Ferrofluid replacment
joecoulson
Posts: 4,943
So I have an older SF center channel that I picked up a while back. My AVR has started to go into protect mode at high levels and although I will be ready to upgrade that soon (receiver ) I wanted to try something that I read might help the situation.
The Sonus Faber center has a fabric tweeter that’s ferrofluid cooled. Obviously this being an older tweeter, the fluid might have been bunked up and not doing its job properly.
I ordered the fluid and started work.
Removed the tweeter from the enclosure and separated the magnet from the face/coil
I then took some of the soaking strips included with my ferrofluid purchase. Curled them to fit into the gap between magnets and soaked up as much as I could with that.
For the final part of the prep, I took some alcohol swabs and cleaned in the gap and also the voice coil (very carefully) and alll was clean as a whistle.
I then took the Ferrofluid and cut off the tip of the applicator and proceeded to fill the cavity. I’m sorry I didn’t get any shots of that as I was focused on getting it filled correctly and didn’t think about it until done. This part was tricky as the fluid wants to hang at the surface and not drain down into the cavity. I felt like this part was a little guesswork and put what I thought was the right amount. Here is a shot of the fluid
After all was done I put it all back together is this part was the most surprising. The tweeter has come alive. At least 3-5db increase in output. Wow. That was worth $7
Very happy and now have the confidence to tackle again should the need arise.
The Sonus Faber center has a fabric tweeter that’s ferrofluid cooled. Obviously this being an older tweeter, the fluid might have been bunked up and not doing its job properly.
I ordered the fluid and started work.
Removed the tweeter from the enclosure and separated the magnet from the face/coil
I then took some of the soaking strips included with my ferrofluid purchase. Curled them to fit into the gap between magnets and soaked up as much as I could with that.
For the final part of the prep, I took some alcohol swabs and cleaned in the gap and also the voice coil (very carefully) and alll was clean as a whistle.
I then took the Ferrofluid and cut off the tip of the applicator and proceeded to fill the cavity. I’m sorry I didn’t get any shots of that as I was focused on getting it filled correctly and didn’t think about it until done. This part was tricky as the fluid wants to hang at the surface and not drain down into the cavity. I felt like this part was a little guesswork and put what I thought was the right amount. Here is a shot of the fluid
After all was done I put it all back together is this part was the most surprising. The tweeter has come alive. At least 3-5db increase in output. Wow. That was worth $7
Very happy and now have the confidence to tackle again should the need arise.
Comments
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Well dippity do you soak all the goo and replaced the spew.
Nice. -
CoolStan
Main 2ch:
Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.
HT:
Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60
Other stuff:
Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601 -
Nice job Joe, I admire your DIY skills.
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Thank You señor
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Nicely done. I wonder if anyone has tried this with the older Peerless tweets that were widely used back in the day.
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Looks great! Where did you get your ferrofluid? Everything I can find is like $20 for a small amount online.
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I got it on Am***n and when I purchased I used prime to avoid shipping. Not sure why it says $6.95 now for shipping,
Ferrofluid 300uL General Purpose for 1.5" Diameter V.C. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Y5420W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_FrgsCbAZ9SDGJ -
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Nicely done. I wonder if anyone has tried this with the older Peerless tweets that were widely used back in the day.
They do not have ferrofluid.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Pretty cool, I had no idea it could be replenished.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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And then the phrase ‘changing your speaker fluid’ was no longer a joke.Up
LSi15 LSiC - RX-V3000
Down
LSiM707 - 706c - 702f/x - Dual HSU VTF-15H Mk2
Parasound HCA-3500 - HCA-2003A - Marantz SR7005
Sim2 D60 - Dragonfly 106" Panny 500 -
Are those like "voltage drops?"Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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The cohesiveness of this speaker is so much better now. Very glad I did this. I even think just some time for it to settle made a slight improvement
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Wow. Always wondered how to do this.... thanks to the Polk forum and Joe, I now know how
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My pleasure
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If any of you, my fellow Polk fans, are in need of Ferrofluid, and live in Canada, hit me up, I'm the first and currently only authorized Ferrotec ferrofluid distro; in Canada! I can set you up wayyy more affordably than ordering ferro' from America or Euro' ~ due to the absurd shipping that they seek to charge...
