Dissembling a speaker

nura · 24th April 2007, 15:13

Is it possible to dissemble & repair a car speaker without special tools? Can someone tell me the procedure or provide relevant links? One of my 6" x 9" ovals seems to be emitting less bass than the other & thought I could take a shot at it! I have a few old speakers lying around to practice on first.

navin · 25th April 2007, 10:53

It takes a lot of skill.

The diffcult part is not taking it apart but putting it back together. Centering the voicecoil is one area where one has to be careful.

Why not switch the 6x9s and see if something else is the fault.

Given that you have a coaxial you will have to worry about the tweter assemble too. I would suggest that if you are attempting to dothis be prepared to loose the speaker altogether.

low_bass_makker · 25th April 2007, 11:12

one of the major faults in the 6x9 is the dust which goes inside the VC through the place where the tweeter pod is mounted.....once cleaned with compressed air and no dust inside the speakers would be nice and new like new ones....try this before doing something major.......

and like Navin Ji said try switching the speaker and check is the fault is with the 6x9 or some place else....

nura · 25th April 2007, 12:55

Thanks Navin & LBM for your invaluable suggestions. I'll try the compressed air first & then interchange the speakers & see. I don't think I want to do something foolhardy & lose the speaker.
Are speakers generally irreparable? My previous experiences at speaker-repair workshops have been pretty disappointing. Or maybe I haven't found the right place yet.

Sam Kapasi · 25th April 2007, 17:52

Unless you use an original reconing kit with an original voice coil, most speaker repair jobs will be very far from the original sound.

nura · 25th April 2007, 22:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Unless you use an original reconing kit with an original voice coil, most speaker repair jobs will be very far from the original sound.

Are these original reconing kits & voice coils available in India?

low_bass_makker · 25th April 2007, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by nura

Are these original reconing kits & voice coils available in India?

No...................

navin · 26th April 2007, 12:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by nura

....
Are speakers generally irreparable? My previous experiences at speaker-repair workshops have been pretty disappointing. ....

The people who can do this are fast disapperaing. (a) becuase no one will pay them to repair a speaker and (b) repair charges if you include labour may exceed or equal the cost of a new speaker.

The Chinese have dumped so much stuff in the market (some of it is quite good) and have reduced maufacturing costs for most brands to such a level that repairing a speaker today just does not make much sense.

Bass&Trouble · 26th April 2007, 12:41

nura, LBM and Sam are both correct.

Firstly, you cannot disassemble a coaxial speaker for any kind of service. They have a lot of parts that are glued during final assembly.

Secondly, even if you get it apart, there's not much you can do with it. So if you somehow manage to take apart the tweeter post from the underlying woofer in say a 6x9, there's no way you can clean the gap perfectly since the cone is still glued to the basket, and wont let you access the voice coil - pole piece gap perfectly. Thats where most of the dust and other foreign particles lie. Like lbm says, you can only blow air and hope that the particles dislodge, which you can do without dismantling the post. Besides this, any other problem, like an unwound or fried voice coil, torn spider, surround or cone needs replacement parts, which most manufacturers dont provide for basic speakers. Even if they do, you need a hell lot of equipment to fit it in. So, gist is, please dont take apart your speaker.

navin · 26th April 2007, 12:51

B&T, many moons ago I had imported 6 12" woofers. Each of them had a double magnet (and DVC) etc... during transit one the woofers got damaged and the voicecoil was rubbing against the magnet It was diffcult but we managed to open the woofer and (using a fresh surround and spiders) put the thing back together again. Today this skill is gone. The best are dead or retired. The rest have found other occupations.

Now this was a simple 12" woofer wher the parts (voice coils, surrounds, spiders were available to use and large enough to be handled easily) a coax 6x9 will be many times more diffcult (impossible is not part o my vocabulary).

low_bass_makker · 26th April 2007, 12:54

One more thing can be done while blowing air in VC area try to move the speaker diaphram so that the dust particle dislodge as B&T has said....this is your best bet....also while moving it keep assure that you are moving it vertically and with both hands not from one side as it might damage the speaker more.....

low_bass_makker · 26th April 2007, 13:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin

Now this was a simple 12" woofer wher the parts (voice coils, surrounds, spiders were available to use and large enough to be handled easily) a coax 6x9 will be many times more diffcult (impossible is not part o my vocabulary).

Impossible......ya Navin Ji.....I had this 12 inch pioneer sub model number was 2000 SPL......(ya ya I know I am a SPL type....But now change a bit to SQL).....ok I play the sub so hard that the VC touched the back plate thus damaging itself with the VC unwound and the coil former also damaged.....so here comes the DIY spirit.....I opened up the subs I had to remove it from the surround and the spider.....with a little patience and time I opened it up and repaired the VC but removing a bit of the copper which got unwound....and fixed the sub again.....fixing the VC was a very easy job...it took hardly 10 mins......but the major time I took was when I had to fix the whole assbly......It took me 2 hours to make the aligment correctly......here are some pics....taken from a phone cam so a little bad quality.....

After repairing the sub I sold them.........

navin · 26th April 2007, 13:20

LBM, you are mad, a good sort of mad.

low_bass_makker · 26th April 2007, 13:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin

LBM, you are mad, a good sort of mad.

Thank you sir.....One more thing the subs are still running fine.....

...and the owner is happy also.....

nura · 26th April 2007, 22:46

All you guys on TBHP are loveably mad! I've got a few discarded fake Pioneers lying around & one day I'm going to take one of them apart just for the heck of it. I want to meet a spider & a voice coil face to face. So far I've only seen their pictures. Or maybe I am just missing my anatomy dissection hall days!

24th April 2007, 15:13	#1
nura BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kolkata Posts: 599 Thanked: 17 Times	Dissembling a speaker Is it possible to dissemble & repair a car speaker without special tools? Can someone tell me the procedure or provide relevant links? One of my 6" x 9" ovals seems to be emitting less bass than the other & thought I could take a shot at it! I have a few old speakers lying around to practice on first.
	() Thanks

25th April 2007, 10:53	#2
navin Team-BHP Support Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 25,199 Thanked: 9,306 Times	It takes a lot of skill. The diffcult part is not taking it apart but putting it back together. Centering the voicecoil is one area where one has to be careful. Why not switch the 6x9s and see if something else is the fault. Given that you have a coaxial you will have to worry about the tweter assemble too. I would suggest that if you are attempting to dothis be prepared to loose the speaker altogether.
	() Thanks

25th April 2007, 11:12	#3
low_bass_makker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Faridabad Posts: 6,815 Thanked: 305 Times View My Garage	one of the major faults in the 6x9 is the dust which goes inside the VC through the place where the tweeter pod is mounted.....once cleaned with compressed air and no dust inside the speakers would be nice and new like new ones....try this before doing something major....... and like Navin Ji said try switching the speaker and check is the fault is with the 6x9 or some place else....
	() Thanks

25th April 2007, 12:55	#4
nura BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kolkata Posts: 599 Thanked: 17 Times	Thanks Navin & LBM for your invaluable suggestions. I'll try the compressed air first & then interchange the speakers & see. I don't think I want to do something foolhardy & lose the speaker. Are speakers generally irreparable? My previous experiences at speaker-repair workshops have been pretty disappointing. Or maybe I haven't found the right place yet.
	() Thanks

25th April 2007, 17:52	#5
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	Unless you use an original reconing kit with an original voice coil, most speaker repair jobs will be very far from the original sound.
	() Thanks

26th April 2007, 12:41	#9
Bass&Trouble Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 2,754 Thanked: 124 Times	nura, LBM and Sam are both correct. Firstly, you cannot disassemble a coaxial speaker for any kind of service. They have a lot of parts that are glued during final assembly. Secondly, even if you get it apart, there's not much you can do with it. So if you somehow manage to take apart the tweeter post from the underlying woofer in say a 6x9, there's no way you can clean the gap perfectly since the cone is still glued to the basket, and wont let you access the voice coil - pole piece gap perfectly. Thats where most of the dust and other foreign particles lie. Like lbm says, you can only blow air and hope that the particles dislodge, which you can do without dismantling the post. Besides this, any other problem, like an unwound or fried voice coil, torn spider, surround or cone needs replacement parts, which most manufacturers dont provide for basic speakers. Even if they do, you need a hell lot of equipment to fit it in. So, gist is, please dont take apart your speaker.
	() Thanks

26th April 2007, 12:51	#10
navin Team-BHP Support Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 25,199 Thanked: 9,306 Times	B&T, many moons ago I had imported 6 12" woofers. Each of them had a double magnet (and DVC) etc... during transit one the woofers got damaged and the voicecoil was rubbing against the magnet It was diffcult but we managed to open the woofer and (using a fresh surround and spiders) put the thing back together again. Today this skill is gone. The best are dead or retired. The rest have found other occupations. Now this was a simple 12" woofer wher the parts (voice coils, surrounds, spiders were available to use and large enough to be handled easily) a coax 6x9 will be many times more diffcult (impossible is not part o my vocabulary).
	() Thanks

26th April 2007, 12:54	#11
low_bass_makker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Faridabad Posts: 6,815 Thanked: 305 Times View My Garage	One more thing can be done while blowing air in VC area try to move the speaker diaphram so that the dust particle dislodge as B&T has said....this is your best bet....also while moving it keep assure that you are moving it vertically and with both hands not from one side as it might damage the speaker more.....
	() Thanks

26th April 2007, 13:20	#13
navin Team-BHP Support Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 25,199 Thanked: 9,306 Times	LBM, you are mad, a good sort of mad.
	() Thanks

26th April 2007, 22:46	#15
nura BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kolkata Posts: 599 Thanked: 17 Times	All you guys on TBHP are loveably mad! I've got a few discarded fake Pioneers lying around & one day I'm going to take one of them apart just for the heck of it. I want to meet a spider & a voice coil face to face. So far I've only seen their pictures. Or maybe I am just missing my anatomy dissection hall days!
	() Thanks