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How bad did I screw up? (Large Advents)

mhjmhjones

mhjmhjones

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Years ago before I knew much of anything about hifi, I used to have parties out in the barn. I bought a pair of Large Advents from a coworker (edit: for $50) because I needed something loud for out in the cold barn.

Next year rolls around and it's time to have another party. I fire up the Advents (which had spent 12 months in the cold and heat of an unconditioned space) for the first time in a year - screw up number 1. The woofer surrounds were shredded. Since I was having a party that night, I rushed out to Radio Shack and bought a pair of 12" woofers, swapped them out, hooked the Advents up and I was back in business. And I threw away the shredded original Advent woofers - screw up number 2.

The speakers sound good to me but now that I'm somewhat wiser, I wonder what they would sound like if I had just refoamed the woofers like a smart person.

Go ahead and yell at me now.
 
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well, it happened. What are you gonna do ?

Most of us of a certain age have thrown away classic speakers when the foam rotted out. Before the internet gave us access to advice and links to new foam, our options were limited....one could contact the manufacturer, or pay real money to an 'expert' to have them fixed, or buy new drivers at Radio
Shack.
The option of spending less that $20 and doing it yourself was not readily available.

You can always buy the original drivers on the 'bay and you're back in business.
 
BillyTheKid said:
well, it happened. What are you gonna do ?

Most of us of a certain age have thrown away classic speakers when the foam rotted out. Before the internet gave us access to advice and links to new foam, our options were limited....one could contact the manufacturer, or pay real money to an 'expert' to have them fixed, or buy new drivers at Radio
Shack.
The option of spending less that $20 and doing it yourself was not readily available.

You can always buy the original drivers on the 'bay and you're back in business.
Click to expand...

That wasn't the tongue-lashing I was expecting. This all happened around 1999-2001 timeframe, or so - so there was a little internet back then, but not much.

I forgot screw-up #3: About a year ago, there was a pair of Large Advents at this vintage shop right up the street from me I think for $45. The cabinets were a little beat up, but they were reportedly working. I didn't buy them, because I'm still thick-headed sometimes. A few weeks or months later they were $30. Didn't buy them. Then I read an article about stacking the Advents and how amazing that sounds, so I walk to the vintage shop and they were gone. Why do I do these things??
 
At least you didn't chuck a mint 1250 into a dumpster face first because it had blown a capacitor (around same time period as your gaffe).

Yeah, that happened. I don't even wish to talk about it.

My advice, post a WTB in bartertown (best deals goin!) and get a couple of those stock woofers, recap the crossover (seriously helps the highs) and enjoy them Advents.
 
You idiot, you moron, you buffoon! (Feel better now?)
I too did something similar and threw out a nice set of speakers that just needed foam.
There was no internet at the time, and I think we were still using dixie cups and strings for telephones. ;)
 
mhjmhjones said:
Years ago before I knew much of anything about hifi, I used to have parties out in the barn. I bought a pair of Large Advents from a coworker (edit: for $50) because I needed something loud for out in the cold barn.

Next year rolls around and it's time to have another party. I fire up the Advents (which had spent 12 months in the cold and heat of an unconditioned space) for the first time in a year - screw up number 1. The woofer surrounds were shredded. Since I was having a party that night, I rushed out to Radio Shack and bought a pair of 12" woofers, swapped them out, hooked the Advents up and I was back in business. And I threw away the shredded original Advent woofers - screw up number 2.

The speakers sound good to me but now that I'm somewhat wiser, I wonder what they would sound like if I had just refoamed the woofers like a smart person.

Go ahead and yell at me now.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately that happened a lot (and still happens a lot), so I don't blame you. The Internet and Social Media help minimize that these days, but you have to know to ask the question and not have the idea that you're "upgrading" with the new woofers.

Lucky for you, Advents and Advent woofers are pretty common and not difficult to find.

Unlucky for some of us that buy other models of speakers with replaced woofers, replacements may take a long time to find and/or are very costly. I have a pair of Pioneer HPM-1100s that have some car subs thrown in them. I may never find replacements for those :( But they were very, very cheap so I can live with it.
 
onwardjames said:
At least you didn't chuck a mint 1250 into a dumpster face first because it had blown a capacitor (around same time period as your gaffe).

Yeah, that happened. I don't even wish to talk about it.

My advice, post a WTB in bartertown (best deals goin!) and get a couple of those stock woofers, recap the crossover (seriously helps the highs) and enjoy them Advents.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing, albeit with a Realistic receiver. So not the same level of loss, but I still feel bad.
 
I got a pair of OLAs at a Hamfest free,,, needed surrounds, caps and the boxes refinished... had some fun doing it, they were my first re foams, and they look and sound as good as they can!!! May find some original woofers in need of foam with a little searching, bring em back to original, and see for yourself if they are better than the RS replacements...
If you go that route,, Rick Cobb Is the go to guy for the proper surround kit....
Best of luck!
 
The RS woofers may in fact be just fine. You would need to know the specs for them and the recommended enclosure size but I would assume they are fairly comparable.

The OLA woofer was a bastardazation of sorts, a 10" cone in a 12" basket with a masonite spacer ring. This was to allow the excursion of a 12" with the lighter weight of a 10" cone.

Later OLA series used a standard 12" woofer very similar to the RS ones you are using now.

IMHO I doubt the time/expense involved in finding original OLA woofers would yield a difference that would offset the cost/time involved.

If you like them, leave them be.
 
You didn't screw up any more than the cost of a pair of advent woofers, refoamed and ready to go I would expect. But there is the savings you get from recapping the speaker when you got the woofers so you don't have to go into them twice to get them right again.

Hunt em done, order the caps and party on. 2000-2001, hell how were you to know. I sent a pair of yellow kevlar woofers out for a refoam in the 90s and got bad a pair painted black. I was so pissed. You could have sent yours out and gotten trash back like I did. Now all you have to do is source what you need make sure it is right and install. Me, I'm still pissed as the drivers are not common like advents.
 
Oh and stacked advents...sorry for your loss, more will show up, but the price of admission will be higher...and you are now more versed in how much more they will bring to the party and will be able to get that set, hook em up with your newly redone older pair and look out neighbors.

All upside for maybe a few hunderd bucks.
 
While they are nice speakers your gaffes aren't anything to throw a fit over. To my knowledge the DH-10 driver is plentiful but a little pricey on the bay. You will find something, Advents were sold in TROVES and were built well enough that some are still out there.

Heck I have a pair in my garage just collecting dust.
 
wmgwizard said:
The RS woofers may in fact be just fine. You would need to know the specs for them and the recommended enclosure size but I would assume they are fairly comparable.

The OLA woofer was a bastardazation of sorts, a 10" cone in a 12" basket with a masonite spacer ring. This was to allow the excursion of a 12" with the lighter weight of a 10" cone.

Later OLA series used a standard 12" woofer very similar to the RS ones you are using now.

IMHO I doubt the time/expense involved in finding original OLA woofers would yield a difference that would offset the cost/time involved.

If you like them, leave them be.
Click to expand...

Actually, the larger size original Advents always used the 10" cone. They just designed an all-metal basket for the New Advents. The ones made after Jensen bought Advent used the same cone, too. Jensen put woofers in with round magnets instead of square but they were basically the same all-metal woofers as used by the original Advent company.

And, unless the Radio Shack woofers were designed specifically for acoustic suspension systems, they won't sound anywhere near as good as the original Advent woofers.
 
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