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Looking for tweeter replacement/upgrade for b&w 802 Series 80 speakers

crackmandu

crackmandu

New Member
Hi there,

This is my first post, so apologies if I'm in the wrong place.

I have a pair of B&W 802 Series 80 speakers. I need to replace one of the tweeters, which means i need to replace both of them. I'm having trouble tracking down the right tweeters, or a seller for them. Do you all know of a reputable place I can get a pair of replacement tweeters for these 802 series 80 speakers? If nothing original exists - or is too old to be good - are there any reputable makers of suitable tweeter replacements?

This is my first pair of passive hifi speakers. I've been an active studio monitor guy all my life, so please forgive my absolute noobiness.
 
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I'm assuming you've already checked with B&W? Apparently these speakers were discontinued in the early 1990s. In the past others and myself have bemoaned on this forum B&W's lack of support for their older models (typically it's the 600 series, but probably anything older will have the same problem).

The usual recommendation is to check eBay for used tweeters. But what's wrong with the existing one? Tweeters can sometimes be repaired. Maybe post a picture. What is your skill level regarding repairs on small items?
 
Hi! My level of skill is next to nothing. Like, haven't soldered in years even. I just mix, I have no idea how to do electrical engineering.

I'm a little sour on ebay at this point - i bought these for 900 bucks or so. They were listed as good condition, but in my studio, one tweeter didn't match the other. I took them into Analogique in NYC for repair and they said they could fix them after i did the estimate, then when i got there, the tech told me that the only way to truly get the tweeters to match was to replace them, which was a crapshoot because they're so old. He had reconditioned the speakers and rewired the tweeter but could only get one to 6 db of the other between 6 to 10 kHz. He said that the tweeter was, itself, a replacement of the original, and that it was wound wrong and losing its magnetic response (no idea if that makes sense or not).

He recommended i get a speaker EQ to put in line, which i'd really rather not do as it would mess more with the phase response.

I called the rep at b&w - i know him through my job - who checked; the part is indeed disco'd, but he recommended i call a repair shop that bw works with out of long island and get them "reconned" (not sure if he meant "Reconditioned" or "reconed"). I have about four days to force a return these speakers to the original owner, but I absolutely love the sound of the lows and midrange; for whatever reason, I'm not a fan of ported speakers and these have the low end i'm looking for.

Anyway, that's the whole story.
 
Did Analogique bother to look at the crossover caps and resistors? I’ve used them before, and let’s say I wasn’t overwhelmed when I got my items back.
 
They said they did. But yeah, major qualms about using them again. I liked the tech personally, and felt like he knew his stuff. But the company did the estimate, then essentially told me they couldn't do the one thing i wanted them to do, then tried to charge me more than what they quoted me!
 
I think the first thing I'd do is swap the tweeters between the cabinets and determine if the problem is the tweeter and not the crossover. If it is the tweeter, then contact that repair company that B&W recommended immediately and get an estimate for repair. I don't know much about these speakers but I know that replacement tweeters for the later 800 series are super expensive, so unless your seller is prepared to refund you a significant amount of your purchase price, your best bet might be to return these and move on.
 
swechsler said:
unless your seller is prepared to refund you a significant amount of your purchase price, your best bet might be to return these and move on.
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This. Have you reached out to the seller? The fact that you've had someone digging around inside them may hurt your eBay claim (the seller can say the person you had work on them must have damaged them, etc.). Get a tweeter quote but I wouldn't do anything else to the speakers until you've spoken with the seller!
 
crackmandu said:
i reached out to the seller initially and got a refund that covered the estimate and some change
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OK, so presumably that's all been spent on at Analogique, so the replacement tweeters would be on your own dime? But the seller is still willing to take them back? I'm a little confused by what you said earlier.
 
the seller is actually not willing to take them back - he said "no returns, no refunds". but i can force a return through ebay. he doesn't know that i got them repaired; he knows i wanted to get them repaired, but that's where we left it.

Replacing the tweeters would have to come out of my own pocket. I'm not averse to it if I can find them - the ns and ds are very expensive, but the matrix models are like 122 USD apiece from b&w, and these are the version before the matrix.

Again, i really love the sound of the lows and mids on these. I can also trust them - my work has been translating well. I just hate the fact that i have to EQ 1 tweeter 6 dB up with a big bell at 6k to get them to match.
 
crackmandu said:
the seller is actually not willing to take them back - he said "no returns, no refunds". but i can force a return through ebay. he doesn't know that i got them repaired; he knows i wanted to get them repaired, but that's where we left it.
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You've been inside them, the seller does not have to take them back.
I learned that lesson the hard way.
I suppose you could LIE or PURPOSELY OMIT you've been inside them, and yes I know it was someone else who actually went inside them.
Is that how you normally conduct your affairs, by lying and omitting?
You already got a partial refund. Man up and take care of things like you should.
 
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goodolpg said:
You've been inside them, the seller does not have to take them back.
I learned that lesson the hard way.
I suppose you could LIE or PURPOSELY OMIT you've been inside them, and yes I know it was someone else who actually went inside them.
Is that how you normally conduct your affairs, by lying and omitting?
You already got a partial refund. Man up and take care of things like you should.
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Hey man, I *want* to keep the speakers. I'm looking for ways to keep the speakers. That's why I'm here asking about where I can sink money into replacement tweeters :)
 
Can you get the old ones repaired...?

it’s been my experience that fixing what’s there is better than trying to replace with something else...
 
Bkphoto said:
Can you get the old ones repaired...?

it’s been my experience that fixing what’s there is better than trying to replace with something else...
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I tried getting them fixed at Analogique here in nyc, and the consensus i'm getting is either the only fix is a replacement set of tweeters, or that they ripped me off. If you have a rec for a better shop in the nyc area, i'm all ears. B&W recommended regnar repair
 
crackmandu said:
They said they did. But yeah, major qualms about using them again. I liked the tech personally, and felt like he knew his stuff. But the company did the estimate, then essentially told me they couldn't do the one thing i wanted them to do, then tried to charge me more than what they quoted me!
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Exact issue I had. They did a job, and had quoted me first. So I thought I had an idea. Then I go to get the items, and yeah it’s double the quoted now because of it being difficult. And the workmanship was ****. Utterly. I found a new tech in New York City right after.
I cannot beat on Analogique enough, haha.
Edit: the shop I use is Technetron. They are hella busy now, but worth it.
 
Thanks! I spoke with regnar. They basically told me that what the repairman said sounded correct, and that if i want to fix them, i'd have to track down the part number for the tweeter and either troll for them on ebay, or call b&w and ask them their opinions on a suitable aftermaket replacement.
 
Ds2000 said:
Exact issue I had. They did a job, and had quoted me first. So I thought I had an idea. Then I go to get the items, and yeah it’s double the quoted now because of it being difficult. And the workmanship was ****. Utterly. I found a new tech in New York City right after.
I cannot beat on Analogique enough, haha.
Edit: the shop I use is Technetron. They are hella busy now, but worth it.
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Were you able to get your money back from them?
 
Maybe AK member GordonW could help.
Or Bill at MillerSound.
Both have good reputations for speaker repair.
 
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