cleaning ADS L-810

[statman122]

I have a lot of dust where I live. Is there a safe way to clean the soft dome mids and tweeters on the ADS?

 

[fredcohiba]

I bought a pair of Paradigm 5SE MK ll speakers that were very dusty. I used an adjustable flow rate nozzle from my air compressor on a very low flow along with a very soft, medium length bristled paint brush. I directed air at the speaker and gently used the brush to dislodge the dust and the air flow blew the dust away. Care must be taken to limit the air pressure aimed at the speaker and use light brush pressure.

 

[Henrydozer]

I have always been told as long as they are working and sound good that you should leave them alone. Although there is a set of 1290s on Fleabay that someone painted the mids silver. No clue why anybody would do that.

 

[audiomagnate]

No way to clean them AKAIK. It doesn't affect the sound. Just keep the grilles on.

 

[phatster]

Very careful with tweezers.

 

[bd1886]

Those are the sticky ones....

leave them alone. Anything with a cleaning action could compromise the integrity? I'd call Richard So in Phoenix ....let us all know. I have a couple pair and should give a call if you don't. Maybe a mask and water rinse?

 

[LexDM3]

I have a couple of pairs of L1290s that I bought used. One had plant leaf residue on the sticky domes, the other has what seems to be cat hair. Using magnifying glasses and lots of light to see well, I have VERY carefully picked off some of those objects from the domes using good tweezers. Usually it's best to do this by grabbing the part that's not stuck to the dome and gently lifting it off from that end, removing the part that's stuck to the dome as you do it. I've never tried to take all of it off for fear of damaging the dome itself. My rule is that if I have to touch the dome itself to remove the object, I'm going to leave it as it is.

As for dust, I agree with others that there is no safe way to remove it. I did an experiment with tape on an already damaged dome and it wasn't pretty so that's not a good approach. The good news is that grunge stuck to the domes doesn't seem to have any effect on performance.

 

[statman122]

Thanks guys. Seems I'll just leave the grills on and forget about it.

 

[Tube Sound]

I've never been the sharpest tool in the shed, but what about a feather duster? Very softly and carefully. If this sounds friggin' dumb, pretend I didn't post it.

 

[jhaan92]

...what about a feather duster?

Negative on the feather duster, you don't want to touch the driver unless absolutely necessary, as the oils from the duster, or anything else (IE - your hands) can potentially break down the epoxy coating on the driver

As an owner of a set of L710's, I know how irritating it can be to look at a dusty dome driver, but there is nothing you can really do about it, except replace the driver dome. It is also true that it doesn't affect the sound.

I have tried several different ideas on damaged ADS tweeters, and all have failed. They have a strange type of epoxy that is forever sticky, and unless you have pet hair, leaves, or a large foreign object attached to the driver, you shouldn't try to clean them. A previous poster is correct in saying that the dust doesn't affect the sound, including the incredible imaging that these speakers are capable of creating when properly placed.

My best solution to this problem is to leave the grills on (if you have them) as much as possible, as the metal ones (if you have that style) have small enough holes that dust really doesn't get through the perforations in the grill, and as for the cloth ones (like I have), the fabric stops the dust entirely. The only time I take the covers off is to service the drivers or to quickly blow the dust off of them in the garage.



-Jason