[Vintage-Audio] Re Foam Suspension Speaker Rebuilds

[JM/CO]

Foam deterioration is a common issue on many speakers built starting around
1970. The industry has finally realized their error, and today, uses a
different polymer which ( supposedly ) will not do this. The actual chemical
responsible for this is low level ozone, mainly from car exhaust. The
problem is less frequent in rural areas. There are several companies out
there that sell re-foam kits for all of the common sized drivers. These kits
work out quite well, and will restore your drivers to their original
condition. The only issue is an economic one. The cost of the kit often
equals or exceeds that of comparable replacement drivers, especially if one
has to pay someone to do the rebuild.
Regarding the "outrageous" price of vintage speakers: It's really quite
simple. The ones with great intrinsic value ( for whatever reason ) go up in
value, as do other vintage audio items. The junk stays at a low value, or
goes to the dump.
Given the large amount of absolute crap being put out by the industry these
days, folks who have a genuine desire to achieve good sound will often find
their way "back" to good vintage gear. The market for this stuff is also
world - wide, which puts further upward pressure on prices. Checked out the
price of a McIntosh MC-30, or a C-22 lately ?? The vintage audio market has
been active, although very "low key" for decades. Most folks who dabble in
this are usually not inclined to discuss prices / value unless an actual
deal is going down. Also, most of them are VERY knowledgeable about what
they are selling. As a potential buyer on some auction site, it behooves one
to know what one is bidding on, and always ASK QUESTIONS before one bids.
Chuck N1LNH
-----Original Message-----
From: Duane Fischer, W8DBF <dfischer@usol.com>
To: vintage-audio@mailman.qth.net <vintage-audio@mailman.qth.net>
Date: Monday, August 12, 2002 11:00 PM
Subject: [Vintage-Audio] Re Foam Suspension Speaker Rebuilds


>
>
>I was talking by telephone today with Judith Fulkerson in Oxford, Michigan
who
>has been rebuilding speakers since 1976. She commented to me that
Electro-Voice
>had made some very good speaker systems using the foam suspension back in
the
>sixties and seventies. The foam has broken down over the years and people
>contacted EV for help. They were told by the company that repair was not
>possible, parts were not available and to throw out the old speakers.
>
>She has rebuilt many of them and the story from EV was just simply not the
>truth. They wanted to sell new speakers, obviously. Unfortunately, many
people
>did throw them away and she has seen very few of these systems over the
last
>five years. A real shame, as some of the systems had excellent performance
>dynamics.
>
>She cam rebuild the EV, the JBL and others who did use the foam suspension.
She
>can get generic parts to replace some of the originals that are no longer
>obtainable. If you have some good quality speakers and want them rebuilt,
this
>woman knows her stuff and can do the job.
>
>I was somewhat shocked today as I called around Michigan trying to locate
anyone
>who dealt in old vintage mono/stereo gear. I learned from a man who rebuilt
>James B. Lansing systems, John Wolff in Brighton, MI, that the Century
L-300 I
>want will likely sell for $1,500 for the pair. Working, but NOT rebuilt! He
gave
>me some other prices for different comparable and better quality systems
and I
>was literally taken aback by the prices. Some were from $3,000 apair to as
much
>as $10,000 a pair. They were rebuilt, however. A real bargan, heh?  Ha Ha.
>
>He faults the electronic auctions. He gave up trying to locate speakers and
>rebuild them, because the electronic auctions were selling everything from
>quality to absolute junk for all sorts of prices, most of which were way
out of
>line. Hence, most of the good gear is on the electronic auction sites and
you
>are at the mercy of the seller as to their 'real' condition and
authenticity.
>Let's face it here, most of those selling are not knowledgeable about what
they
>are selling. Although they may not be intentionally misrepresenting an
item, it
>may nevertheless be not as advertised because of simple ignorance on the
part of
>said seller. It is this huge risk factor that makes an electronic auction
>purchase a real crap shoot roll of the dice.
>
>If any of you would like to have Judith Fulkerson do some speaker rebuild
work
>for you, please contact me for her telephone number and address. I have
always
>been impressed by her candor and openness. She is more concerned over
telling
>you the truth about what you have than she is in making a sale. A rare
quality
>nowadays in any business.
>
>Duane Fischer, W8DBF
>dfischer@usol.com
>
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