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Anyone's tried repairing/upgrading original Vandersteen 1 speakers?

I have a chance at an original Vandersteen 1 with what's claimed to be a bad woofer. Well, maybe it's the woofer, maybe it's the feed to it through the crossover. Won't know unless I buy it (it's pretty cheap) and open it up. Curious to hear from anyone who's worked on this unit, especially done anything to bring it more up to date. Wondering if this one is worth the effort. Thanks.
rnathans00

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bdp24
10,248 posts
 
@nmmusicman: Yeah, I remember that speaker. It and Nelson are pictured together on an old (digest sized, J. Gordon Holt era) Stereophile magazine cover. I need to dig out my copy and reread the report on the speaker.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,248 posts
 
To replace a woofer can be a cheap fix. In 1981 I bought a pair of ESS TranStatics I’s, introduced in 1970 and discontinued a few years later (with the success of the ESS/Heil AMT 1). One of the two speakers had had it’s KEF B-139 woofer replaced with a generic copy, so I called ESS to see if they had one to sell. I got the last remaining B-139 they had in stock---for 39 bucks!

Did you know Nelson Pass worked at ESS in the early-70's? Not designing electronics (ESS didn't yet offer any), but working on their loudspeakers (specifically their crossovers, I believe).
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