Goey Sansuis? Sansui speaker surrounds leaking...adhesive?

[Elevator Guy]

I was looking to purchase some Sansui speakers, and the seller showed me a picture of leaking woofers and said it was normal. I've got several pairs of sansuis, and I have seen many more. I have never seen them leaking fluid or adhesive. What do you make of this? I would assume spilled solvent would cause that.

 

[Sansuiman]

Appears to be the compound applied to the cloth surround breaking down and oozing off. A mild to moderate solvent (mineral spirits, naphtha or such) should clean it off the frame. I'd advise against trying to remove the compound from the surround itself, as you could potentially damage the surround material in doing so. Removing a lot of it may change the compliance characteristics of the surround.

Figure on this being an ongoing problem that will need periodic cleanup. I'd guess these speakers are early to mid 80's models by the look of the woofer. Models from the 70's tend not to have the compound break down so much that it "runs", but it does get sticky to the touch as it ages.

 

[sKiZo]

Looks like some dope used the wrong dope on the surrounds somewhere along the way. There's treatments available (unfortunately) that are supposed to restore compliance and keep the surrounds from shredding, but any benefit tends to be short lived - they mostly stiffen over time and limit excursion. Doesn't help any if you pour it on thick like this one ...

Or not ... ;-}

 

[Elevator Guy]

They are 80s. A pair of sp-x9700 and sp-x11000. Every woofer is running. Is this permanent progressive damage, or can it be remedied besides simply cleaning it off on occasion? I was thinking of purchasing them, but I'm not in need at the moment. They just appeal to me.

 

[maxhifi]

They are 80s. A pair of sp-x9700 and sp-x11000. Every woofer is running. Is this permanent progressive damage, or can it be remedied besides simply cleaning it off on occasion? I was thinking of purchasing them, but I'm not in need at the moment. They just appeal to me.

Unless the seller is charging absolute top dollar, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Those are nice speakers, I've been looking for those models too without any luck. You may wait a while if you pass up the opportunity.

 

[Watthour]

Unmount the drivers, turn them uspide-down, and bolt them back in. Let gravity do its thing for another couple decades.

My HPM-100s were "draining" like that, too.

 

[maxhifi]

Unmount the drivers, turn them uspide-down, and bolt them back in. Let gravity do its thing for another couple decades.

My HPM-100s were "draining" like that, too.

Actually with the SP-X11000, just flip the whole thing over and swap the left and right speakers. The 9700 woofers will have to be flipped by removing them.

 

[Skywatcher]

I was looking to purchase some Sansui speakers, and the seller showed me a picture of leaking woofers and said it was normal. I've got several pairs of sansuis, and I have seen many more. I have never seen them leaking fluid or adhesive. What do you make of this? I would assume spilled solvent would cause that.

That's actually normal. Nothing is "leaking", it's just the dope treatment on the surround succumbing to gravity over the years. Many Altec speakers do the same thing. Just clean off the excess that has oozed onto the outer frame and leave the rest alone.

 

[bluesky]

Normal. All 3 of my AS-100s are the same way - no problems, speakers sound great.

As Skywatcher stated: "it's just the dope treatment on the surround succumbing to gravity over the years."

 

[bluesky]

Neither of my sets of SP-X97s or 11000s seem to be effected, ?could this be the cooler northern climate versus excessive heat of the sub 50 degree latitudes?
View attachment 1465048.[/QUOT

Seems like the early 70s spkrs are mostly effected.

 

[JOMARK911]

It could happen from over exposing the woofer to sunlight. Clean it off and perhaps put it upside down as proposed.