Fixing Old Speakers

killadaclown

I have a pair of old Polk speakers. I don't remember what they were, but I remember that when I was looking them up they were from the late 80's. They are 3-way speakers. They were used as our party speakers in college, so naturally got a lot of abuse! Unfortunately, both of the woofer cones ripped just after I finished up college and moved away from that scene. The mids and tweeters are just fine though.

Anyways, I would like to put a working woofer cone in there so that I'm able to use the speakers again. Not looking for anything fancy, but just something to throw in the garage that I could use when working on the cars or outside.

Any suggestions on how I would go about doing this? Or would it be less expensive just to buy a cheap used pair off craigslist?

Dabutcher

If you are talking about the foam or rubber surrounds? Kits for replacement can be found on Ebay. Midwest speaker sells there or go to their website. They are good at helping you find the right kit. Good luck. D

xjghost

Pictures of the speaker would help identify them and help to get you started. Some even have the model number on the back on a tag.

Pastor Bill

I imagine that you would want to start with identifying what they are. Check for the i.d. badge on the back if it still exists. Then contact Polk via this website and see what is available. That's assuming that you want to restore them to original condition. If not, get the technical info off your torn woofers and purchase a woofer that matches or is very close. There are numerous replacement speaker vendors on the internet, such as Speaker Exchange or Parts Express or Simply Speakers. Would it be less expensive to buy a cheaper used pair off Craigslist? Probably, depending on your tastes and availability.
The telling statement is that you just want something to throw in the garage...at that point, you're using them a background music and not critically listening, so that expands your options.

westmassguy

killadaclown wrote: »

I have a pair of old Polk speakers. I don't remember what they were, but I remember that when I was looking them up they were from the late 80's. They are 3-way speakers. They were used as our party speakers in college, so naturally got a lot of abuse! Unfortunately, both of the woofer cones ripped just after I finished up college and moved away from that scene. The mids and tweeters are just fine though.

Anyways, I would like to put a working woofer cone in there so that I'm able to use the speakers again. Not looking for anything fancy, but just something to throw in the garage that I could use when working on the cars or outside.

Any suggestions on how I would go about doing this? Or would it be less expensive just to buy a cheap used pair off craigslist?

If they were late 80s vintage, they're not 3way, they're two way, with a passive radiator. If it's the passive radiator that's torn, Polk doesn't stock replacements, you have to search eBay for the correct passive for your model. Photos, and model # will help.

killadaclown

Ok thanks for all the quick responses. I will take pictures tonight after work and will post them, so then you can see what it is. And hopefully that will help narrow down the ideas to whether it would be financially worth it.

And thank you for the websites to look for the replacement parts.

F1nut

Polk did not and does not use foam surrounds. There are no rubber surround kits for Polk drivers, nor are there any aftermarket replacement drivers that are suitable. Polk does stock quite a number of the proper drivers.

westmassguy

F1nut wrote: »

Polk did not and does not use foam surrounds. There are no rubber surround kits for Polk drivers, nor are there any aftermarket replacement drivers that are suitable. Polk does stock quite a number of the proper drivers.

They did use foam on the mini monitors in the 70s. The little 4.5" CTS drivers

tonyb

It would be less expensive to just buy a cheap pair of speakers off craigslist. Plus who knows what else has been damaged in the time they sat idle.

F1nut

westmassguy wrote: »

They did use foam on the mini monitors in the 70s. The little 4.5" CTS drivers

Doesn't count. :biggrin:

westmassguy

OK be that way

killadaclown

Ok I had to wait to get to work before I could shrink the pictures I took.

I haven't looked at them in a while, but first they are actually 4-way speakers and not 3-ways like I originally mentioned. Also, I guess they ended up being Pioneers, but I assume the same thing is going on.

You should see a picture of the label, the speaker itself, and then the damaged driver. It is actually the top mid that is damaged.

soundfreak1

I doubt seriously if the cost of repair would be worth it as the value and sound would be far less than restoration costs. Jmho.

westmassguy

Re-cone costs can be much higher than the speakers are worth.

killadaclown

Ok sounds good. Thanks for the help and thoughts. And it's not like I'm attached to these or anything. They were just fun at the time.

skrol

The dome could possibly be pulled out with some tape. Stick the tape (not too sticky) to the dome without pushing it in farther and pull. You may need to do this repeatedly. Also a vacuum may help if you can control the suction.

Worst case, you can buy replacement domes pretty cheap.

Schurkey

First Guess: The pushed-in dustcap won't hurt a thing. Connect 'em and see if the drivers work. If they do, you're pretty much ready to rock unless you insist on upgrading the capacitors and such in the crossovers.