Does Replacing Surrounds Degrade Performance?

[gkimeng]

My local speaker repair shop refuses to sell refoam kits, claiming that the process degrades the sound of the speakers too much.

Getting back to this original post, have you inquired whether this dealer would be willing to install customer-refoamed or supplied drivers if the customer requested it? Back in the early days of refoam kits, my local repair guy (no longer with us, sadly) wouldn't sell surrounds or do refoams, even if he couldn't obtain exact replacement drivers. He was, however, willing to pull the driver, hand it over to the customer and then reinstall it after someone else refoamed it as part of a larger repair job, as long as it was understood that he would not guarantee bass performance. He even let a guy who did refoams tack cards to his shop's bulletin board. Because in addition to running a business, he was an obssessed hobbiest just like the rest of us, and we are all stubbornly opinionated about something or another related to the hobby.

 

[rushfan]

Getting back to this original post, have you inquired whether this dealer would be willing to install customer-refoamed or supplied drivers if the customer requested it? Back in the early days of refoam kits, my local repair guy (no longer with us, sadly) wouldn't sell surrounds or do refoams, even if he couldn't obtain exact replacement drivers. He was, however, willing to pull the driver, hand it over to the customer and then reinstall it after someone else refoamed it as part of a larger repair job, as long as it was understood that he would not guarantee bass performance. He even let a guy who did refoams tack cards to his shop's bulletin board. Because in addition to running a business, he was an obssessed hobbiest just like the rest of us, and we are all stubbornly opinionated about something or another related to the hobby.

I didn't go that far, I was simply hoping to find a local source for the surrounds. I like to shop locally, when possible. I don't mind refoaming them myself and they should prove to be a little easier than the JBL woofers that I am working on now. One of the woofers flunked a continuity test so I will have to replace it before refoaming anything.

 

[rushfan]

Did someone say, "Measure?"

I get close, but rarely spot on, Fs typically higher, as much as 15 %.

I've never had a 116A/H refoam to original Fs of 28 Hz.

I am not particularly fluent in the technical language of speaker building. Does this essentially mean that most speakers that you have refoamed give up a little bass? This is sort of what I was getting at in my original post.

 

[Zilch]

I am not particularly fluent in the technical language of speaker building. Does this essentially mean that most speakers that you have refoamed give up a little bass? This is sort of what I was getting at in my original post.

Not that I can hear, nope, and I must have 10 pair of refoamed 116A/H here presently.

It's a good question, and frankly, as others have observed here, virtually impossible to ascertain with certainty.

When it comes to refoaming, I'm a "Resonable semblance" practicioner....

 

[gkimeng]

Are these worth a $172 recone job, EACH? Not in MY lifetime, they're not, nope, and certainly not while I'm sober.

I just did a quick browse on that JBL P/N and saw someone charging $229!!!

I have no familiarity with JBL. Are these discontinued unobtanium?

It would be interesting, just for the sake of scientific curiosity, to get a brand new woofer, test it to the nth degree, then take a knife to the factory surround, refoam it and repeat the tests. If anyone wants to undertake the task, I'd be willing to kick in $20 toward the purchase of parts.

 

[Zilch]

I have no familiarity with JBL. Are these discontinued unobtanium?

Long ago discontinued, but $10 - $40 per pair on eBay.

[Usually need surrounds, though.... : ]