Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: BusDriver on February 10, 2017, 07:19:17 PM
-
When having to replace damaged speaker surrounds, what material to use ? Foam, rubber or impregnated paper ? Current material is rotting foam, but they appear to have been replaced already, and I'm not sure of original surround material.
Speakers are AR 50c, early 80's, said to be the 'newer' version of the AR 3's. I could not find the original material specified through various searches. In the long run, how much difference in performance will a 'stiffer' paper surround make over a foam replacement ? Raymonda ??
-
Substitute materials will work, but you want to try and find the same material as was used originally to retain the same mechanical termination impedance so as not to adversely affect the speaker's performance. Generally, the foam used in replacement surrounds has been improved should not rot like the original 80's stuff. If you are unable to find replacement surrounds specific to that particular driver, you may be able to find a generic replacement version which should work as long as the dimensions are close.
I replaced rotted foam surrounds on a number of 80's Infinity speakers with new foam surrounds back in the mid-90's and those on my personal pair are still in good shape today, although I haven't used those speakers in a decade or so. Doing so wasn't difficult. You do need to make sure the voice coil is properly centered in the gap so it won't rub prior to gluing the new surrounds in place.