• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Sansui Cloth Surround Restoration?

doctorolds

doctorolds

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
The question of whether or not a cloth Sansui surround can be restored to original condition has been raised again, and hopefully other members can share their wealth of knowledge in determining the answer.

Several members have noticed that the cloth surrounds on older Sansui woofers becomes very stiff after age. I believe that this may be causing the lack of bass produced from speakers that use the woofers with cloth surrounds.

The only solution that I have thought of would be to possibly try to remove the old sealant and use the sealant that is sold by vintage-ar on the eBay site. The results desired would be to soften the surround and make it more compliant while hopefully adding some more bass.

Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
 
Register to hide this ad
Is there is someone out there who is willing to donate a working, or even non-working driver for some surround experimentation?

Biggles
 
I just found a pair of SP-200's locally for $15 bux. They're rough and untested, so I'm trying to talk them down to 10 bux. If they're not suitable for restoration, we may have our test woofers!

Biggles
 
drbiggles said:
I just found a pair of SP-200's locally for $15 bux. They're rough and untested, so I'm trying to talk them down to 10 bux. If they're not suitable for restoration, we may have our test woofers!

Biggles
Click to expand...

That sounds good biggles. Let us know the outcome.
 
After spending some more time searching for and reading information relating to this topic, I have not found the answer.

It appears to me that some members have reported good results by replacing the old surround, and have determined that it may be the only method to regain the compliance of the original woofer.

So, is there a preferred chemical to strip the old sealant, and what should be used to re-seal the surround while keeping it soft?

Links that discuss the problem:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=483102
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=112466
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=338334
 
Thank you Doctorolds for your hard work in bringing similar information and getting it all here for us. I'm planning on enjoying this thread as it steams ahead.

No word on the SP-200's. They're still up for sale, but no response from the owners. Either way is fine, more will show up in my path for sure.

Biggles
 
doctorolds said:
Any member have a woofer they are willing to donate for testing purposes?
Click to expand...
If you become a subscriber you can post such a request in Barter Town. I became a subscriber mostly to help since it's not cheap running a website. Gets you access to other areas as well that are only available to subscribers.

In Barter Town you can place want ads, selling, barter, etc. No charge. Runs till they flush out the system, when ever that is.
 
Copa1934 said:
If you become a subscriber you can post such a request in Barter Town. I became a subscriber mostly to help since it's not cheap running a website. Gets you access to other areas as well that are only available to subscribers.

In Barter Town you can place want ads, selling, barter, etc. No charge. Runs till they flush out the system, when ever that is.
Click to expand...

I have been meaning to become a subscriber but funds have been quite low for the last year since my wife has not been working. I been selling off gear just to try and keep up with the bills. Things are getting better finally since has acquired a part time job. Happy New Year to all AK members!
 
I wanted to provide somewhat of an update since I have not sourced any woofers for experimentation. If you take a look at the pictures of the SP-2000 speakers on this website, it appears as if one or more drivers have been treated with the AR / KLH sealant we are familiar with. What do you think?

http://www.sansui.us/SP_4Digits.htm
 
Well, it was most certainly treated with something. I've never used the sealant, so I don't know. What I would like to know is whether they cleaned the old sealant up and out first, then applied new.

Biggles
 
Also, if you look at some of the other models on that page it appears as if they are treated too. Maybe this guy is hip to the stiff surrounds.
 
The page was last modified back in '06. Do you think the email address there is still active? Do you want to contact them, or should I shoot off a question?

Biggles
 
The email hasn't bounced, yet. So, hopefully it went through and made it through their spam filter. Cross yer fangers!

Biggles
 
  • Like
Reactions: trs
Since this thread is still sort of active and I have sought for years for the solution to this I will give this a shot. I just got a set of sansui sp-30's with stiff surrounds and no bass.

Toothbrush and acetone: soak the surrounds a couple times and work them from behind to make sure to break free the thick chunks of dope, then apply the AR sealant to the surrounds rather liberally (you want enough of the toluene in the AR sealant to soak into the pores of the fabric while the acetone has made re-amalgamated the old dope.) Worked beautifully and the woofers now have tons of compliance! Oh and what bass the tiny '30's do have is back!

Someone else try this please, worst thing that can happen is they revert back to rock hard and you have to cut them off and use foam surrounds (which I have done with success.)

EDIT: After trying superclean, lighter fuel, lacquer thinner, and alcohol, acetone was the only thing that worked to re-amalagate the surrounds...and it worked immediately upon application. I will give a report later this week to see if they are still supple.
 
Forgot to mention: try not to get the acetone where the surrounds attach to the cones else you might unglue them from the cone. It didn't happen to me, but if it does happen wait for them to dry and glue them back with the white elmers type speaker glue. Also, a 15-20hz test tone overnight will work wonders on the stiff spiders and your newly freed up surrounds!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom