Speaker DIYers here?

[-=Rudy=-]

Just curious if anyone else here has built or repaired their own speakers. I've cobbled together a couple of crude systems over the years (mostly to hold old speakers laying around the house), but I've built two pair. I bought a few boxes of Philips drivers, and never really did much with them. (Had 8 each of 12" and 7" woofers.) One system I built was from used wood just to try out a cabinet size and vent length--they sounded decent, but not wanting to destroy my handiwork, I just kept them as-is and now use them in the garage. The subwoofer box in the car is probably the best thing I've made so far.

I do plan on building my own next set of speakers (might even go with a large ribbon driver), but recently I've refoamed a few pairs of Boston Acoustics speakers. I've done two pair of A40's and a pair of A60's. (The A60's are actually my computer speakers now. :D ) The UPS man will be bringing me two more repair kits--I have another A40 pair to fix, and I won a pair of A150s on eBay a few weeks back for $36/pair. (Shipping was a lot more, and the seller was padding it a bit...but I still can't complain!) I'm watching a pair of T930's right now....$100/pr., no bids so far. I'm not sure what I'll keep out of all these, but the A40's sure are handy to put sound into a spare room, or out on the deck.

[jroyen]

I've tried to build my own speakers in the past. Let me tell you, it's a lot harder than it looks. :)

[-=Rudy=-]

I actually need a better table saw and a router to take it up to the next level. The one I have in the car almost looks pro, except it's just bare uncovered MDF.

[indy mike]

Rudy, what specific Phillips drivers do you have? I have a few Phillips speaker manuals from back when I rolled my own (I farmed out the cabinetry to my dad and older brother). I might be able to get you some schematics; Phillips made some nice drivers in the good old days - their 1" domes were excellent and used by many companies...

[-=Rudy=-]

Shoot...I bought these back in the 80's, probably 1983 or so, and they were closeouts then. I'd have to find where I stored them and take a look.

My Grafyx SP10 speakers all had those round 3-hole dome tweeters: the speakers shipped with AD0162-8 tweeters. I sort of blew a couple (they just got 'rattly' when a lot of midrange was present--I think the crossovers are a bit low), and was able to replace them with, I think, an AD1624-8 (same tweeter but with ferrofluid). I'd always wanted to buy some AD0163-8's, which were the same but with soft domes instead of mylar.

Anything I build in the future needs large woofers. Something that will crack foundations. ;) Probably won't be until late in the year until I can do anything with it, though.

[indy mike]

Those 12" woofs from Phillips can do a nice job, but need a good sized box; seems as though they were designed for sealed enclosures if memory serves. I'd recommend mixing up some white glue/water doping material to stiffen up the cones - does a nice job extending the response a touch, and less cone flex. When you dig out those speakers shoot me some numbers... The tweeters sound as if they're crossed too low - I think anything below 2500 hz at 12db per octave slopes will eat those pups pretty quickly - I'd aim for 3K crossover points for those. The soft domes were less sizzly than the mylar ones...

[Claviusb]

Originally posted by Rudy@A&MCorner
Just curious if anyone else here has built or repaired their own speakers. I've cobbled together a couple of crude systems over the years (mostly to hold old speakers laying around the house), but I've built two pair. I bought a few boxes of Philips drivers, and never really did much with them. (Had 8 each of 12" and 7" woofers.) One system I built was from used wood just to try out a cabinet size and vent length--they sounded decent, but not wanting to destroy my handiwork, I just kept them as-is and now use them in the garage. The subwoofer box in the car is probably the best thing I've made so far.

I do plan on building my own next set of speakers (might even go with a large ribbon driver), but recently I've refoamed a few pairs of Boston Acoustics speakers. I've done two pair of A40's and a pair of A60's. (The A60's are actually my computer speakers now. :D ) The UPS man will be bringing me two more repair kits--I have another A40 pair to fix, and I won a pair of A150s on eBay a few weeks back for $36/pair. (Shipping was a lot more, and the seller was padding it a bit...but I still can't complain!) I'm watching a pair of T930's right now....$100/pr., no bids so far. I'm not sure what I'll keep out of all these, but the A40's sure are handy to put sound into a spare room, or out on the deck.

Rudy, I owned a pair of A40's that I sent to my brother (who lives in the 'burbs of Detroit.) Unfortunately the foam had rotted on both and he hasn't had them repaired. I loved the sound of those speakers, though. How much is it for the foam for those? I should tell him to just repair them himself.

[-=Rudy=-]

Originally posted by indy mike
Those 12" woofs from Phillips can do a nice job, but need a good sized box; seems as though they were designed for sealed enclosures if memory serves.

Philips, unfortunately, quit selling aftermarket speakers many years ago...I'd love to get ahold of another set of the tweeters just for spares. Fortunately, I have plenty of amp power and don't crank them up like I used to, and the current tweets have lasted a long time.

Not sure about the woofers, if they're the same ones you're thinking of. When I bought them, they were only $12.50 ea. Rubber surrounds, paper cone...could be the same! Problem is, they've taken a "set" to where the cones sit too far into the basket. The spider has deformed somewhat in all of them. It doesn't take much to bottom them out at that rate. I'm not keen on changing the cone unless I had a test system to measure the parameters of the speaker after it's modified (since somewhere I have the specs for these).

The little 7" woofers are in an octagonal-shaped frame, rubber surrounds, and a phase plug instead of a dust cap. They're definitely not high volume, but they're smooth for what they do. And I was able to convert an old Realistic pair of acoustic suspension speakers w/ 8" cones over to these Philips woofers, turning it into a vented system, and they sound quite good considering the cheap price.

[-=Rudy=-]

Originally posted by Claviusb


Rudy, I owned a pair of A40's that I sent to my brother (who lives in the 'burbs of Detroit.) Unfortunately the foam had rotted on both and he hasn't had them repaired. I loved the sound of those speakers, though. How much is it for the foam for those? I should tell him to just repair them himself.

Depends on where you buy them--for 6-1/2", they probably average about $18-20 for a repair kit, plus shipping. One kit fixes a pair, and kits include a pair of foam surrounds, glue and swabs; others throw in voice coil shims and replacement dust caps. Instructions included also, and some places even throw in a videotape. If you go to eBay and search for "Boston" under the speakers category, some of these vendors sell these kits as Buy It Now items.

Rudy even put his own experience online, HERE (http://www.amcorner.com/gallery/showgallery.php?action=viewexhibit&gallery=boston_a60).

I have bought a couple of repair kits from Parts Express in Ohio, but to buy a single set of foam surrounds from them is expensive...they charge me over $8 to ship it to the 'burbs of Detroit. (They do have retail shops in Ohio...tempted to take a trip down there.) If I order from there, I try to order a few more things...a lot of their accessories are a lot lower priced than your local Radio Shack, so I don't feel so bad paying the higher shipping fee if I can make a decent order out of it. http://www.partsexpress.com

I just ordered my latest surrounds from Speaker Works Northwest ( http://www.speakerworks.net ) in Oregon. The price for a kit is $19; two kits $34, and three are $46...with shipping just under $5.

In addition to 'generic' kits that fit many systems, these companies also sell repair kits for specific models, like the Advents (with and without the fiberboard ring), Cerwin Vega (in red), and a complete set of eighteen surrounds for a Bose 901.

The only caveat: I found it a little more difficult to work on the 6-1/2" woofers. The 8" was a little easier since I could feel where the woofer's suspension was centered. On the 6-1/2" it was more vague. My first 6-1/2" pair ended up with a voice coil rub on one of the speakers. :sigh: The second pair I tried to do with voice coil shims, but the shims were too thick. I finally something here that was thinner. I'm not happy with the replacement dustcaps, though--Parts Express ships paper and plastic dustcaps. The caps on the Bostons are a transparent fabric. I noticed the A40s with the paper dustcaps sound very slightly shrill at higher volumes. Not noticeable unless you know to listen for it. The Series II woofers are also more difficult since you need to trim the surround foam to fit the indent in the basket.

The A40's are still great little speakers after all these years. If you can pick up an ailing pair on eBay for about $25 (plus shipping), and get a repair kit for it, they're really a bargain. My last A40s I bought from an eBay seller here in the area, and paid only $22. (He'd bought the to repair and resell, but ended up getting a pair of Ohm speakers instead.) The A60's aren't bad, but the first generation used paper cone tweeters, which definitely aren't as clear.

[Gary]

Does rewiring your speakers count?

No?

Oh well.... I'll tell you about it anyway! :p

Theory is if you have speaker cables that you love - like Kimber - buy three more feet and rewire the INSIDES of your speakers with the same cable. Why have expensive cable to the speakers and then ***** inside? I've done this to four pairs of speakers - worked every time!

Older speakers may have a tendency to have poor quality wire on the insides.

Even the :nauga: say :thumbsup: . ;)

[jeff e.]

Originally posted by Rudy@A&MCorner


The A40's are still great little speakers after all these years. If you can pick up an ailing pair on eBay for about $25 (plus shipping), and get a repair kit for it, they're really a bargain. My last A40s I bought from an eBay seller here in the area, and paid only $22. (He'd bought the to repair and resell, but ended up getting a pair of Ohm speakers instead.) The A60's aren't bad, but the first generation used paper cone tweeters, which definitely aren't as clear.

I picked up a pair of Boston A60's (Series II) at a thrift store for $25 a few weeks ago. Very nice little speakers. The woofer surrounds both look good as new--either the previous owner had them refoamed or else ordered replacement drivers from Boston. They do indeed have the fabric dust caps on them. Just the other day at a pawn shop, I saw a pair of A70's for $45 and a pair of A100's for $100. These are the same design in much larger cabinets and the woofers on both pairs had obviously been refoamed. Has anyone had any experience with these? I'm wondering what it would sound like to "stack" two pairs of Bostons.

[jeff e.]

Originally posted by Rudy@A&MCorner


The A40's are still great little speakers after all these years. If you can pick up an ailing pair on eBay for about $25 (plus shipping), and get a repair kit for it, they're really a bargain. My last A40s I bought from an eBay seller here in the area, and paid only $22. (He'd bought the to repair and resell, but ended up getting a pair of Ohm speakers instead.) The A60's aren't bad, but the first generation used paper cone tweeters, which definitely aren't as clear.

I picked up a pair of Boston A60's at a thrift store for $25 a few weeks ago. Very nice little speakers. The woofer surrounds both look good as new--either the previous owner had them refoamed or else ordered replacement drivers from Boston. They do indeed have the fabric dust caps on them. Just the other day at a thrift store, I saw a pair of A70's for $45 and a pair of A100's for $100. These are the same design in much larger cabinets. Has anyone had any experience with these? I'm wondering what it would sound like to "stack" two pairs of Bostons.

[-=Rudy=-]

Nauga-Gary: yes, rewiring speakers would count...as long as the wire was soldered and not wrapped around some terminals. ;) (That's how I used to do it as a kid...knew how to solder, but was too lazy.) Most of what I've seen in speakers is just your standard "hookup wire", single-conductor colored wiring. Even some good 12 gauge Monster Cable (which I have a reel of) would improve things, as long as I could find some spade connectors that would fit the speaker.

Those spade connectors could be another weak link as well. The wire could be soldered right to the terminals. More inconvenient, with the chance that you'd unsolder the voice coil leads if you heated up things too much...but how often do you disassemble a speaker anyway?

Jeff E: right now, I have my A60s and A40s stacked...just because the 40s were in my way elsewhere. The only advantage is that my A60s have the paper cone tweeters and the A40s the mylar, so the high end is a little better. The 40's, though, were just a little less efficient.

The A100s for $100 is not a bad deal, especially if the cabinets are nice. That would get you a two-way system with a 10" woofer. The A60 and A70 both have the 8" woofer, and if you're talking about the original "A" series, the A70 would get you the better tweeter, not to mention a bigger cabinet. (I don't know whether the cabinets use different 8" woofers...but I would think they did, since the different cabinet sizes would require different driver parameters.) The A150s are like a taller version of the A100, but with a 5" midrange driver. I'm very anxious to play these beasts--I can't use them right now with the damaged surrounds.

Very likely your A60s were refoamed or replaced. The A70s from the thrift shop, if in good condition, could probably fetch twice that amount on eBay. ;)