Can these be fixed?

[icebook1]

My dad has a set of two "bookshelf speakers" that we've had hooked up in our family room for ages. Recently, I noticed that the bass (and any mids, too) were sounding pretty fuzzy and generally nasty.

Yesterday I took 'em apart and here's what I found.

They're Infinity RS 2000s, and we think they're about 15ish years old. The highs still sound good, but as you can see, the foam on the mid/woofer has separated. Is it worth it to replace the mid/woofer cones, or should we junk these and buy new speakers?

 

[Footer]

the only way to repair that, and its tough to do, is to go buy some RTV (silicone) and work it into the foam. Its at least worth a shot.

 

[BillESC]

Here a link to an Infinity RS 2000 foam repair kit on eBay.

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://...rx0AAAAAAAAAAA&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=result&cd=1

 

[JPcrew109]

Hey Bill you forgot to post teh link

 

[BillESC]

Hey Bill you forgot to post teh link

The link I posted works for me...

 

[icebook1]

Hmm. It might be worth a shot. Do you think they'll sound OK once I re-foam them? The highs are really crisp and sound excellent, so I'm hoping that the physical cones are OK and it's just the foam.

 

[Footer]

For that cheap its worth a try, and if not at least you learned something.

 

[pattrick1]

I too had the same problem with some 15-20 year old bose bookshelf speakers... never even thought about trying to fix them, but they are still sitting the basement. I think mine are worse than yours as the foam is actualy missing now, I don't have all of it.
Let us know how the repairs go...
Patrick T

 

[BenjaminD]

There is a relatively simple fix for this problem. It's very common in speakers as the get older—it's called foam rot. I had the same problem with a 20 year old pair of Boston speakers, I ordered a repair kit and spent some time with rubbing alcohol, a razor blade, and the kit. The kit worked wonderfully well, and the speakers sound as good as they did originally. They are now in use in a school classroom and get heavy daily use.

Simply Speakers offers a good repair kit for a decent price. You need to be very exact in measuring the dimesions of the cone though—it may be a good idea to saturate the foam with rubbing alcohol (to weaken the adhesive) and use a razor to get off the old foam BEFORE ordering the kit (more specific directons are on the website), as measurements can be down to 8ths of an inch or so—and the wrong size foam won't fit. You can order the kit from here:
http://simplyspeakers.com/2doityourself.htm

It's not that hard of a process, and if the speakers are any good, then it is definately worth it. If you do a good job, the speakers will work perfectly until the foam rots again—another 15-20 years.