Infinity RS6 subwoofer Removal/Replacement

[PaulBowman]

My dad has a pair of Infinity RS6s from forever ago. I imagine they'd sound decent if it wasn't for the ring of foam around the 8'' woofer dry rotting. I've begun to take the speaker apart to re-foam or replace the woofer entirely (depending on which is cheaper and yields better results), but upon doing so, found that the woofer is STUCK in there. As seen in the picture, I've pulled out the Poyldome mid-range to try and push up on the woofer, but I'm assuming it's glued and the 30+ year old glue is bonded really bad. To add insult to injury, the speaker were involved in a small house fire over a decade ago. They worked since then, but that has proven to have caused some damage, for example the screws holding each speaker unit in place are rusted slightly. I intend to replace all of these.

Any recommendations on how to remove the woofer with minimal damage to itself and preferably no damage to the oak cabinets?

Thank you for any help and any pointers are appreciated. I'm not new to technology (I work in IT), but sound systems are not my strong point. I want to use this as a fun project to learn more about them. I'm also in the process of fixing a Denon audio receiver that only has one of the 5 channels working, but that's a project I'll talk with my father. He's an electrical engineer and I know enough to know that the capacitors in that could do some damage.

 

[elnaldo]

If pushing with your hand from the back is not enough, what I do to pull stuck woofers usually is to screw a large screw on 1 or 2 of the holes, a screw thick enough to thread on the woofer hole (and not the wood), and pull. Always being careful and using the common sense.

I'm not sure if those gray rings are the woofer basket or just cosmetic rings holding the real woofer.

Forget about fitting other woofers. Those are fine speakers, nothing will work better than the original woofer.

 

[swechsler]

Pretty sure the silver outer ring is part of the woofer frame. Infinity did not use glue to hold the drivers in (although it's always possible that a previous owner did). Use care when removing them; the cabinets are particle board and can chip, especially in the indentations where the woofer is mounted. Particle board was not a sign of cheapness; it's just that it's a more consistent material than solid wood or plywood. Until MDF became popular, almost all speaker cabinets from the 1970s onward were made of particle board.

 

[PaulBowman]

If pushing with your hand from the back is not enough, what I do to pull stuck woofers usually is to screw a large screw on 1 or 2 of the holes, a screw thick enough to thread on the woofer hole (and not the wood), and pull. Always being careful and using the common sense.

I'm not sure if those gray rings are the woofer basket or just cosmetic rings holding the real woofer.

Forget about fitting other woofers. Those are fine speakers, nothing will work better than the original woofer.

Got it! Thank you and @swechsler I just had to press in the right spot and wiggle it enough and it came loose.

Ordered a new foam kit on eBay that should get here Friday. Any tips on removing the foam/glue residue on the clear plastic? It's quite resistant.

Also, to those who may find this post, the gray metal rings are part of the speakers. I will post pictures before I put the unit entirely back together so that there is some sort of documentation for future reference.

 

[elnaldo]

I've cleaned that kind of cones with ethyl acetate (AKA acetone free nail polish remover)

Please check this thread:
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...ning-those-clear-infinity-woofers-rsb.935254/

 

[PaulBowman]

I've cleaned that kind of cones with ethyl acetate (AKA acetone free nail polish remover)

Please check this thread:
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...ning-those-clear-infinity-woofers-rsb.935254/

Thanks, boss. I will add it to the project shopping list. I also intend to buy some new screws that aren't rusted since I'm doing all of this anyway.

Just as a general note, this forum has been extremely helpful. A lot of tech forums are super gate-kept and y'all are the exact opposite.

 

[PaulBowman]

Made some progress. One speaker is refoamed and complete, but on this one, the yellow/orange layer (I don't know what it's called) broke from the cone. Looking for the part now. Any tips on where to find that? I doubt it's something I could glue.

Also, see attached picture of the speaker fully removed.

 

[eiraved]

Made some progress. One speaker is refoamed and complete, but on this one, the yellow/orange layer (I don't know what it's called) broke from the cone. Looking for the part now. Any tips on where to find that? I doubt it's something I could glue.

Welcome to AK!!
Looks like the spider broke loose. I have no experience with that but I'm pretty sure it can be glued back together. Maybe @GordonW can chime in here.