Jensen fabric accordion surround treatment?

[Cathead45]

I have a pair of 10 1/4" Dia. Jensen "Flat-Plane" woofers in 3-P/3 speakers. The woofer has a cloth accordion surround treatment like the Sigma and Flexair models. Does anyone know if and how I should treat these? The speaker is vented so an air tight seal (like AR & KHL) is not required. The surrounds are not soft and supple but somewhat hard in comparison. They appear to be in very good condition with no tears or denigration but if there is something I can do to keep them that way I would like to know. Thanks

 

[drbiggles]

Hey mang,

No treatment required or wanted, good to go as is. Keep on truckin'.

Biggles

 

[Cathead45]

Thanks Biggles. I will enjoy them.

 

[stickman]

I have purchased older speakers with treated cloth surrounds that have stiffened to the point of barely allowing cone movement. I have not yet found any chemical treatments that will loosen them up to original compliance as the original chemical treatment needs to be removed and then replaced by something similar to the original treatment all while doing no damage to the cloth or speaker cone, which would be quite an accomplishment! If the drivers are worth it I have used foam to replace the treated cloth surrounds and although that substitution will absolutely change the operating parameters of the driver I've usually found the results to be pleasing in most cases.

 

[Cathead45]

The speakers actually have a very strong low end and seem to have good movement. I think It would be hard or nearly impossible to find replacements for a 10 1/4" dia. I can hardly find any information on these units. Jensen did not make them for very long, 1961 to 1963 as far as I can tell. The components were also used in the 3-P/2 shallow bookshelf units at 3 5/8" deep. These are 11 3/8" deep. Right now there are a total of 3 ea. assemblies in the shallow configuration and one separate speaker on flea-Bay and they are asking a small fortune for them. I did not spend very much on these ($75), so that is good. I don't think I will do much more than rebuild the XO if the caps need it (and they will) and enjoy them. They are very smooth sounding and the bass really hits. If anything it could use more high end and midrange which new caps usually correct. They really have a unique sound that pleases my ears. Thank you for your in-put.

 

[Cathead45]

Here is what I could find on these units. The middle page has them identified in the lower right had corner, they are the "Utility Unfinished" units.