Need suggestions for GOOD glue/cement to fix a stereo speaker?

[Budarow]

Can anyone suggest a good glue/cement to fix speakers? I've seen some stuff from MG Chemicals called Speaker Service Cement, but I can't find it locally and $15+ to ship a 2-ounce bottle of glue seems excessive to me.

Thanks,

Bud

 

[Rubycon]

Text

 

[lenjack]

If the speaker is old, the problem might be deterioration of the foam which is common. It may not be the adhesive at all. Refoaming kits are available.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: lenjack
If the speaker is old, the problem might be deterioration of the foam which is common. It may not be the adhesive at all. Refoaming kits are available.

I understand what you're getting at, but the cone has no trace of the foam stuck to it so I believe the glue simply came undone. Not that these are "high end" speakers per se, but the MSRP was $1,000 for the pair about 12 years or so ago. They're Infinity Reference 6 towers which I paid $350/ea. at going out of business sale. These are some (or were at least) awesome speakers. I'd put them up against speakers costing 2x as much (and providing the glue works).

Also, the cones are NOT paper but some sort of synthetic material. I've forgotten the "technical" description.

 

[Ken90630]

If I were in your shoes, I'd prolly call Infinity and see what they suggest. They might suggest sending them to Chatsworth in Southern California (which is where Infinity was last time I checked), which you may or may not want to do depending on where you live. Or maybe they can suggest a good adhesive or other strategy.

I had a pair of Boston Acoustics car speakers awhile back whose cones had separated from their surrounds. I contacted them and they told me to send 'em in and they'd fix 'em for free (out of warranty). Which they did. You'd never know anything had been wrong with 'em. They're still going strong after >10 years, so presumably they used an improved adhesive this time.

You might also pick up a copy of The Absolute Sound magazine or Sound & Vision magazine and check the ads in the back. I've seen ads there for speaker repair, reconing, kits, etc., and you could give a few of those places a call for advice.

I will say that Infinity speakers in that price range are likely to be pretty good, so yeah, I'm with you -- see if you can fix it.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Budarow
Also, the cones are NOT paper but some sort of synthetic material. I've forgotten the "technical" description.

Most likely polypropylene. You know, just about any epoxy will do the job just fine. It's what I've used in cases like yours. Also, you can get clear epoxy, which never hurts.

 

[Fike]

I would use a pure silicone caulk from a hardware store. It is very sticky and will dampen vibration very well.

I have Reference 3 speakers of the same generation. Not audiophile quality, but I love them.

 

[stogez]

You could probably use any clear epoxy for them. Just put pressure on it as the epoxy is drying so you dont get any bubbles and you should be fine.
@Fike caulk would probably come off when the speakers are being used. Its a speaker...you WANT the vibration

 

[Rubycon]

You want a cement with high tack strength, low viscosity, and very light. Adding mass to a driver is very bad. Seal All works well.

I had a driver that had the surround damaged when a prop was was pushed into the front of the cabinet and that's all I had to glue it back. The surround was separated for about an inch - too big to ignore. Very thin beads were applied to both sides and allowed to dry for a few minutes and then it was pressed together. That speaker still works today and gets played HARD.

If you have old speakers with crumbling foam surrounds, you will need kits to replace them OR you can send the drivers to a re-coning service.

 

[Fike]

Originally posted by: stogez
You could probably use any clear epoxy for them. Just put pressure on it as the epoxy is drying so you dont get any bubbles and you should be fine.
@Fike caulk would probably come off when the speakers are being used. Its a speaker...you WANT the vibration

silicone may not be the optimum, but I am not sure I agree about your statement that you want to transmit vibration to the enclosure. Vibration should be transmitted by moving air with the cone, not the vibration of the whole enclosure. that is why good speakers are so heavy; the enclosure provides dampening of unwanted vibration.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Fike

Originally posted by: stogez
You could probably use any clear epoxy for them. Just put pressure on it as the epoxy is drying so you dont get any bubbles and you should be fine.
@Fike caulk would probably come off when the speakers are being used. Its a speaker...you WANT the vibration

silicone may not be the optimum, but I am not sure I agree about your statement that you want to transmit vibration to the enclosure. Vibration should be transmitted by moving air with the cone, not the vibration of the whole enclosure. that is why good speakers are so heavy; the enclosure provides dampening of unwanted vibration.

But based on the damaged part

"glue connecting the woofer and foam surround"

this is still one of the moving parts you'd want to keep light and vibrating

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: MS Dawn
You want a cement with high tack strength, low viscosity, and very light. Adding mass to a driver is very bad. Seal All works well.

I had a driver that had the surround damaged when a prop was was pushed into the front of the cabinet and that's all I had to glue it back. The surround was separated for about an inch - too big to ignore. Very thin beads were applied to both sides and allowed to dry for a few minutes and then it was pressed together. That speaker still works today and gets played HARD.

If you have old speakers with crumbling foam surrounds, you will need kits to replace them OR you can send the drivers to a re-coning service.

I'm going with the Seal All...go with a tested solution

Thanks,

Bud

 

[ethebubbeth]

When UPS decided to play log toss with my pair of Klipsch RF-3, the driver on one of them snapped off form the horn and attached itself magnetically to one of the woofers.

I ended up just using a small amount of superglue to re-attach it to the horn without any hit to the overall sound quality. However, I wouldn't advise this fix for a dome tweeter >_<).

 

[Budarow]

Since I have to do some kind of repair, if I did opt to replace my foam surrounds using a repair kit, is it very difficult? It looks like my drivers each have 4 screws holding them in-place in the cabinet.

Thanks,

Bud

 

[Rubycon]

Check these guys out.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: MS Dawn
Check these guys out.

Thanks Ms. Dawn. I'll check these guys out. My foam surrounds won't last forever, so I may just send my woofers in for a workover. These speakers have given me years of enjoyment for ~17 cents a day so I guess they've earned a "face lift".