Speaker cone fatigue repair advice

[HuxLux]

Hello knowledgeable folks of TalkBass,

I have purchased an Ampeg 810e Classic made in China for $500AUD ($320USD). The exterior is in great condition, however, at least 3 of the speaker cones show some wear, with one already having a repair done on it.

Should I proactively repair/protect the ones that have the hairline fatigue? When I press on them they aren’t really floppy or anything yet. Or would you just get the 3 re-coned?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Pictured are two that have the fatigue and the one that’s been repaired.

 

[agedhorse]

The cones are ruined, it's time for a recone on every driver that shows any damage (probably all of them if you look closely enough), they are not repairable with anything but a proper recone.

This is a classic failure from too much power at low frequencies, which is why all of the drivers will have some damage (maybe not visible to you though). You might get away (for a while) with not reconing the ones that you can't see the damage on, but they won't be right.

 

[Wasnex]

The 810E has four sealed chambers that each house two 10s.

If one driver is damaged, it does not properly load the other driver in the chamber. So good chance both drivers are compromised to some extent. If you have drivers with cones that are obviously damaged, I suggest reconing or replacing both drivers in the chamber.

Are factory recone kits available? If not, I suggest buying new drivers.

If you can find them, new factory drivers are about $86. P/N 86-032-01

Speaker Exchange offers an aftermarket recone kit $60. Who knows how good or bad they are ?

Pay attention to the Notes...especially the red text:

Not something I would want to attempt.

 

[agedhorse]

By the time you recone the driver (properly), it's cheaper to replace.

Since all of the drivers are wired in parallel, they were all exposed to the same overload condition, which is why they all are probably damaged similarly.

 

[murphy]

Reminds me that I had to have all my Eden XLT 210 and 410 cabs reconed professionally at one point

They had visible creases

 

[agedhorse]

Reminds me that I had to have all my Eden XLT 210 and 410 cabs reconed professionally at one point

They had visible creases

It’s in part why that edge transition profile fell out of favor. Also why mechanical power handling needs to be better understood and communicated to the player.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Not fatigued, that abused.

 

[HuxLux]

Thanks for all the replies!

Has anyone had luck with the glue method of protection? The one that’s been repaired already feels solid to the touch. Does it make a difference that I am not intending on pushing this cab with anywhere near its rated 800 watts? I want to find a v4b reissue or maybe an svt cl to pair it with.

Also, would it be a good idea to place all of the undamaged looking ones in together in say the top 410? With the weaker ones in the bottom 410, if I have an issue I could just use the top 410?

I’ve emailed my local speaker repair shop enquiring about potentially having some tests done to assess the damage. Would this be advisable?

 

[agedhorse]

No, glue like that is a hack repair.

 

[HuxLux]

No, glue like that is a hack repair.

I’ve seen that you have lots of experience in the speaker repair industry, I appreciate your help thus far.

Do you think the best course of action for me would be to take it to a repair place to have the speakers tested? Will they be able to tell which ones have had damage? What would you do? Or would you be hesitant to sink any money into the project at all?

 

[HuxLux]

No, glue like that is a hack repair.

Just reading some of your comments from another thread:
“It depends on the specific damage and location. Done professionally, a proper repair can last decades. Done wrong it can be a waste of time.”
Is the damage and location in my case quite terminal? What would a “proper repair” be in my case?

 

[agedhorse]

I’ve seen that you have lots of experience in the speaker repair industry, I appreciate your help thus far.

Do you think the best course of action for me would be to take it to a repair place to have the speakers tested? Will they be able to tell which ones have had damage? What would you do? Or would you be hesitant to sink any money into the project at all?

A professional recone tech should be able to identify hidden damage, but my experience is that when several drivers have such damage from overpowering, they will all have some damage.

Yes, I would be hesitant because the cost of repairing properly could easily exceed the value of the cabinet.

Just reading some of your comments from another thread: “It depends on the specific damage and location. Done professionally, a proper repair can last decades. Done wrong it can be a waste of time.”
Is the damage and location in my case quite terminal? What would a “proper repair” be in my case?

I was addressing different damage. The proper repair would be either to recone or replace the drivers. It may be less expensive to replace that driver in my experience.

 

[Hoochie Coochie Man]

I own an 810e cabinet (from the "Dark Era"), and I have seriously considered removing the drivers and turning it into a place to store beer.

Edited to add that it gets no use now but it would get daily use if I did do that.

 

[eniac]

Eight Eminence B810 drivers = $1,000 USD. The right thing to do would be to replace all 8. Spend the money, do it right, predictable results. Some useful links:

https://usspeaker.com/legend%20b810-1.htm

https://eminence.com/products/legend_b810?_pos=68&_sid=473b08f5e&_ss=r#specifications

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0270/8665/1462/files/Legend_B810_cab.pdf

Hopefully Agedhorse will hop in and let us know if these drivers miss the mark in some way.

EDIT: I just noticed you're in Australia. That might make the cost intolerable. I haven't done the conversion, though.

 

[agedhorse]

That’s the driver I would recommend.

 

[Chad Michael]

I had the great fortune to play at a local food and music festival, years ago. The provided backline was an SVT CL (all tube head) and the 810. It sounded amazing to me....

$1000 to replace all 8 drivers? That is a chunk of money all at once. Park the cabinet. Buy one or two each payday... it will be worth it in the end.

Keep in mind, I didn't have to buy or maintain or transport or repair this rig, I just got to enjoy it for a brief moment, but wow

 

[Hoochie Coochie Man]

Eight Eminence B810 drivers = $1,000 USD. The right thing to do would be to replace all 8. Spend the money, do it right, predictable results. Some useful links:

https://usspeaker.com/legend%20b810-1.htm

https://eminence.com/products/legend_b810?_pos=68&_sid=473b08f5e&_ss=r#specifications

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0270/8665/1462/files/Legend_B810_cab.pdf

Hopefully Agedhorse will hop in and let us know if these drivers miss the mark in some way.

EDIT: I just noticed you're in Australia. That might make the cost intolerable. I haven't done the conversion, though.

The only way I would put $1000.00 into one of these cabinets is to buy re-cone kits and rebuild them all until I learned how to do it properly myself, (even if it cost me more than $1000.00 in kits until I got it right), at least then I would have done something that I always wanted to learn how to do anyway.

 

[HuxLux]

A professional recone tech should be able to identify hidden damage, but my experience is that when several drivers have such damage from overpowering, they will all have some damage.

Yes, I would be hesitant because the cost of repairing properly could easily exceed the value of the cabinet.


I was addressing different damage. The proper repair would be either to recone or replace the drivers. It may be less expensive to replace that driver in my experience.

Thanks for your advice, I am going to be hesitant about sinking any money into it for now then. Can you recommend me a glue to fix the visible issues that I have? I don’t really want to start re-coning or replacing speakers if they are potentially all on borrowed time.

Would you suggest pairing all of the better conditions speakers in the top 410 to that I can potentially isolate an issue if it arises?

 

[agedhorse]

Thanks for your advice, I am going to be hesitant about sinking any money into it for now then. Can you recommend me a glue to fix the visible issues that I have? I don’t really want to start re-coning or replacing speakers if they are potentially all on borrowed time.

Would you suggest pairing all of the better conditions speakers in the top 410 to that I can potentially isolate an issue if it arises?

No, because I know that it's not going to work well.

The reason for reconing or replacing the speakers is BECAUSE they are on borrowed time... and they won't sound like properly working speakers until you do.

 

[baxter_x]

Those issues and pictures throw me back 20 years ago with my SWR Goliath cabs.
I had no idea about power and how things worked at that time. I truly mistreated those cabs.
Until I started educating myself about the reality and started using an HPF.
Now I don't need any HPF as gear has improved so my understanding.

You live you learn.