[izquierdaste]

I just found a really nice mint pair of Acoustic Research AR-7s on craigslist. The problem is that the woofers have never been refoamed and they are 30 years old now. There is a kit on ebay. This kit is listed under AR-& on ebay, but I assume it is really just a generic kit:

http://cgi.ebay.com/AR7-Speaker-Foam...QQcmdZViewItem

Do you think these will work ok for me? Is it hard to refoam? Should I look for a better kit? TheAR-7s actually sound good without the foam, but hopefully will improve.

Thanks for any help

 

[Electro Point]

Replacing the surrounds on the woofers is not that difficult of a process to do.
All it needs is patients and time to get it right.
That kit does include about everything you need to replace the surrounds with exception of some tools, but its missing one important thing which is new dust caps. Since when you install new foam surrounds on the woofer you have to center the cone and voice coil with the shims. Now to get to it you need to remove the dust cap and you'll probably won't be able to save the dust cap for re-use.
You should look for a different kit that includes the dust caps compared to this one.

 

[izquierdaste]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electro Point /img/forum/go_quote.gif Replacing the surrounds on the woofers is not that difficult of a process to do. All it needs is patients and time to get it right. That kit does include about everything you need to replace the surrounds with exception of some tools, but its missing one important thing which is new dust caps. Since when you install new foam surrounds on the woofer you have to center the cone and voice coil with the shims. Now to get to it you need to remove the dust cap and you'll probably won't be able to save the dust cap for re-use. You should look for a different kit that includes the dust caps compared to this one.

Thanks for the reply. Is speaker foam pretty generic then? Will it matter if I use foam that is different than the original? Thanks again

 

[nelamvr6]

There are a lot of places that sell kits, including Parts Express. Just do a search for "speaker surround repair" and you'll see a bunch of hits.

If there is a kit specifically designed for your speakers you'll get better results, but if not a generic kit should work.

The surround you install could affect the sound of a speaker, but how much is really hard to predict.

Chances are that if your speakers are old enough to need new surrounds then they were probably not designed with surrounds that were very esoteric. Of course, that's a pretty broad generalization, but it's better to repair the surrounds that to just chuck the speakers anyways, right?

 

[mrarroyo]

I have use Orange County Reconer in the past and very happy with their service. Check them out at: http://speakerrepair.com/

 

[izquierdaste]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have use Orange County Reconer in the past and very happy with their service. Check them out at: http://speakerrepair.com/

Thanks to everyone for the help. I'm going to try to do it myself. It should be fun to learn how to restore speakers. Besides I' don't want to spend more on the re-foam than on the speakers.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Go for it! Repairing the foam is one of those tasks that is much more labor than skill. Nothing particularly difficult, but it'll take time.

 

[SiBurning]

Very easy to do. Very easy to screw up too. The hard part is stuff like making sure the large round piece of foam is perfectly straight as you glue it, or making sure the paper cylinder that sits around the magnet is perfectly aligned. Yeah, I blew it doing it the first time and the speakers buzzed when played loud. Then again, you can always redo it. Maybe practise makes perfect.

 

[izquierdaste]

If any one else needs a kit, there is a substantial discount for two kits (about $17 shipped instead of $25). If you are interested in a joint order, pm me for details before Monday.

Thanks