best replacement woofers for early advent speakers

I have done a couple of these successfully, and it's really no big deal - it's actually rewarding to do it yourself. So here's my 2 cents:

1. You cannot "just glue on new surrounds". You either have to remove the dustcaps and shim the voice coils OR you have to use a "live" technique of playing a low bass test tone through the woofer as you do the final glue. This technique is very easy and fully explained in the surround kit that I'm recommending next in section 2.

2. You should use a quality replacement surround that has the proper, larger "roll" diameter. The original Advent roll was larger then the typical speakers of it's day.
I STRONGLY recommend buying these from a guy on Ebay whose handle is "looneytune2001". He's got very detailed, practically foolproof instructions AND he also provides very helpful email support if you should need it - which I did. (I have no relationship with him.) His "kit" comes with all you need (except for new silicone caulk to put around the woofer rim when you reseal it to the cabinet). His is slightly more expensive than others, but I initially ordered my first surrounds from elsewhere and it was a disaster. Here's a direct link to them (assuming Audiogon allows links): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3276&item=5719250021&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

3. You SHOULD glue the new surround to the INSIDE of the brown masonite ring. (It's more trouble because you have to remove the woofer from the cabinet.) Any deviation from the original conformation will compromise the quality and longevity. If you glue to the outside you will be starting the "throw" of the woofer in a slightly advanced spot with tension on the spider that is incorrect and it won't sound the same. And if you used any typical small roll surround and glued it outside, Yuckkkkkk.

4. If you do this right, the woofers should be good for another 15 years.

Hope this helps.

where do you get tweeters for the original Large Advent?

Thanks for the info about the woofers...

Phil

wow, thank you very much for the offer! so you're saying to use the original surrounds, or a different one? just pick up the surround of my choice and glue that on? in that case i could use a high-quality rubber surround like i wanted. that would be awesome. you do realize though, that i am all the way in california? thanks!

Just do the the surrounds on the woofers. I have done many pairs of the original Advents...the large ones with the cardboard ring like structure. They come out great, and are as good as the originals, if not better. You can use standard 10" surrounds, and glue the surround to the top of the brown hard cardboard ring. I get these surrounds at a place called Allstate Electronics in Jamaca, Queens NY(718 291 3388). They also sell the Vinalite cement to do them. They sell other glues, but I like this Vinalite cement best. These are very easy to do, and I use no special tools other than a knife to scrape off the old surround from the cone. They are easy, and just make sure you glue the surround to the cone frist, then you can play with the alingment as you glue the outer edge of the surround to the brown cardboard. Don't bother with the replacement woffers, just fix the old ones. If you screw up the frist time, just carefully remove the surrounds and try again. The surrounds cost about $3.00 each, and the glue is about $5.00 for a bottle that can be used to do several pairs. Also, the surrounds can be put one either way, inverted, as the originals, or the other way, as with most speakers. If you put them on the latter way, they come pretty close to the grill when it is in place, but they play just fine. You might see the grill breath a little as you really pump them, however. Email me, I can pick up these surrounds and glue and send them to you if you like. The cost is small. Or maybe you know someone in NY who could do you the favor. I don't know if Allstate ships them or not, but you have the telly, so call. My Email is: victguarne@cs.com

thanks for the reply. for the $260 for the pair of replacements on simplyspeakers, i want to make sure it's right.

Do a search of the archives. There was something on this a while back.
"Just Speakers" in Florida claims to have newer OEM Advent woofers. I bought a pair for mine and although they are not identical (round magnet on back instead of the original square), they function, look and sound identical.