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Should I be worried about this dust cap?

B

BB1986

New Member
Hello folks,
I'm looking to purchase my first set of proper audiophile speakers and have stumbled on some Monitor Audio MA800 Golds for a good price. However, one of the woofer dust caps seems to have some issues (See image attached).
It looks to me like the dust cap might need regluing, as it looks to be coming off the woofer. Would I be fine for a while playing at low volumes, or would it need immediate attention?
Would this be fixable by myself with some glue or would I need to take it for a service?

I'm also not really sure what that white substance is.
Could anyone give some advice? I'm not sure if this should be a deal breaker or not.

20250308_124848dustcapresidue.jpg
 
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Could be residue from a cleaner. Can you wipe it off?

The cap i would just glue down with a drop of aileens. Are they ported or sealed? If sealed it might be worth removing fully so you can glue it back in place without air leaks.
 
I haven't bought the speakers at the moment, but I would assume that the residue can probably be wiped off (and it doesn't bother me that much anyway).
These speakers are ported. I'm new to the speaker world, and know absolutely nothing about repairing electronics really. If this is something that I can glue down myself, then I think I'll buy them, but if I have to take it to a repair shop I'll pass.
Would I be able to create a sort of glue seal? Or would I have to get underneath the raised lip in this case?
 
What are we actually looking at? What brand? What model? What woofer? Is it a poly cone of some kind? Hopefully you have a wider shot to show.

You will soon learn that the more information you provide with your question, the better the response you'll get. Welcome!
 
I believe that the cone and dust cap/phase plug are both polypropylene. A little Aileen's clear glue in a glue syringe, carefully applied around the base of the plug where it attaches to the cone, should work well.

ETA: The white substance appears to be some sort of residue, perhaps from cleaning. Get a Q-Tip and see if it comes off. Should not affect the sound much if at all.
 
Looking at pics online of your speakers a lot of them look like your pic. Strange looking dust cap, seems to be a faux phase plug.
 
Hi guys, thanks for your input! Unfortunately info is scarce about these speakers, but I tend to believe that this is not a phase plug, but a bullet style dust cap.
I had a look at a review for the higher end MA1200, which gives the following information;
The lower registers are covered by a 6.5in mid/bass driver supported by a 6mm-thick diecast aluminium chassis. The cone piston is thermoformed from a polypropylene polymer, chosen by Monitor Audio for the combined virtues of temperature stability, adequate stiffness, self-damping properties and overall consistency. The outer surround is made from nitrile rubber.
I can only assume that the woofer for the MA800 is made of the same material, but the dust cap is bullet style rather than the flat type on the MA1200 and MA700 for some reason. (Or maybe I've got the model a bit wrong).

Here's a bigger image of the speakers themselves; (Monitor Audio MA800 Gold, 1988 - 1994 I believe).
20250305_154410.jpg
They appear to be in quite good condition apart from this dust cap issue.
 
Hey again folks, I've come across a review of these, which mentions the following;
The main driver has a 120mm plastic cone with integral phase plug, a cast frame and a big magnet, and was tightly bolted in place.
Now if starting to wonder if this is not actually a dust cap after all...
Would the regluing process still be the same?
 
It's a faux phase plug. A true phase plug is not attached to the cone and therefore does not move with the cone. The regluing, if actually needed, would be the same.
 
Yes, I see, looks like the phase plug goes through that hole in the cone, whereas the dust cap seems to be glued onto the cone itself.
You learn something new everyday!
 
BMWCCA said:
What are we actually looking at? What brand? What model? What woofer? Is it a poly cone of some kind? Hopefully you have a wider shot to show.

You will soon learn that the more information you provide with your question, the better the response you'll get. Welcome!
Click to expand...
The post says it’s the dust cap on the woofer from a pair of Monitor Audio 800 Golds and there’s a nice close-up photo of the issue. Not sure what other information you feel you need.

As an aside, OP, nothing to worry about. A thin bead of PVA around it will tidy it up, seal and gaps and dry clear, so will be barely visible if you have a steady hand.
 
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