Pioneer CS-A500 newbie!

[Szithb]

Hi all!

I've been reading through these threads and it seems to be a brilliant source of information but some of it, as a complete newbie, is a bit above me. So I figured I'd make a new thread and see if anyone can explain is super simple terms what needs to be done.

Please bear in mind I do not live in the US, so some materials I'm not sure I can source here. I've contacted a local hi-fi shop for a quote, and savvy friends have checked out the speakers, but I'd like to keep it quite cost friendly!

OK so, down to brass tacks, I've inherited a pair of Pioneer CS-A500 speakers from my late father. I've seen here the critiques on them, but they have enormous sentimental value for me so I want to save them no matter what!
They work, but the tweeter foam is rotted. I've tried to YouTube Google how to refoam but it all assumes you have prior knowledge of how to repair speakers... Which I don't. Is it really as easy as it seems?
Secondly, we aren't actually sure the tweeters are working. I see they're for high frequency sounds, do you have a technique you'd recommend for testing them? We tried turning up treble and seeing if they'd vibrate but to no avail, maybe they're not supposed to?

Sorry if this seems completely uninformed, but that's exactly what it is. And any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

 

[TyroneL]

Hi, and welcome.

Refoam is relatively simple. The most important part is keeping everything centered as the glue dries. Some people remove the dust cap and put a shim around the voice coil. Others simply eyeball it and adjust as the glue dries, moving the cone in and out and listening for rubbing. For tweeters, I’d probably use a shim.

The hardest part is removing the old glue and foam. It’s messy, and often turns into a sticky black tar that gets on everything. Isopropyl alcohol is a good cleaner.

As far as testing function, I’d remove them and test separately. You should be able to hear something, or at least detect vibration. If not, the voice coil is shot, or the leads have come undone.

 

[OMGCat!]

I’d buy a cheap multimeter to test the tweeters. You can find pretty nice meters in eBay for $20. Having one will come in handy for all sorts of things.
As for refoaming, it really isn’t that hard. I have only done a few sets of speakers but they came out nicely even though I was worried the first time (was a pair of obsolete Kevlar mid ranges I was repairing for a friend).
Just do some reading, watch some videos and take your time. I don’t know that the tweeters will even need a shim as the spiders are pretty stiff. You can gently move the cone in and out as you stick down the foam to make sure it’s centered.