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Speaker Rattle

buckeye56

buckeye56

Active Member
My EPI 100 speakers, which I've had since '81 or '82, produce a rattling sound (mostly when bass is coming through) regardless if I'm listening to the radio, playing CDs or vinyl. They are located on top of bookshelves and the bass dial is actually set to around 2-1/2.

Any ideas on easy fixes (for someone who didn't excel in h.s. physics) or what causes this?

As always, thanks!
 
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Mine began to rattle, and as I mentioned in one of my threads, just needed refoaming. The foam fell apart as I took them out. This MAY be your issue, but it could be something else of course.
 
buckeye56 said:
How do I get to the woofer? I've never opened them.
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Post pics of the speakers. Unscrew the back of the speakers. You’ll See the woofer. Should be screws holding the woofers in place. Unscrew those. Check and see if there is full contact of the foam of the woofers to the cones. Foam is the rubber/foam ring surrounding the cone. See if the cone is still attached to the ring. Do all this while unplugged from your receiver/pre-amp/turntable of course.
 
Madeline12 said:
Post pics of the speakers. Unscrew the back of the speakers. You’ll See the woofer. Should be screws holding the woofers in place. Unscrew those. Check and see if there is full contact of the foam of the woofers to the cones. Foam is the rubber/foam ring surrounding the cone. See if the cone is still attached to the ring. Do all this while unplugged from your receiver/pre-amp/turntable of course.
Click to expand...

OMG, lol.
 
buckeye56 said:
So much easier if someone could come to my apt. and do this! :)
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It’s not too hard actually. I refoamed speakers only once and it was a success. It sounds daunting, but just use Aleene’s Tacky glue, and pick up some foam-rubber rings designated for woofers online. It may be meticulous, as you need to ensure the cone is centered. But it’s indeed possible. Measure the diameter of your woofers first.

buckeye56 said:
So how did you fix this?
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You would fix it as I described.
 
Madeline12 said:
It’s not too hard actually. I refoamed speakers only once and it was a success. It sounds daunting, but just use Aleene’s Tacky glue, and pick up some foam-rubber rings designated for woofers online. It may be meticulous, as you need to ensure the cone is centered. But it’s indeed possible. Measure the diameter of your woofers first.



You would fix it as I described.
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Where'd you get the rubber rings?
 
If you contact a place such as Simply Speakers all you need to do is tell them what woofers you need to re-foam and they'll sell you the correct foam surrounds. They even include the glue.
 
Everyone seems to have jumped to the conclusion that these need re-foaming but the OP hasn't looked at them yet - that would be the first step.
According to this website: http://www.humanspeakers.com/e/epi100.htm some versions had rubber surrounds, not foam. Unfortunately, some versions had grilles which weren't easily removable.
It's possible that the rattle is due to something else but a visual inspection of the cones/surrounds is definitely needed.
 
rothwellaudio said:
Everyone seems to have jumped to the conclusion that these need re-foaming but the OP hasn't looked at them yet - that would be the first step.
According to this website: http://www.humanspeakers.com/e/epi100.htm some versions had rubber surrounds, not foam. Unfortunately, some versions had grilles which weren't easily removable.
It's possible that the rattle is due to something else but a visual inspection of the cones/surrounds is definitely needed.
Click to expand...
Didn’t mean to come to a conclusion, just tried to help OP IF this was the cause. Just suggested it in case.
 
On AK...

What is this jumping to conclusions of which you speak:D

rothwellaudio said:
Everyone seems to have jumped to the conclusion that these need re-foaming but the OP hasn't looked at them yet - that would be the first step.
According to this website: http://www.humanspeakers.com/e/epi100.htm some versions had rubber surrounds, not foam. Unfortunately, some versions had grilles which weren't easily removable.
It's possible that the rattle is due to something else but a visual inspection of the cones/surrounds is definitely needed.
Click to expand...

I can see no logical reason at all why someone would want to offer simple step-by-step advice

Other than everyone stay off my lawn

:D
 
Madeline12 said:
Post pics of the speakers. Unscrew the back of the speakers. You’ll See the woofer. Should be screws holding the woofers in place. Unscrew those.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure every EPI model uses front-mounted drivers, certainly every one I've ever owned or seen did.

At any rate, the grill is just held on with velcro, you should be able to carefully pull it off. Since you've owned these since new, I'm about 98% sure that you need to replace the foam. it's not hard to do; in fact, EPI speakers are probably some of the easiest. There are plenty of videos on Youtube that demonstrate how.
 
swechsler said:
Pretty sure every EPI model uses front-mounted drivers, certainly every one I've ever owned or seen did.
Click to expand...

Not familiar with those, but I know a few different speakers I’ve encountered had screws in the back. That’s why I requested pics. But thank you for clarifying this for the OP. :)
 
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