Passive Radiator Repair

JayCee
JayCee Posts: 1,500
edited November 2009 in Vintage Speakers
Does anyone know how to/have experience repairing the driver fabric on the reverse side of the driver? I just purchased a pair of 1Cs and one of the SW-120 PRs has dis-bonded from the styrofoam. I've re-foamed Infinity speakers using a kit, but this is a first.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

John

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➀Speakers: Polk1.2tl's (Uber Mods) ➁Pre/Amp/DAC: PS Audio BHK Signature & 250, DirectStream ➂Cables/IC's: MIT S1Bi-Wire/S1 Balanced +Avel Lindberg 1000VA "Dreadnought" ➃Power Conditioner: PS Audio P15 Power Plant ➄Power Cords: Core Power Technologies Gold, DH Labs Power Plus DIY w/Neotech NC-P301 & P311ends ➅Streaming: Roon ROCK on wifi'd NUC, TP-Link WAP, & Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark, Emperor Double Crown Clock, Black Modernize LPS, PS Audio AirLens⟿Ω☯☥☮⟿🔊♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬
Post edited by JayCee on
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  • stubby
    stubby Posts: 723
    edited November 2009
    You may be better off finding another one on ebay. I've seen them there fairly frequently.

    stubby

    Matter of fact, check the flea market right now!
    SRS 3.1TL
    Harman Kardon Citation 5.1
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,753
    edited November 2009
    As I stated to John in a PM, I know these are repairable with the right glue, but I don't recall what it was. I suggested that he start a thread with the hopes that someone would chime in that does remember.
    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

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  • JayCee
    JayCee Posts: 1,500
    edited November 2009
    Thanks stubby and Jesse. Another member PMd me and he has the match I'm looking for. I still would like to repair the driver. Would be a shame to not try.

    John
    ➀Speakers: Polk1.2tl's (Uber Mods) ➁Pre/Amp/DAC: PS Audio BHK Signature & 250, DirectStream ➂Cables/IC's: MIT S1Bi-Wire/S1 Balanced +Avel Lindberg 1000VA "Dreadnought" ➃Power Conditioner: PS Audio P15 Power Plant ➄Power Cords: Core Power Technologies Gold, DH Labs Power Plus DIY w/Neotech NC-P301 & P311ends ➅Streaming: Roon ROCK on wifi'd NUC, TP-Link WAP, & Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark, Emperor Double Crown Clock, Black Modernize LPS, PS Audio AirLens⟿Ω☯☥☮⟿🔊♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬
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  • zarrdoss
    zarrdoss Posts: 2,562
    edited November 2009
    I had to repair one of mine that did the same thing and used normal Elmer's glue, it worked like a charm, do not use anything toxic as it will dissolve the foam. Just be careful not to get it on the spider.
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  • JayCee
    JayCee Posts: 1,500
    edited November 2009
    The kit I used to repair my Infinity surrounds appeared to use Elmer's glue, too...so, is probably a safe bet and not heavy enough to change the characteristics of the driver.

    Not sure if you can see in the pictures, but the webbing tore in spots and when I push the driver in it doesn't make contact. Did you have problems aligning yours? If I didn't have the tears it would be easy to do. I believe I can do a small section at a time, but I'm afraid it may not align properly and cause the front plane of the speaker to list one way or another. Another issue is trying to hold down a small section of the spider at a time in order to make contact but not glue itself to whatever I might devise to hold it. Does this make sense?
    ➀Speakers: Polk1.2tl's (Uber Mods) ➁Pre/Amp/DAC: PS Audio BHK Signature & 250, DirectStream ➂Cables/IC's: MIT S1Bi-Wire/S1 Balanced +Avel Lindberg 1000VA "Dreadnought" ➃Power Conditioner: PS Audio P15 Power Plant ➄Power Cords: Core Power Technologies Gold, DH Labs Power Plus DIY w/Neotech NC-P301 & P311ends ➅Streaming: Roon ROCK on wifi'd NUC, TP-Link WAP, & Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark, Emperor Double Crown Clock, Black Modernize LPS, PS Audio AirLens⟿Ω☯☥☮⟿🔊♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬
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  • zarrdoss
    zarrdoss Posts: 2,562
    edited November 2009
    yes it does, lay it face down flat on the table and the weight of the frame should make the cone/foam move back to the spider and be in proper alignment. Try and stretch out the spider so it appears to be as normal as possible and apply glue around the foam where it comes in contact with the spider and the small tears if you have and small holes of missing material take some TP or paper towel in small strips and fill the holes. use several coats of glue allowing time to dry. You should pull the other passive to make sure your gluing in the correct area if you cannot tell for sure where it was. And yes mine did tear but not as bad as yours, the trick was making the cone move back to the spider evenly after that it was glue dry glue dry then it was fine.
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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,393
    edited November 2009
    Did you talk to Polk CS yet?

    I suggest getting some similar type of styrofoam and trying different types of adhesives to see what works. I imagine the Elmers would crack eventually. Something that stays more flexible may be better. An epoxy may also work. I used epoxy to reattach the spider to the metal basket frame on a Polk car speaker successfully.
    Stan
    Stan

    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
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,753
    edited November 2009
    Epoxy is not a good choice at all, it will melt the Styrofoam as it heats up to cure.
    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

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  • JayCee
    JayCee Posts: 1,500
    edited November 2009
    zarrdoss wrote: »
    yes it does, lay it face down flat on the table and the weight of the frame should make the cone/foam move back to the spider and be in proper alignment. Try and stretch out the spider so it appears to be as normal as possible and apply glue around the foam where it comes in contact with the spider and the small tears if you have and small holes of missing material take some TP or paper towel in small strips and fill the holes. use several coats of glue allowing time to dry. You should pull the other passive to make sure your gluing in the correct area if you cannot tell for sure where it was. And yes mine did tear but not as bad as yours, the trick was making the cone move back to the spider evenly after that it was glue dry glue dry then it was fine.

    Thanks for the tips.
    skrol wrote: »
    Did you talk to Polk CS yet?
    Stan

    Good suggestion. I'll see if they have recomendations.
    F1nut wrote: »
    Epoxy is not a good choice at all, it will melt the Styrofoam as it heats up to cure.

    My experience with Epoxy is the same, it can be very caustic. Probably best used on metal.

    Thanks everyone for the assists.:)

    John
    ➀Speakers: Polk1.2tl's (Uber Mods) ➁Pre/Amp/DAC: PS Audio BHK Signature & 250, DirectStream ➂Cables/IC's: MIT S1Bi-Wire/S1 Balanced +Avel Lindberg 1000VA "Dreadnought" ➃Power Conditioner: PS Audio P15 Power Plant ➄Power Cords: Core Power Technologies Gold, DH Labs Power Plus DIY w/Neotech NC-P301 & P311ends ➅Streaming: Roon ROCK on wifi'd NUC, TP-Link WAP, & Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark, Emperor Double Crown Clock, Black Modernize LPS, PS Audio AirLens⟿Ω☯☥☮⟿🔊♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬
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  • zarrdoss
    zarrdoss Posts: 2,562
    edited November 2009
    Elmer's is plenty strong for this application and it does not really need to be flexible as this is the spiders job. Just trying to find something that will not melt the Styrofoam is tricky.
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  • JayCee
    JayCee Posts: 1,500
    edited November 2009
    Isn't it funny how the simplest things are sometimes the best option?
    ➀Speakers: Polk1.2tl's (Uber Mods) ➁Pre/Amp/DAC: PS Audio BHK Signature & 250, DirectStream ➂Cables/IC's: MIT S1Bi-Wire/S1 Balanced +Avel Lindberg 1000VA "Dreadnought" ➃Power Conditioner: PS Audio P15 Power Plant ➄Power Cords: Core Power Technologies Gold, DH Labs Power Plus DIY w/Neotech NC-P301 & P311ends ➅Streaming: Roon ROCK on wifi'd NUC, TP-Link WAP, & Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark, Emperor Double Crown Clock, Black Modernize LPS, PS Audio AirLens⟿Ω☯☥☮⟿🔊♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited November 2009
    I had to do a repair on one of my 1Cs, used styrofoam glue from a fabric shop. Looks like elmers. Held just fine.
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,753
    edited November 2009
    Damn good suggestion Tracy.

    http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-Use-Styrofoam-Glue
    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

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