Cerwin-Vega AT-15 Speakers: Seek Suggestions for Reconditioning

[biotech]

I have a pair of Cerwin-Vega AT-15 speakers, with 15" woofers, and seek to recondition or otherwise upgrade them. I've refoamed the woofers and the other drivers are in good shape. The speakers are currently in use and sound good (not great as they could/should). Besides the crossover being decades old and presumably needing some parts replacement or upgrading, there is a good amount of cabinet ringing/resonance/noise, evident when knock on the wood cabinet. I am (presumably?) mostly interested in reconditioning/upgrading the crossovers and adding bracing.

Some questions:
1) Can anyone refer me to a shop or individual in the MD-DC-N.Va. area that could handle the whole task - the crossovers and bracing?
2) Any shops or individuals in the US that provide crossover exchange services (I send in my units, they send back repaired/upgraded units)?
3) Should I do bracing myself? Any instructions or recommendations available for the AT-15s?

I've spoken so far to one local speaker repair specialty shop. Their standards for reconditioning are well beyond what I want to spend - about $350 to rebuild each crossover with high grade caps/parts and >$400 more to add bracing, easily over $1000. We agreed his services were not appropriate, too high-end.

 

[turnitup]

Refurbished a pair of AT-15s a few months ago. There is already a front-to-back brace (approximately a 2x2, only glued on each end). One of mine had fallen out. I re-glued the 2x2, and added a finish nail with a pneumatic nail gun on front and back (on both cabinets, just to reinforce). Beefy enclosures - 3/4” MDF, if I recall. Baffling material in the cabinets was interesting, only covering bottom and one side (and the back). I thought that this might have been just a manufacturing slip-up, but both speaker cabinets had the exact same configuration - strange, but I just let it be…

Cleaned the pots, replaced the capacitors, refoamed the woofers, then called it a day. Dramatically difference in before and after comparison. I’ve paired my AT-15s with a pair of AR towers (with separate amplifiers for each pair). The ARs are relatively tweeter forward (configured with AT-15s front facing, and the AR towers on each side of my seating arrangement). Great pairing of speakers (for my tastes). The AT-15s are bass/mid loaded, with the ARs nicely fill out the high end. Really enjoy the configuration. AT’s like a lot of power to perform at their peak, so plan accordingly (in my book).

All told, I probably spent less than $100 on the refurbishment of the pair. If you are handy, it was an easy project…

Good luck on yours!