeter domes. Always saddens me...
 
Vacuum sealed ported speakers? The domes on the tweets are toast unless you removed them from the motor and pushed them out from the back.
 
cpt_paranoia said:
They look like metal foil dome tweeters, so the vacuum trick is unlikely to work, unlike with polyester or other synthetics.

Seen a pair of Kef Q Compact with similarly mangled tweeter domes. Always saddens me...
Click to expand...

Me too and it reminds me of a huge pair of Kenwood speakers I put out in the alley for free. They functioned perfectly and were in great shape. Within an hour someone had stopped by and pushed in all the domes leaving the ruined speakers for me to dispose of.
 
stereocuuple said:
Vacuum sealed ported speakers? The domes on the tweets are toast unless you removed them from the motor and pushed them out from the back.
Click to expand...

Yeah, true. You might improve them with suction but they will still be wrinkled.
 
Athalwolf said:
https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van/ele/d/vancouver-bw-685-speakers-with-stands/6869087347.html

I posted this ad to Lower Mainland Deal Alerts for the local Ak'ers but the thread has been very quiet lately so I'm not sure anyone has seen it.

Can these tweeters be changed? Is it worth it? Speakers and stands for $75 bucks seems good if the tweeters are not crazy expensive and can be changed easily. What's with the vacuum seal? I was not aware speakers were vacuum sealed even after 5 years here at AK. Anyway if it's a great deal I'll run over and grab them while the local AK'ers wake up.

Edit: It seems that the tweeters are available for $75.00 USD which is about $100.00 CAD. So about $275.00 CAD total for the speakers and stands.

http://bwgroupsupport.com/parts/price-avail
Click to expand...
Yes. Buy them!
I bought new OEM diaphragms from B&W for some old models... less than $100 for parts, plus $75... darn right you go buy them!

http://bwgroupsupport.com/parts/partslist-bw
 
The tweeters or diaphragms are probably NLA, but you can try. However...I have two pairs of DM602s (original and Mk II), both with aluminum domes like this. If the tweeters are similar (and they likely are) then the domes can possibly be popped back out by removing the diaphragm from the magnet (mine are held together with four screws, and have pins in the plate to keep them aligned) and then judiciously applying some finger pressure to the inside of the dome. Now having said that, there's no guarantee that this'll work, but the closeup they show in the listing looks pretty similar to what one of mine looked like before I popped it out. Now of course, they'll never look perfect - the metal will still have some creases where it stretched. But assuming the voice coils are undamaged, they should sound fine.
 
Adding to the above - if you can disassemble the tweeters and remove the domes you can take a suitably sized screwdriver handle and press out the domes while massaging it with your fingers.
I’ve done this before.
 
swechsler said:
Even though that list says it was updated last July, it's been earlier than that since people have been reporting that at least some of the tweeters and diaphragms are not available.
Click to expand...

Since the time B&W changed hands I would be worry about REAL availability of parts for non-current models. OLD B&W was known for keeping spare parts available for decades. New owners apparently are not interested in keeping that tradition.
 
swechsler said:
Even though that list says it was updated last July, it's been earlier than that since people have been reporting that at least some of the tweeters and diaphragms are not available.
Click to expand...

You’re right. Of course there are many other places to find both OEM and non OEM parts.
I guess I just see so much opportunity in a $75 pair of B&W speakers... I bought my first pair of B&W at a thrift for $25 and repaired them. Now I have a couple more pair, and I will always be impressed by their quality and sound.
 
New diaphragms can be bought from a seller in Poland for around £20 each and take about an hour to disassemble and fit. Paying B&W prices to replace the whole unit is nuts. I've repaired 5 pairs this way.
 
Dazaa said:
New diaphragms can be bought from a seller in Poland for around £20 each and take about an hour to disassemble and fit. Paying B&W prices to replace the whole unit is nuts. I've repaired 5 pairs this way.
Click to expand...
Add in our weak Canadian dollar and it gets pricey very quickly.
 
Dazaa said:
New diaphragms can be bought from a seller in Poland for around £20 each and take about an hour to disassemble and fit. Paying B&W prices to replace the whole unit is nuts. I've repaired 5 pairs this way.
Click to expand...
Who is this seller? Does he ship worldwide? Does he have a website?
 
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