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Mirage M-460 Woofer: Repair or Replace?

A

amags880

New Member
I recently picked up a pair of Mirage M-460 speakers. I was amazed at the sound of these...not even considering the fact that one of the woofers needs repaired/replaced. Everything seems to be in pretty good shape on these except the one woofer...the surround seems to be pealing away from the cone. The strange part about this is that the other woofer has the stitching intact (which I understand is a trademark of these speakers) but the one in need of repair does not have any stitching; this made me wonder if it had been replaced already. Another member told me that Mirage usually has a number on the back of each speaker that begins with "PL". I checked and sure enough it does...it is PL8A3 and beneath that is 4DR51735. So I assume this is Mirage...but maybe a replacement Mirage speaker? I took the woofer out and posted some pictures. I tried to get a close-up of the separation (the cone looks to be okay). I also posted a picture of the rear and side views of woofer. The last picture is of the good woofer still inside the speaker box (shows the stitching).

I would like to do one of the following: a) find a Mirage direct replacement woofer if I can find one. b) send my woofer out to get repaired or, last resort c) buy a suitable, new replacement woofer with similar specs (not ideal but at least I could use the speakers). I have been using nothing but a pair of bookshelf Boston Acoustic A-40s for the past 20 years. Now that the kids are out of the house, I will have more time to enjoy my sound system again;Woofer front view.jpg woofer separation close-up.jpg woofer side view.jpg woofer rear with number.jpg good woofer with stitching.jpg >)

Anyone have a lead on an 8" Mirage woofer? If I go the repair route, does the repair (reconing, etc.) really bring these old speakers back to original condition? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.
 
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This might be of some help
Mirage Tech Support

Phone: 800-554-7724 | Fax: 317-860-9195

They had replacement woofers for my M490's, I'd suspect for your's as well
 
Looks like the first one has had the surround replaced? Loved the 460 & 360s that I had - both had woofer issues. 360s came unglued from cone. Tried aileene's glue(new at that time to fixing surrounds), it didnt hold so sold. The 460s had overload protection - were randomly kicking out so I bypassed. Bad idea - eventually burned both voice coils. Successfully replaced but a friend they went to eventually killed them again.
Worthy of repair or replace -looks pretty warped.
 
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Do the cabinet serial numbers match? If so I would guess the damaged woofer is a replacement. It looks like the cone has warped/buckled for some reason, causing loss of adhesion to the surround.

Check the part number of the good woofer. If it doesn't match then seek a matching one. If they do match I'd investigate repairing the buckles and find a glue that will bond rubber and polypropylene (assuming that is what the cone is made from).
 
I believe that is the same woofer as the Energy EBS series. Unusual with the stitching and the weird particle board insert. I've been looking for one, but didn't know that perhaps Mirage drivers might be the equivalent. Thanks for the idea.
The numbers on mine are PL801 and 4DR51735, which suggests that they are the same woofer. Actually the whole speaker looks pretty similar.
 
My replacement woofer, for my 460s, came direct from Mirage, 4DR51745, and no particle board annulus. Otherwise, identical, and a match to the original in my speaker, which had a burned voicecoil.

Those woofers show up on ebay.ca, from time to time.
 
Annulus - what a great word! It sounds very correct, even if it isn't. I'll have to look it up so I can start using it.
 
sinewaver said:
This might be of some help
Mirage Tech Support

Phone: 800-554-7724 | Fax: 317-860-9195

They had replacement woofers for my M490's, I'd suspect for your's as well
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion. I called...they do not have replacements for them. They actually gave me names of 3 companies that sell speaker replacements: Parts Express; Simply Speakers; Midwest Speaker. I think I am just going to purchase new replacements.
 
81spirit said:
Looks like the first one has had the surround replaced? Loved the 460 & 360s that I had - both had woofer issues. 360s came unglued from cone. Tried aileene's glue(new at that time to fixing surrounds), it didnt hold so sold. The 460s had overload protection - were randomly kicking out so I bypassed. Bad idea - eventually burned both voice coils. Successfully replaced but a friend they went to eventually killed them again.
Worthy of repair or replace -looks pretty warped.
Click to expand...
Yes, I believe the first one had the surround replaced (it does not have the stitching) and then became separated. I think I will replace with some aftermarket woofers of similar spec.
 
Nat said:
I believe that is the same woofer as the Energy EBS series. Unusual with the stitching and the weird particle board insert. I've been looking for one, but didn't know that perhaps Mirage drivers might be the equivalent. Thanks for the idea.
The numbers on mine are PL801 and 4DR51735, which suggests that they are the same woofer. Actually the whole speaker looks pretty similar.
Click to expand...
Yes, interesting. In the short time I have been researching, I did see that Energy and Mirage were under the same umbrella...so I bet they are the same woofer (or similar).
luvvinvinyl said:
My replacement woofer, for my 460s, came direct from Mirage, 4DR51745, and no particle board annulus. Otherwise, identical, and a match to the original in my speaker, which had a burned voicecoil.

Those woofers show up on ebay.ca, from time to time.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I am still debating what to do. I think I will start with buying replacement woofers. I may keep an eye out for another Mirage speaker and snag it if I find one. Or if the new woofers are adequate, I may sell the good one. Since I just acquired these, I don't really have any emotional attachment to them...although, I really like them already. Of course, I have been listening to nothing but small bookshelf speakers for the past 10-15 years (Boston Acoustic A-40s)...so hearing a larger speaker is truly "music to my ears".
 
A400 said:
Do the cabinet serial numbers match? If so I would guess the damaged woofer is a replacement. It looks like the cone has warped/buckled for some reason, causing loss of adhesion to the surround.

Check the part number of the good woofer. If it doesn't match then seek a matching one. If they do match I'd investigate repairing the buckles and find a glue that will bond rubber and polypropylene (assuming that is what the cone is made from).
Click to expand...
I was told by a speaker refurbishment guy that the butyl surrounds begin to separate from the poly cones when the butyl begins to dry out (happens all the time). I guess the stitching was to prevent or minimize that from happening. I didn't check the number on the other speaker but I think the damaged woofer is original, I just think it had a new surround put on it at one point and then it separated again.
 
There are several models from the Mx60 line-up that use the same woofer. The speakers come up for sale. from time to time, up here, in Canada.
 
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