What would you do??

SO what it all boils down to is: keep the speakers, replace the drivers. With good units' soldering and screwing onto the cabinet, checking out the c/over maybe... the speakers will start singing again!

MUCH cheaper than Grande Utopia! "Cheaper replacement speakers" are hardly cheap nowadays, either (Avanti's, Eidolons, Piega's... +7-10k) -- nor are these protected from pets!

After all, you are (were) happy with the sound of these speakers so, keep them.

After fixing your speakers you might consider scenting the area around your speakers with some sort of citrus scent(cats detest citrus--ever let a cat smell an orange?). Pet stores sell this type of thing in a spray bottle that you might want to spray around the drivers--I doubt it will hurt the drivers(definately not worse than the cats) and once the cats get the idea they won't go near your speakers anymore. And don't forget the good, old-fasioned spraying cats with the waterbottle when you catch them in the act. Best of luck.

Tim

I had a similar problem recently in that my Thiel 3.5s needed a new midrange. The repair process proved to be more difficult than at first anticipated. Nothing major but the new midrange I got was damaged during the replacement process. I will not bore you with the details. I bought Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v2 against the recommendations of a few retailers who told me that after having owned Thiels I would find Paradigm or PSBs a let-down. Well, I am pleased to say that speaker manufacturers have (not to be too general, Paradigm at least) have made significant improvements in the last ten years. My present speakers and the former ones sound different, no doubt. But at this price level, I am very pleased with my choice and feel these boxes have no right sounding that good. Perfection, no. Midrange- natural, very nice; bass- fast, taut, maybe a little less deep than the equalized Thiels but surprising when the program requires bass; tweeter- have heard better, at more than six times the price though (Dynaudio Contour 3.3s and the more expensive ones with Esotar tweeters at 8X the price, go figure). My point is that some companies now offer a very attractive performance/price ratio. The main problem with Paradigms, as I am sure with other makes, is their lack of snob appeal. I would never get rid of my cat, although it appears to be more well mannered than yours. I take no credit for that, nature provides. It's not quite clear to me what you mean by all the drivers, (your cat must have had a field day!) and I doubt they are all $200 a piece. If you can do it with exact replacements at less than $1000. CDN, and you are not really in need of something new to make your day, I would go for the repairs. By the way, being a Canadian audiophile these days is rather hellish if you look beyond our borders. If you go for Canadian equipment though the bang for the buck (Canadian Peso???) ratio is much improved. By manufacturers who are not sullied by their mid-fi offerings, you could look at Totem (I just find they look too weird with their metal cone doo-ichy-poos (spelling???) on the cabinets; what are those things anyway?) And no, for the record, I am not nor have I ever been associated with Paradigm or any other speaker manufacturer, any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents,representatives or any wives or girl friends of any of the foregoing. Regards.

My cats live outside where they belong. My dog lives inside where he belongs. My niece once poked in my tweeters, we call her "Lefty" now.

Pricha00,

Soix has a good idea with the citrus scent. Works in keepng cats form using our landscaping as a sand box, so it should work on your speakers. I'd recommend sprayng the scent on the grilles, that way you won't take any chances with the new drivers.