The 60's all over again. Damaged horns
I finished most of the upgrades to my media system.
Some time ago, I realized my speakers were not producing high notes. I read article after article and forum post on the Altec speakers. There were some that referenced problems with the horns. Having read those too, I decoded to disassemble the horns and examine the diaphragms.
The leads/wires connecting the diaphagms to the mounting block, hence the reat of the system, were bent at right angles and breaks occur at the point where the bend occurs. This explained the absence of high notes.
I thought back to my history with the speakers and I could remember, at least a couple of times, when I may have played Jimi Hendrix CDs a litlle too loud, overdriving the system. That;s probably when the damage occured.
One of the articles I read in a forum dealt with one user's experience with the problem and his repair of the breaks.
I considered taking his approach, but after awihle, realized the wire and blob of solder he had added tro make the repair would change the frequency response of the horn. The added mass would increase the load on the diaphragm effectively slowing down the movement of the diaphragm.
There is at least one website by a company that speciaizes in speaker repair. Under there Miscellaneous heading was an entry for 'Lead Repair'. Today, I sent an email to inqure about repair of my diaphragms. I'm waiting on a response.
Repair of the originals is better than replacement since newer after market reproductions will will be expensive and not an exact match. If the company does not want to do the repairs, I'll have to order a set or attempt a repair of my own. If I attempt to repair the leads, I'll use a conductive eopxy instead of wire and solder to reduce the added load on the diaphragms.
I include photos of one of my horns' parts and a photo of the mentioned attempt by a forum member.
I just received a response from the speaker repair email. They declined with the note that their efforts at such repairs did not last long or were not successful from the start. I'm searchinf for suitable replacements at around one hundred dollars each.
Compression Driver Cap.
The Driver Cap Lifted.
Driver With Cap Removed Exposing Diaphragm Cover.
Diaphragm Under the Black Cap
The Forum User Repair Effort.
Some time ago, I realized my speakers were not producing high notes. I read article after article and forum post on the Altec speakers. There were some that referenced problems with the horns. Having read those too, I decoded to disassemble the horns and examine the diaphragms.
The leads/wires connecting the diaphagms to the mounting block, hence the reat of the system, were bent at right angles and breaks occur at the point where the bend occurs. This explained the absence of high notes.
I thought back to my history with the speakers and I could remember, at least a couple of times, when I may have played Jimi Hendrix CDs a litlle too loud, overdriving the system. That;s probably when the damage occured.
One of the articles I read in a forum dealt with one user's experience with the problem and his repair of the breaks.
I considered taking his approach, but after awihle, realized the wire and blob of solder he had added tro make the repair would change the frequency response of the horn. The added mass would increase the load on the diaphragm effectively slowing down the movement of the diaphragm.
There is at least one website by a company that speciaizes in speaker repair. Under there Miscellaneous heading was an entry for 'Lead Repair'. Today, I sent an email to inqure about repair of my diaphragms. I'm waiting on a response.
Repair of the originals is better than replacement since newer after market reproductions will will be expensive and not an exact match. If the company does not want to do the repairs, I'll have to order a set or attempt a repair of my own. If I attempt to repair the leads, I'll use a conductive eopxy instead of wire and solder to reduce the added load on the diaphragms.
I include photos of one of my horns' parts and a photo of the mentioned attempt by a forum member.
I just received a response from the speaker repair email. They declined with the note that their efforts at such repairs did not last long or were not successful from the start. I'm searchinf for suitable replacements at around one hundred dollars each.
Compression Driver Cap.
The Driver Cap Lifted.
Driver With Cap Removed Exposing Diaphragm Cover.
Diaphragm Under the Black Cap
The Forum User Repair Effort.
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