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Scanspeak 10" driver replacement - blown woofer

Hi, I have to replace 2 10" drivers on a pair of Vandersteen 3a's. The drivers are 25w aluminum cone, and the voice coils are fried. Vandersteen will rebuild for 289 each.

Question: Is there a comparable replacement on the market that would be cheaper then the rebuild, and close in performance? I found a company, Madisound speaker components, which sells many 10" drivers from 37.00 - 355.00

I have hooked the speakers back up and have found the bass to be insane with the big 10" hole in the back, apparently in the design the 10" drivers act as acoustic couplers, part passive radiator and part driver. I placed a large book over the holes and the bass is instantly tighter, but not as deep as they used to be.

How important is the quality of these acoustic couplers?
Would a SEAS presitige aluminum woofer be as good at 165.00?
Would I hear the difference?

I know it's impossible for you guys to answer all these questions, I am just trying to paint a picture of where my head is at. Have any of you had to replace your woofers with aftermarket products? What brand did you choose? and how did it work out?

Thanks again,
Mike
hanaleimike
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
As several others have correctly pointed out - if you can't easily (& cheaply) get the exact same model driver then it would be sensible to go with Vandersteen for repair in order to keep your speakers standard (better resale as nobody wants to buy a dogs breakfast of a speaker). Of course Vandersteen will be slightly more expensive than retail as they get the driver from Scan-speak and will probably carry a higher markup then a large retail outlet like Madisound (a clerk who just takes your order versus Vandersteen staff who are likely better paid).
hanaleimike OP
125 posts
 
Hi, Thank you for your inputs. Rodman, the bass is fine, was fine, great actually, it was a physical accident with a turntable, and more power then the speakers are rated for.

I cannot get an exact matching new driver, so I am left with getting them repaired. Vandersteen will charge 289 per, and Bill Legall charges 65.00 per.
The rubber surrounds are fine and the speaker looks perfect from the outside. I would hate to have Bill replace the voice coils to save a few bucks, then get them back and figure out the aluminum cones are warped or some other problem that Vandersteen would probably catch. I guess I could buy another pair of 3a's for 1000.00 and have spare mids and tweeters and cloth?

Well, I have some thinking to do,

Thanks for talking me out of cheap replacement drivers.

Mike
face
516 posts
 
Shadorne,
Have you ever dealt with Madisound? Of course they have clerks who take orders, but they also have an excellent technical staff, some who have been in the industry for a long time.
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Shadorne,
Have you ever dealt with Madisound? Of course they have clerks who take orders, but they also have an excellent technical staff, some who have been in the industry for a long time.

No I have not. I get stuff from Solen. You are probably correct and that they have great staff - sorry if what I said sounded negative - all I really meant was that it is NOT unreasonable for one to expect a boutique like Vandersteen to charge a lot more for a replacment part than a large outfit like Madisound.
rodman99999
6,156 posts
 
Mike- Are you certain the voice coils are burned? Is there any sound from them with signal applied? If so- It's possible, with a sudden high input transient(ie: If a tonearm were dropped), for the voice coil to exceed it's linear range, bottom on the magnet plate and/or strike the magnet's top plate and pole piece. Either will bend/deform the voice coil's former and cause a nasty scratching/rattling sound during play. I've repaired a number of drivers that had that misfortune over the years(NOT my own), without having to replace the voice coil(aluminum is easy, Nomex/polymide/Kapton are much trickier, but doable). That insured no change was made in the unit's T/S parameters, or it's sound. I've no doubt Bill at Millersound could do that repair as well, if he's willing to take the time.
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