Topic: speaker re-coning service

[67gta289]

I'm one that likes to do all I can, for the challenge if nothing else.   Re-coning a speaker though is one of those things that I won't try.  I sent mine to the circuit shop in Caledonia Michigan (circuitshop.com), and for about $45 plus shipping, in about 7 days, I had my speaker back good as new.  Pictures of before and after below.

I'm not a paid spokesman.  Only one old speaker cone was hurt in the process of repairing the speaker.  Kids don't try this at home.

[outlawincorporated]

nice job, and way less money than buying NOS ones.

something to consider!!!!

REGARDS.

PHILL BERESFORD.
MELBOURNE.
AUSTRALIA.

[DM_1964]

That turned out sweet, very nice.

[67gtasanjose]

i imagine that old speaker was blown out playing MOTOWN music on the AM radio dial set on radio CKLW...We were able to pick that Windsor Canada station up VERY STRONG all the way over here in NE Ohio, listened to it all the time!

[67gta289]

I'm pleased at how it turned out as well.  As for CKLW, that would have been a contributor after 1977.  From 1967-1977 the car was living in Stanford CA.  The original owner (family from metro Detroit that we know and have known from before I was born) had a daughter that moved there and worked at Stanford.  She bought the car new at Ames Ford in San Rafael.  Lot's of good stories, some old pics, but unfortunately no original paperwork. 

[krelboyne]

How does it sound? inquiring minds want to know. LOL

[67gtasanjose]

How does it sound? inquiring minds want to know. LOL

Like a step back in time to 1966 when a "pocket sized transistor radio" with a 1 inch tweeter speaker was COOL & GROOVY!

[67gta289]

How does it sound? inquiring minds want to know. LOL

If I were to test with the radio and antenna, I would have to wait to see how I move forward with the radio.  I'm currently evaluating options for rebuilding, tuning, etc.  I have a brother who is an automotive audio engineering specialist, focusing on this area for over 25 years, so I probably have more options than most.

However, in order to test the quality of the speaker, the engineer in me says that I need a controlled environment, and the test equipment needs to be a factor of 10 better than the device being tested.  Testing the speaker with a 50 year old radio that has not been gone through will reflect problems with the radio and not provide a good indication of the capability of the speaker.  A rebuilt 50 year old radio may not, either.  I also don't want to limit the test by connecting to an AM signal with a low signal to noise ratio.

So I'll probably connect the speaker to a modern digital device and play back from a digital sound file, avoiding SNR issues with AM signals, and questionable aged analog electronics.

I am testing everything I can before it goes in.  Changing out a speaker after everything is back in place is not on my list of things to do for fun.

The bottom line is that the jury is still out, but I'll update the post once I can report back on the quality of the speaker re-coning service.

[67gta289]

Also Bob (196667Bob) asked if they replated anything or cleaned the back side up.  That is a fair question.  Since I did not know what I was going to get back, and since the cone was blown out anyway, I did the clean up of the back side myself before it was shipped out.  I simply used my favorite cleaning medium, denatured alcohol, to clean up the green painted steel as well as the magnet area.  There were a few scratches on the green part that don't bother me.  The zinc plated (with stamped part number and date) really pops nicely.  Some alcohol (for cleaning, not for me), cotton swabs, and paper towels, along with patience, did all that work.   I don't know if the circuit shop will do anything there or not, but they should answer that over the phone if you call them.

Also they did add a piece of masking tape to the back with my name on it, as well as a sticker with their address and phone number.  I removed those and cleaned that up before I took the "after" pictures.  Next time I'll ask them to hang a wired paper tag through the mounting hole or omit them altogether.

[Hawkeye]

Nice, I woulda never thought to do that.  I wonder if there's someone local that can do that to mine.  I'd rather fix it than replace it.

[67gta289]

My suspicion is that re-coning (the complete process, not just what you can see with your eyes), is pretty rare in a throw away society.  Speakers from the 50's and 60's have cobalt based magnets that require a lot of flux to realign, so the process is intensive in terms of specialized equipment.

If you simply google reconing speakers you will find more than one option.  All I can say is that this place was recommended to me by people in the business, I got great results, paid a little over 50 bucks and had it back in my hands in 7 days.

Besides, the folks here in Michigan can use the business

[midlife]

I prefer the sound quality of the late 60's/70's home speakers, particularly the exotic designs.  I currently have a set of ESS Heil AMT 1A floor standing speakers, and I've had to get them repaired twice in the last 40 years due to the surround material disintegrating.  A web search brought up several companies that specialize in these repairs and have the proper materials for these somewhat exotic speakers.   

[67gta289]

I was told that in the early 70's the communists had enough influence over the African country (the Congo if I recall correctly) that was the primary supplier (at least 50%) of cobalt, that raw material prices skyrocketed.  As a result,  speaker suppliers around the world had to move from cobalt to a sub par material.

Don't tell me though that you hooked your nice speakers up to a hand cranked Victrola with a #2 finish nail for a needle

[Hawkeye]

I prefer the sound quality of the late 60's/70's home speakers, particularly the exotic designs.  I currently have a set of ESS Heil AMT 1A floor standing speakers, and I've had to get them repaired twice in the last 40 years due to the surround material disintegrating.  A web search brought up several companies that specialize in these repairs and have the proper materials for these somewhat exotic speakers.

I still have my early '80s Realistic tower speakers cranking in The Cave.  I've replaced the woofers once, and need to re-do the mids, but they still sound great.  And my Radio Shack linear turntable is what's running thru them.

[67gta289]

How does it sound? inquiring minds want to know. LOL

To close the loop on this one - I did get it hooked up to my original radio and bench tested it.  The sound is excellent, much better than I expected.  Would do a reconing again with no reservation.