Home Audio Speaker Repair
Home audio speakers have parts that sometimes wear out. Often, such parts can be easily replaced or repaired, making the speaker again as good as new. Never be intimidated by a damaged speaker, unless the repairs are so extensive that they render any effort worthless. Many speakers of significant worth are left out with the trash that may merely need a new woofer surround costing 20 to 25 dollars.
Fixing the Woofer
The woofer is the biggest speaker in a cabinet, deliver the lowest frequencies. It is most often 8-12" inches in diameter. On occasion, the cone of this speaker is torn; more frequently, the surround that encircles the cone is dried out or cracked.
The woofer cone can be easily fixed with a dab of glue and some paper of approximate thickness to the cone. Generally, apply the repair paper to the back of the cone.
To fix the surround, contact simplyspeakers.com or parts-express.com for replacement surround kits. These kits come with glue, cotton swabs, and new foam or rubber surrounds.
With either or both of these repairs, a woofer can be inexpensively restored.
Fixing the Tweeter
On occasion, a tweeter can burn out or freeze. Tweeters are generally 1 to 1 1/2-inch speakers at the top of a speaker cabinet. When tweeters go out, the overall speaker sound is dull, and no high frequencies emanate from the speaker. The easiest fix is often found on eBay. Tweeters can be found as separate components that match the one needing replacement. Costs can be as little as $35 for a component that otherwise retails for $175. Simply unscrew the old tweeter, remove the speaker wires attached to it, and connect and reinstall the new tweeter.
Fixing the Mid-Range
In a 3-way speaker configuration, the mid-range speaker handles the bulk of audio information that our ears perceive as sound...voices and most instruments. Mid-range speakers range from 3 to 5-inches in diameter, and are aligned between the tweeter and woofer, or slightly to one side of the tweeter.
When a mid-range speaker fails, a pronounced hollowness is heard. Replacing the mid-range, because of its compact size, is similar to replacing the tweeter. Use eBay to find the exact component duplicate; then check local electronics specialty stores as there are often an array of separate speakers on their shelves.
Replacing Crossovers
Crossovers are employed in any speaker cabinet that has more than one loudspeaker component to separate the input signal into different frequency ranges suited to each driver. The drivers then receive only the power in their usable frequency range, reducing distortion and interference.
Crossovers can be passive or active. Passive crossovers-electronic circuits that uses a combination of one or more resistors, inductors, or non-polar capacitors-are generally used within a speaker. In three-way or four-way speakers, more than one crossover is employed.
Crossovers can be self-made, but it is often easier to simply replace them, as several websites offer them, and building one is somewhat complicated. Parts-express.com and madisound.com are two excellent sources for finding necessary crossovers and other components.
Take a Second Look Before You Toss the Old Speaker
A good quality speaker is like a piece of fine furniture. The parts that make up the speaker are of very high quality. With a little investigating, all individual speaker components can often be replaced, saving significantly over buying new speakers to replace the old inoperative ones.
Tags: speaker cabinet, Audio Speaker, Audio Speaker Repair, Home Audio, Home Audio Speaker
