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JBL 035ti Tweeter Diaphram Replacement

C

clang444

Active Member
Hi - I'm sure this has been discussed before but it looks like all the old threads are currently disabled.

I have a JBL 035ti tweeter that is not working. I took it apart and one of the diaphragm leads is corroded and broken. It looks like I have to get the replacement diaphragm from China if I want to fix it myself. I have a few questions:

Are the Chinese diaphragms any good?

How do you tell the positive from the negative lead on the diaphragm?

How do you center the diaphragm?

Any other recommendations (I know to replace the foam too)?

Thanks
 
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Thanks. I was having trouble searching old threads, but now they are showing up again. I'm not sure if I'm up to soldering the fine leads back together - but I do think I can solder new leads to the posts.
 
It's wicked fiddly on some of them. I fixed one and ruined another, in the process inhaling a bunch of cyanide from the epoxy or whatever it is.

I have not used a Chinese diaphragm but they are said to be not the same sonically.

Those tweeters are readily available on eBay if you decide to give up.
 
Thanks - I'll order some but in the mean time see if I can repair the original one. I'm guessing there is no positive/negative lead on them as what is important is the direction of current from the amp.
 
Curious about the condition of your screens. Mine are deformed. Wondering if there's a way to reform them or just leave them off?
 

How I repaired an 035Ti. Hope this is helpful.

Hopefully the pictures will tell the story. One of the 035Tis in my 4412s stopped singing and tested open. So I took it apart and found the terminal leads had broken while the voice coil itself was still fine. So I took single strands of speaker wire and soldered them in place. Fixed. I hope...
www.audioheritage.org

A thread I made over on the Lansing website with pics, how I did it at least. Hope it's helpful.
 
Oldskoolfan said:
Curious about the condition of your screens. Mine are deformed. Wondering if there's a way to reform them or just leave them off?
Click to expand...

I got a few dents out of my screens by doing this. Lay the screen on a piece of styrofoam and get a rounded wood handle from something then press and roll the back side of the dent into the foam. Work it a little at a time while checking the progress. A wooden ball the right size from a craft shop would work great too...or any rounded object that wont scratch the paint. Depends how bad your dents are also.
 
LHorn said:
I got a few dents out of my screens by doing this. Lay the screen on a piece of styrofoam and get a rounded wood handle from something then press and roll the back side of the dent into the foam. Work it a little at a time while checking the progress. A wooden ball the right size from a craft shop would work great too...or any rounded object that wont scratch the paint. Depends how bad your dents are also.
Click to expand...

Done this, using a small plastic or rubber ball, or whatever with a rounded shape that happened to be at hand. Even using my fingers.

A rubber mat, even something like a mouse pad, can act as a good backing surface.

Sometimes a kink can be carefully flattened out with something with an edge (hair of the dog- pressing an edge into the apex of the crease, from the inside), until it's almost flat, then using the rounded object to return it to the correct shape.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
I didn't have to mess with my screens on these speakers, but I did fix similar ones using the handle side of a screwdriver.

Thanks for the link Johnny Law. I just received my replacement diaphrams from China and they are the wrong ones. The ones I received are for the 035TIA and have the thick leads about 10 degrees apart from each other. I'll give repairing the old one a shot using your pics as a guide.
 
To fix the screens, which I think are steel, I used a ball been hammer gently on a flat hard surface. Both the flat and round heads help to gradually get them flattish/roundish. Worked like a charm.
 
C Hart said:
To fix the screens, which I think are steel, I used a ball been hammer gently on a flat hard surface. Both the flat and round heads help to gradually get them flattish/roundish. Worked like a charm.
Click to expand...

Just be careful with the ball peen. I've managed to stretch and/or slightly flatten out the round wires in the mesh a bit, by accident. Very light touches are called for here. Don't actually hit it, just press the ball against the mesh.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
clang444 said:
I'll give repairing the old one a shot using your pics as a guide.
Click to expand...

The replacements sold online have nothing to do with the original which has a characteristic pattern.

I own the original 035Ti and if i was in your situation, definitely i would give it a go to repairing the leads. As well as refoaming the tweeter's back.

If you don't have luck with repairing the leads, IMO i would try to get a current, better-quality tweeter, perhaps from SEAS, Scan-Speak, etc. The 035ti is a great tweeter but for the price of a 035ti in good condition (prices are really high!) you can get state-of-the-art tweeters.
 
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