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#1
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My monitor died
I've got a pair of old Tannoy PBM-8's which I like for mixing. I've had them
for about 15 years. Today one of them blew, from very little level. There's a circumference of foam around the periphery of the woofer, and it is this foam that has a nice tear. My questions - 1. What's with the foam? Isn't it obvious that it will degrade with exposure to air over time? 2. What can be done to repair it? 3. Once repaired, won't the two montiors be different sounding? Steve Holt INNER MUSIC Music Creation & Production http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steveholt http://www.inner-music.com |
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#2
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My monitor died
Steve Holt wrote:
I've got a pair of old Tannoy PBM-8's which I like for mixing. I've had them for about 15 years. Today one of them blew, from very little level. There's a circumference of foam around the periphery of the woofer, and it is this foam that has a nice tear. My questions - 1. What's with the foam? Isn't it obvious that it will degrade with exposure to air over time? 2. What can be done to repair it? 3. Once repaired, won't the two montiors be different sounding? Foam is a lot more reliable today than it was a decade ago. The same thing that caused sticky-shed syndrome on tapes also causes degradation of older urethane surrounds. If you send the driver back to Tannoy, they should be able to replace the surround and it should be up to the original factory specs. Then you can compare it with your other speaker and decide if that is still up to original specs or not. Don't go with a third-party reconing place; if you use anything other than the original foam, the driver parameters definitely will change a lot. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
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#3
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My monitor died
If you send the driver back to Tannoy, they should be able to replace the surround and it should be up to the original factory specs. Then you can compare it with your other speaker and decide if that is still up to original specs or not. My only caveat here is that you may want to get both repaired at the same time, if the other speaker is also the same age/vintage. What one has seen, so has the other. Regardless, the if one were repaired, then there might be differences with the old one anyway, even if it does look fine. Considering that it looks like these are in a studio control room situation, I'd want them both the same. Best regards, John |
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#4
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My monitor died
3. Once repaired, won't the two montiors be different
sounding? Steve Holt INNER MUSIC I'd go with either getting both re-surrounded or think about looking for newer monitors. I'm of the opinion, not supported by any facts I can lay my hands on, that speakers simply age and should probably be replaced every 15 years or so anyway. Mechanical components don't always age the same way, but age they do. It may be worth the dollars to get both of yours redone and still look for different monitors. Besides, it's always fun (and time consuming) to go back through your mixes with new monitors and see what you missed! g -- Roger W. Norman SirMusic Studio Purchase your copy of the Fifth of RAP CD set at www.recaudiopro.net. See how far $20 really goes. "Steve Holt" wrote in message .. . I've got a pair of old Tannoy PBM-8's which I like for mixing. I've had them for about 15 years. Today one of them blew, from very little level. There's a circumference of foam around the periphery of the woofer, and it is this foam that has a nice tear. My questions - 1. What's with the foam? Isn't it obvious that it will degrade with exposure to air over time? 2. What can be done to repair it? Music Creation & Production http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steveholt http://www.inner-music.com |
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#5
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My monitor died
"Steve Holt" wrote in message
I've got a pair of old Tannoy PBM-8's which I like for mixing. I've had them for about 15 years. Today one of them blew, from very little level. There's a circumference of foam around the periphery of the woofer, and it is this foam that has a nice tear. Unfortunately, that isn't sufficient to fully explain why your speaker blew. IOW fixing the tear isn't going to be a 100% solution to your problem. My questions - 1. What's with the foam? It's called the "surround". It's part of what suspends your woofer cone so it can move. Isn't it obvious that it will degrade with exposure to air over time? Yes, but there are technical advantages to using foam. designers who use the foam say things like "nothing lasts forever". 2. What can be done to repair it? There are such things as "refoaming" kits. 3. Once repaired, won't the two monitors be different sounding? In particular, fixing a cracked or torn surround can't be expected to bring your speaker back to life. Odds are good that your woofer has problems in and about the voice coil. Total replacement of at least the woofer driver is indicated. Talk to Tannoy about your situation, they may have a fix. |
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#6
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My monitor died
I have had this problem with me Infinity speakers (12") as well as one
of the 12" in speakers in my guitar cab. When they get old this surround tends to just disintegrate. Any good speaker shop should have the ability to replace this. If one goes you should replace both as the other one probably won't be far behind. It was explained to me that this should not change the sound but I can not vouch for that. I did not notice any change in the sound when I had these repairs done. -Rob Steve Holt wrote: I've got a pair of old Tannoy PBM-8's which I like for mixing. I've had them for about 15 years. Today one of them blew, from very little level. There's a circumference of foam around the periphery of the woofer, and it is this foam that has a nice tear. My questions - 1. What's with the foam? Isn't it obvious that it will degrade with exposure to air over time? 2. What can be done to repair it? 3. Once repaired, won't the two montiors be different sounding? Steve Holt INNER MUSIC Music Creation & Production http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steveholt http://www.inner-music.com |
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#7
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My monitor died
"Roger W. Norman" wrote:
3. Once repaired, won't the two montiors be different sounding? Keep a pair a pair, the foam on the other unit is no less degraded. Steve Holt I'd go with either getting both re-surrounded or think about looking for newer monitors. Hmmm ... I'm of the opinion, not supported by any facts I can lay my hands on, that speakers simply age and should probably be replaced every 15 years or so anyway. Mechanical components don't always age the same way, but age they do. There is a huge "depends" here. Some white paper cones, like the ones previously used by Lowther and Coral - Lowther still exists, but their products may have changed in all kinds of ways and what applied 20+ years ago may not apply today - go yellowish and hard when exposed to too much direct sunlight, and may require a reconing for that reason, but other old specimens that have "just aged" without the additional UV decay may be excellent. It may be worth the dollars to get both of yours redone and still look for different monitors. I wholeheartedly agree. Not that I want to replace my stuff, but because loudspeaker playing style changes over time as designs change and the new listeners out there listen on stuff designed according to the fashion style of this decade. Besides, it's always fun (and time consuming) to go back through your mixes with new monitors and see what you missed! g Hmmm ... Purchase your copy of the Fifth of RAP CD set at www.recaudiopro.net. See how far $20 really goes. Kind regards Peter Larsen -- ************************************************** *********** * My site is at: http://www.muyiovatki.dk * ************************************************** *********** |
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#8
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My monitor died
"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
... Steve Holt wrote: I've got a pair of old Tannoy PBM-8's which I like for mixing. I've had them for about 15 years. Today one of them blew, from very little level. There's a circumference of foam around the periphery of the woofer, and it is this foam that has a nice tear. My questions - 1. What's with the foam? Isn't it obvious that it will degrade with exposure to air over time? 2. What can be done to repair it? 3. Once repaired, won't the two montiors be different sounding? Foam is a lot more reliable today than it was a decade ago. The same thing that caused sticky-shed syndrome on tapes also causes degradation of older urethane surrounds. If you send the driver back to Tannoy, they should be able to replace the surround and it should be up to the original factory specs. Then you can compare it with your other speaker and decide if that is still up to original specs or not. Don't go with a third-party reconing place; if you use anything other than the original foam, the driver parameters definitely will change a lot. --scott The shipping charges to Tannoy are ridiculous, and anyway they said that they can only replace the entire driver, not just the foam. So my local music shop tech says he can get the drivers from Tannoy and do the job, and that it's "just four screws" to do the job. My question is - if I let the local guy do it, does he just remove the old and slide in the new? Is it idiot-proof? Or might I end up with something that is not what I had before? Or worse, ONE of what I had before and ONE that is not. He does not have the gear necessary to check the specs once the job is done. What should I do? Steve Holt INNER MUSIC Music Creation & Production http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steveholt http://www.inner-music.com |
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#9
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My monitor died
Steve Holt wrote:
The shipping charges to Tannoy are ridiculous, and anyway they said that they can only replace the entire driver, not just the foam. So my local music shop tech says he can get the drivers from Tannoy and do the job, and that it's "just four screws" to do the job. My question is - if I let the local guy do it, does he just remove the old and slide in the new? Is it idiot-proof? Or might I end up with something that is not what I had before? Or worse, ONE of what I had before and ONE that is not. He does not have the gear necessary to check the specs once the job is done. What should I do? It's really just four screws, and you can do it yourself rather than paying the local pro audio place to do it. Just be careful with the screwdriver in the strong magnetic field... the magnet will tend to pull it around and you can find yourself tearing through the foam if you aren't careful with it. If you are going to replace, replace both of the drivers so that they really do match. Send me the old ones because I am trying to learn to rebuild drivers right now and if I manage to fix them I'll send them back. So far I have not been very good, though. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
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#12
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My monitor died
"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message ... Steve Holt wrote: The shipping charges to Tannoy are ridiculous, and anyway they said that they can only replace the entire driver, not just the foam. So my local music shop tech says he can get the drivers from Tannoy and do the job, and that it's "just four screws" to do the job. My question is - if I let the local guy do it, does he just remove the old and slide in the new? Is it idiot-proof? Or might I end up with something that is not what I had before? Or worse, ONE of what I had before and ONE that is not. He does not have the gear necessary to check the specs once the job is done. What should I do? It's really just four screws, and you can do it yourself rather than paying the local pro audio place to do it. Just be careful with the screwdriver in the strong magnetic field... the magnet will tend to pull it around and you can find yourself tearing through the foam if you aren't careful with it. If you are going to replace, replace both of the drivers so that they really do match. Send me the old ones because I am trying to learn to rebuild drivers right now and if I manage to fix them I'll send them back. So far I have not been very good, though. --scott If you want to pay the shipping, you can have them both. One of them is still good, and you're welcome to keep them. Steve Holt INNER MUSIC Music Creation & Production http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steveholt http://www.inner-music.com |
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#13
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My monitor died
Steve Holt wrote:
"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message ... Steve Holt wrote: I've got a pair of old Tannoy PBM-8's which I like for mixing. I've had them for about 15 years. Today one of them blew, from very little level. There's a circumference of foam around the periphery of the woofer, and it is this foam that has a nice tear. My questions - 1. What's with the foam? Isn't it obvious that it will degrade with exposure to air over time? 2. What can be done to repair it? 3. Once repaired, won't the two montiors be different sounding? Foam is a lot more reliable today than it was a decade ago. The same thing that caused sticky-shed syndrome on tapes also causes degradation of older urethane surrounds. If you send the driver back to Tannoy, they should be able to replace the surround and it should be up to the original factory specs. Then you can compare it with your other speaker and decide if that is still up to original specs or not. Don't go with a third-party reconing place; if you use anything other than the original foam, the driver parameters definitely will change a lot. --scott The shipping charges to Tannoy are ridiculous, and anyway they said that they can only replace the entire driver, not just the foam. So my local music shop tech says he can get the drivers from Tannoy and do the job, and that it's "just four screws" to do the job. My question is - if I let the local guy do it, does he just remove the old and slide in the new? Is it idiot-proof? Or might I end up with something that is not what I had before? Or worse, ONE of what I had before and ONE that is not. He does not have the gear necessary to check the specs once the job is done. What should I do? Do a web search for Speakerbits or Tom Manning. He supplies the foam surrounds and will tell you how to replace them yourself. I have to say that I chickened out and bought a recone kit for my HPD's. It isn't that difficult to replace the cone but you need to pay attention to centering the cone properly. You also need to clean the old foam off thoroughly and this was a very messy job for me. If your local tech will do it for a few $ then I'd be tempted to let him do it but it isn't too hard if you are patient. Cheers. James. |
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#14
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My monitor died
Scott Dorsey wrote:
If you are going to replace, replace both of the drivers so that they really do match. Send me the old ones because I am trying to learn to rebuild drivers right now and if I manage to fix them I'll send them back. So far I have not been very good, though. --scott Scott - have you seen the Speakerbits web site? There are full instructions for re-foaming the Tannoy dual concentric drivers there. Cheers. James. |
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