Paradigm Atom V.1 Score...Foams Needed

[Mchaz]

I got a pair of these at a house sale today. I say house sale because they were selling most of the house contents before a move.

Anyway, I was helping my brother in law move a desk he bought from the couple and I spotted the speakers in a corner. I went over to take a look, and I saw $1 written on a piece of tape. I flipped them over, and down the port tube I saw Vifa printed on the back of the tweeter. :yes: I went up to buy them and she says the bass sounds funny when they turn them up, at which point in my head I'm thinking refoam. She says it's the last day of the sale so everything is 50% off. I handed her a $1 coin, and she gave me back two quarters.

I popped the backs off the cabs, and sure enough the foam is peeling up from where it meets the cone on both woofers. One of the foams tore on the edge taking quite a bit of material away. These things have rather nice drivers. A Vifa D19TD-05 soft dome graces the top end while a substantial 5" cast frame woofer takes over the bottom. After looking at them these may kick my Insignias out of the kitchen system. :scratch2:

Does anyone know where I can find surrounds for these? There are the usual generic Ebay peddlers, but I would like to find something more specific to the woofer if possible. The cone material looks like some sort of plastic and the roll on the surrounds is pretty tall. Any recommendations on glue? This will be my long overdue first refoam job.

 

[Hajidub]

Simply speaker? Might have to go with a universal foam for those. Either way they're worth the effort. Paradigm's are truly monsters when talking small shelf speakers!

 

[jimbofish]

I encountered the same problem with a pair of Performance Series Atoms that I acquired some years ago. If these are what you have, I can look up the foams I ordered and where.

 

[Mchaz]

I encountered the same problem with a pair of Performance Series Atoms that I acquired some years ago. If these are what you have, I can look up the foams I ordered and where.

It sounds like we have the same type. Mine have "performance series" written on the grill badges. The grills are not removable, so all of the drivers are back mounted. There is a small diameter port tube positioned right behind the tweet.

If you don't mind, I would be very appreciative of information regarding where you picked up those foams.

 

[jimbofish]

Sure thing. It may take a bit of time to locate the info. I looked though some papers last night for it, but it wasn't there, so, I'll have to search for some emails I sent about it.

FWIW replacement woofers are/were available through Paradigm dealers for $50 ea... at least they were a few years ago.

 

[jimbofish]

ggzsanka@aol.com

His name is Gene... he used to be a member here, but suddenly left a few years ago. He still sells surrounds as of last Feb. The ones he sent me were actually a tad small on the ID for the cone. I don't believe they were made specifically for those woofers, just the closest thing available.

Similar ones should be available from other sources recommended here, like Rick Cobb or Meniscus Audio.

 

[Mchaz]

While googling around I found a foam surround set at www.speakerworks.com. The measurements look really close if not spot on. The description mentions they will work with the Paradigm Atom, but there is no mention of version. Does anyone have experience buying from SpeakerWorks?

If your searching efforts don't come through, jimbo, I think I'll try these out. The measurements are considerably closer to the existing surrounds than the generic 5.25" set at SimplySpeakers.

For those :worthless folks I bring you all the staged shots you care to look at. Sorry for the darkness.

 

[Mchaz]

A few more pics...

 

[Mchaz]

ggzsanka@aol.com

His name is Gene... he used to be a member here, but suddenly left a few years ago. He still sells surrounds as of last Feb. The ones he sent me were actually a tad small on the ID for the cone. I don't believe they were made specifically for those woofers, just the closest thing available.

Similar ones should be available from other sources recommended here, like Rick Cobb or Meniscus Audio.

Thank you very much for the reference. You posted while I was snapping the pics. I'll check out the other two outfits you mentioned as well.

 

[cary]

Try Simply Speakers, their customer service and instructions are great. I also replaced the the cap in the crossover and it made a big difference! Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Mchaz]

Try Simply Speakers, their customer service and instructions are great. I also replaced the the cap in the crossover and it made a big difference! Good luck and keep us posted!

After exploring my options I will be going with the SpeakerWorks kit because the measurements match up the closest. At $20.76 shipped it isn't the cheapest option, but I think I can justify the $21.26 total investment to try these little guys out.

Did you go with a polopropylene film cap? Solen and Sonicap are the only manufacturers I could find with 24uF polypros, and I wouldn't want to shell out for Sonicaps. I know I could combine two 12uF, etc, but that ends up costing more than the one Solen. If I decide these are keepers after the refoam I'll go ahead and replace the caps. I might even go as far as Mills resistors and binding post cups if they're really good.

 

[cary]

For recapping my Atom's v.4, I used a Solen metallized polypropylene, 3.9uf from Parts Express, for a little less money the Dayton caps are pretty good. Using film and foil caps in the crossover is overkill, they are great for bypass caps. Also in my opinion, as long as the original resistor is within spec, a Mills resistor won't make much of a difference.

 

[Mchaz]

For recapping my Atom's v.4, I used a Solen metallized polypropylene, 3.9uf from Parts Express, for a little less money the Dayton caps are pretty good. Using film and foil caps in the crossover is overkill, they are great for bypass caps. Also in my opinion, as long as the original resistor is within spec, a Mills resistor won't make much of a difference.

Oh my, I'm glad you said you used a 3.9uf cap. That set off an alarm in my head (they shouldn't be that different). I double checked, and sure enough the cap in the crossover looks to be a 2.4uf not 24uf! The decimal point was blurred together with the 2 on the capacitor. That makes things considerably cheaper.

When I said "polypropylene film cap" I was indeed referring to metalized polypropylene film capacitors, such as standard Solens and Daytons, not film and foil capacitors. I forget that here film is usually short for film and foil. That got me thinking that I could use a 2.2uf polypro with a 0.22uf film & foil bypass to get pretty close to 2.4uf. :scratch2: I realize Mills resistors won't make much of a difference, but that's why I said I'll only do it if I think these speakers will be keepers. Non inductive resistors would account for less than $10 on an order where shipping would be the majority of the cost anyway. It would be worth it for the warm fuzzy feelings.

 

[flem0061]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread. Did you ever do the caps on your Atoms? I just found a set and re-foamed them. I'm wondering if it's worth doing the caps before I put it all back together. If so, what'd you go with? Do you have pictures? Thanks,