• 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

Vintage Janszen Z-600 Refurbish Job

inflaymes

inflaymes

New Member
I've been refurbishing some speakers the last few months, including my old Paisley AE500, Polk Audio A100, and most recently Janszen Z600 (pictured). The Polk Audio and Janszen were given to me free of charge.

One question I had was, I noticed the driver on one was breaking up a bit (farting/distorting) slightly, while the other was not. I thought the cone might be rubbing so I took off the dust cap and found a clay ring around the cone...I also found the same thing in another z600 speaker I have that is in worse shape. I took the clay out of the one pictured and it seems to have helped a bit. Does clay even help?? I'm thinking people liked to tinker back then and this was a mod to help dampen some frequencies? The speaker cone isn't rubbing but sounds like it is as I push the cone in. The other speaker makes no noise when I push the cone in. Is the speaker not centered right or could it just be stiffer because of the cloth surround (which is original red while the other is newer black cloth) They both work and sound good as do the electrostatic speakers. When I had them apart, the crossovers looked brand new, so I didn't touch them at all. Any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated as I can't find much info on the speakers other than talking with David Janszen a couple times.

Janszen Z600

Janszen Z600

  • Media owner inflaymes
  • Date added
Refurbished by me.
 
Register to hide this ad
Clay would also increase the woofer's mass. Janzen may have used clay to tune the woofer to a certain frequency. When mass is added, the spider can get a workout. I have found woofers with a very loose (easy to move) spider that kept the VC centered, but it allowed the VC to bottom out much too easily. If the magnetic gap is short, and the spider is weak, the woofer could distort at relatively low volumes. Nowadays it is next to impossible to compare your old woofer with a new one. You could put the speaker under test and compare -3dB points with the specs. If the -3dB is lower than the spec, the spider is too loose.
 
Well, here is what I did. I looked inside the cone and saw that the copper coil was pushed up a bit from the rest of the coil. I took a toothpick and gently pushed a couple coils back down so they met the rest. Seems to have worked for now. Unconventional, but crafty!
 
Hi - I just saw your post above. Did you finish refurbishing your Z-600s? I'm having what might be a similar problem with one of mine. I'll check the clay. Did you by any chance recap yours?
 
I never recapped them. They looked in pristine condition when I inspected everything.


LawArk said:
Hi - I just saw your post above. Did you finish refurbishing your Z-600s? I'm having what might be a similar problem with one of mine. I'll check the clay. Did you by any chance recap yours?
Click to expand...
 
I have a pair of JansZen Z-600A speakers. I have replaced the "silicon rectifier" (regulating diode) with three 1N4007 diodes in series, AND they are in with the correct polarity. I understand that the schematic pictures it incorrectly. I replaced the 40uF caps. This is where the 600 and the 600A differs. On the rear plate, it clearly states
4 Ohm. At any rate, I energized each power supply and checked the VDC at 1052 vdc and 1024 vdc respectively. This tells me that the diodes are operating correctly.

I verified all of the remaining wiring with the schematic, including measuring four 22 mohm resistors supplying DC voltage to the tweeters (two for the left and two for the right). After hooking up everything to a receiver, I essentially have NO tweeters operating in either channel. I now suspect that the secondary transformer is suspect in both speakers. From what I've read, this is also a common failure point with these.

I'm hoping someone out there might have some suggestions. I'm going to try and test the secondary transformer by inputting a signal and checking the response on the secondaries. If they are bad, then what? I am hoping there may be a modern fix to this problem such as bi-polar audio grade capacitors.
 
I have a pair of z400's, inherited from my brother who bought them brand new way back when.
The electrostatic elements have been damaged and need to be rewired?
I really loved the high frequency response of these speakers, however the woofer seems quite anemic for a 12"
Does anyone know of a good repair tech for these speakers?
 
inflaymes said:
I've been refurbishing some speakers the last few months, including my old Paisley AE500, Polk Audio A100, and most recently Janszen Z600 (pictured). The Polk Audio and Janszen were given to me free of charge.

One question I had was, I noticed the driver on one was breaking up a bit (farting/distorting) slightly, while the other was not. I thought the cone might be rubbing so I took off the dust cap and found a clay ring around the cone...I also found the same thing in another z600 speaker I have that is in worse shape. I took the clay out of the one pictured and it seems to have helped a bit. Does clay even help?? I'm thinking people liked to tinker back then and this was a mod to help dampen some frequencies? The speaker cone isn't rubbing but sounds like it is as I push the cone in. The other speaker makes no noise when I push the cone in. Is the speaker not centered right or could it just be stiffer because of the cloth surround (which is original red while the other is newer black cloth) They both work and sound good as do the electrostatic speakers. When I had them apart, the crossovers looked brand new, so I didn't touch them at all. Any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated as I can't find much info on the speakers other than talking with David Janszen a couple times
Click to expand...
 
After I removed the dust cap I turned her face down in rotation pushing down the cone out with the bad air in with the good until she freed up and coughed up the debris .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom