Eden speakers: surround adhesive failed

[Curtybob]

I have a pair of D210XLT's, and tonight at practice, I noticed one making a pretty bad farting noise. I thought immediately it was blown. No big deal, I plugged the other one in, and got back to practice.

I just got done tearing into the "blown" cab and, by chance, noticed that a quadrant of the thick fiberboard stuff that goes over the outside edge of the surround was loose. The surround is still attached to the fiberboard stuff, but they are no longer stuck to the speaker frame.

The question: What adhesive to use to stick it back down? I have RTV silicone (my first choice, but a pain to clean up if it doesnt work), superglue, and some 3M 77 spray-on adhesive (contact adhesive) on hand.

[Curtybob]

Ok.... my impatient self went with the RTV. Also, noticed the dreaded cone wrinkles. Luckily, I had some polyester resin on hand from a few years ago... it is still good. Mixed up a small batch, and used a Q-tip to paint a coat on the underside of the cone. I notice the same wrinkle around the other speaker. It's basically a continuous wrinkle, about 1/4" to 1/2" in from the surround, all the way around the cone. So, I'm gonna do the same thing to that one in a few minutes.

Yay! I love being a packrat!

[Bassmec]

Originally Posted by Curtybob

Ok.... my impatient self went with the RTV. Also, noticed the dreaded cone wrinkles. Luckily, I had some polyester resin on hand from a few years ago... it is still good. Mixed up a small batch, and used a Q-tip to paint a coat on the underside of the cone. I notice the same wrinkle around the other speaker. It's basically a continuous wrinkle, about 1/4" to 1/2" in from the surround, all the way around the cone. So, I'm gonna do the same thing to that one in a few minutes.

Yay! I love being a packrat!

I don't run my eden 8X10 LXT beyond X lim so I hope to avoid this kind of damage.
There is only so much a 2X10 will do whatever the thermal
wattage rating says.
One wonders how farty it was sounding while the cone creasing and adhesive failures where in progress.

[billfitzmaurice]

Driver manufacturers use superglue to attach surrounds to the frame. Silicone is almost never used with drivers, as the fumes it gives off while curing can dissolve some of the other adhesives.

[Curtybob]

Good to know about the silicone. Too late, now.... but I sure hope that leaving them out of the cabe to cure helped keep potential damage to a minimum.

As for the X lim.... not sure how to measure that. I plug in, and turn up until I am at a suitable volume for whatever situation I am in. I don't have a boomy Dub sound, and I have the 30hz highpass engaged on my power amp. I bought them used, and they are 2001 models (well, the speakers are stamped June 2001, the horn is stamped august 2001). So they have been around for a bit.

AS for pushing them too hard, I don't believe so. At practice, my band is pretty tame. I only really need one cab for practice.... I could get away with a 12" combo, actually. At shows, I bring both cabs, and I never have to turn up very loud.

And, I never noticed any odd noises until last night. They are usually very tight, very clean sounding speaker cabs, and I stand right in front of them. I would have noticed (and did notice) right away.

[Rick Auricchio]

Originally Posted by Curtybob

I bought them used..

There are really only two possibilities: Either you damaged the drivers, or they were damaged by the prior owner(s).

[BassmanPaul]

A re-cone with the correct cone kit is the best option in both cases.

[Curtybob]

Yeah, I do believe reconing is my next stop.... especially now that I have narrowed it down to the damage being either my fault, or the previous owner's. We'll get to the bottom of this, damnit!

I checked on it a little last night. Anyone have any suggestions for shops to use for reconing, if that becomes necessary?

[BassmanPaul]

I seem to remember a thread about speaker repair companies. A search should find it.

[Curtybob]

Just fired up the cab, and pissed off the neighbors. Everything seems to be working satisfactorily. The cab sounds absolutely like it did before.

Secondary line of questioning: What should the wrinkle have sounded like? Subtle and easy to miss? Very distinctive and apparent? The other cab's cones are fine. Could it just be a case of a not-quite-awesome batch of cones? It's been really humid here, and my cabs have been exposed to it regularly. I suppose since they are just paper cones, that high humidity could've weakened them a bit. Is there any treatment I could use that would help protect them from this?

[Marktime]

I acquired a used XLT 210 with the dreaded cone wrinkle as
stated earlier in this post. One where the cone looks like it has
extended so far from over driving to try to fold the cone and cause
a wrinkle in the cone itself ( not the surround) and is relatively
uniform. The real solve for this is a re cone however to re stiffen
the cone at this fold / wrinkle I have used a coat of Dammar
Varnish on the cone. This is a fairly commonly used damping
compound for stereo speakers and has little effect on the quality
of the sound or frequency range but just stiffens the area where
the cone has a fold/ crease/ wrinkle . These Eden drivers while
pretty damn well made can not be expected to handle over driving
and have experienced this same problem with drivers from both
JBL, Altec, and even Electrovoice from purchases from unknowing
users. This situation where about 1/4" to say 1/2" in from the surround that tries to fold is just a mechanical result from trying
to over exert the cone from what it can handle. ( or in lay mans terms how far the cone goes in and out). Beyond a certain point the force of over driving the speaker causes this crease.
Maybe you should listen to you speaker more when playing.
Over driving the cone can be heard and seen.

Cheers...

[Curtybob]

Heard and seen? I guess I am in good shape. Like I said, I stand right in front of my amp at practice, and usually not far away at shows.