replacement speaker for home audio

[Phat Ham]

I have a pair of Sony SS-U542AV home stereo speakers and after a recent party where I left them unattended both of the woofers are blown. Trying to find replacements but these things are so old I doubt sony makes them any more. The part number stamped on the back of the speakers themselves is 1-504-534-11. Does anyone know where I should look, or how to tell what will work and what won't?

[Brick Top]

If it was me....I wouldn't bother fixing your speakers. There are so many other better speakers than Sony that you could hook up.

I would also look at the power amp or receiver you are using. Speakers shouldn't blow except if they are receiving distortion...not too much power.

I have pumped an old pair of 100W speakers to the limit with a Rotel 200W power amp with no damage. BUt not for a long period of time.

Distortion kills speakers...not watts.

Cheers,
BT

[Phat Ham]

yeah i'd only replace the woofers if it is cost effective. The sonys aren't anything special, but it would be nice to get them working instead of just tossing them. Sound quality isn't even all that important for these. I just use these for when I have parties. I have better stuff for critical listening.

I'm using a kenwood receiver to power them. I think it is 100W per channel. I'm guessing someone decided to turn up the music and cranked the volume on the receiver. When I took a look at the woofers the foam surrounds were totally destroyed. I'm not sure how to tell if the coil itself is messed up.

[hbarcat]

Originally Posted by Phat Ham

yeah i'd only replace the woofers if it is cost effective. The sonys aren't anything special, but it would be nice to get them working instead of just tossing them. Sound quality isn't even all that important for these. I just use these for when I have parties. I have better stuff for critical listening.

I'm using a kenwood receiver to power them. I think it is 100W per channel. I'm guessing someone decided to turn up the music and cranked the volume on the receiver. When I took a look at the woofers the foam surrounds were totally destroyed. I'm not sure how to tell if the coil itself is messed up.

If the surrounds are destroyed then those speakers are done.

But the same thing happened to me. I came home from work to a party in full progress, and the party goers had my stereo cranked to the maximum and the dummies blew my speakers and no one seemed to care (or even notice).

I decided to rip out all the drivers and crossovers and replace them with new components from Madisound.com just so I could re-cycle the cabinets and use the whole project as a learning experience. If you like that sort of stuff it's kind of rewarding and you'll have much better sounding (and virtually new) speakers when you're done.

[Brick Top]

I see. I didn't realize they were party speakers. You said the surrounds were destroyed. All is good!

There are a couple of sites online and a few on ebay that will send you a kit to refit your surrounds. it will cost you about $30 or so for both total.

it's pretty easy to do. I did a set about a year ago and it was real simple, and turned out excellent.

I doubt the drivers are damaged. The surrounds rot out on the cheaper speakers after a few years...especially if they use rubber...and of course damper conditions over the years will excellerate the process. The speakers should still play with the rotted surrounds...just not at higher volumes.

I bought a pair of nice old Mirage speakers at the salvation army recently for $2 because the surrounds were rotted. A nice easy project....and a nice set of speakers to go into one of the kids rooms.

here is where I bought mine from: http://www.newfoam.com/kits.asp

here's a guy that will do it for you: http://desmoines.craigslist.org/ele/955032753.html

This will give you an idea of how it's done: http://www.partsexpress.com/Tech/260-915.html



Cheers,
BT

[Chunk-O-Funk]

+1 to it being repairable.

Check out Orange County Speaker: http://www.speakerrepair.com/Merchan...vc?Screen=SFNT

They sell DIY speaker surround kits. I believe you can also ship them the speakers for repair. They also carry replacement speakers, crossovers, etc, for most brands. You may have to call to see what is available.



Here is the link for Sony foam kits: http://www.speakerrepair.com/Merchan...y-re-edge-kits

[Phat Ham]

Thanks for the info guys. The speakers actually sound ok at low volumes, so the coils are probably ok. The foam rubber surround material is pretty brittle.

Looking at the links, some of the repair kits have just the surround, but the parts express page shows that the dust cap should be removed and the coil shimmed to keep the driver aligned. Is this step necessary?

[Brick Top]

The place I got mine from(link above) has the dust caps and shims available as well.

It's just a matter of seeing what measurements they want...and giving the measurements to them so they send the proper kit. I think the dust caps and shims are optional...but I would get them as well.

Cheers,
BT

[Pilgrim]

I know the gent who owns NewFoam a bit, and I think my endorsement is still on their site. I've used their replacement foam and it worked GREAT. I didn't mess with dust caps or coils - and I advise you NOT to do so. Just do the surrounds.