Damaged B&W 6 1/2


I purchased a pair of CDM 2SEs (ca 1997 version of the current CM 5) from eBay last week and one driver has developed a nasty buzz. It's a 6 1/2" Kevlar driver with the pointy dust-cap/diffraction thingy that seemingly every B&W speaker has come with ever since.

The part number is ZZ11177. Sadly, this part is out of stock and out of production. When I wrote to B&W for a replacement suggestion, I was told that there was no equivalent, and given suggestions for cone repair shops around the states.

My first question is: Is there anyone on the west coast (or here on audiogon) that can walk me through a repair or repair this for me?

And secondly, kind of an academic question: B&W had 3 speakers in the CDM SE line and several others - all having 6 1/2" kevlar drivers. And if their parts guide is correct, *none* of the speakers shared the same driver.

It's nice to think that each product was so carefully thought out that it required its own set of custom drivers, but from a business standpoint, why make a different driver for your $800 speakers (CDM 2SEs) than for your $1200 (CDM 1SE) speakers? And in 5 or 6 different speakers, NONE of the mid/woofers have the same electrical properties? This is a real head scratcher for me.

In any case, I'd appreciate advice/help/being pointed in the right direction for repair. Thank you!
128x128joelv
contact Madisound. They are located in Madison Wisconsin. They may be able to help.
buying used speaker, make sure that parts are available.
the business standpoint of company is to promote purchasing new products. so they quit manufacturing parts for the old ones. more ripoff = more income.
there are certainly companies with different philosophy and so more prefered.
I am in the same boat I need a midbass for the cdm2 se. I think part of the problem may be thee actual diameter of a different B&W midbass. Our CDM2 SE 165mm mid bass has a stamped steel frame which is about 6 1.5in. the cmd 2nt's zz12025 165 midbass driver's cast aluminum frame appears to be over 7in in online pictures.

I aways assumed in order to to a repair you need a repair kit - cone,surround, voice coil and spider.
Please post if you find additional info on a repair
Hi Patrick -

That sounds like what Brandon at Speaker Repair Of Colorado (recommended by B&W) was suggesting... he didn't go into to detail, but mentioned putting a "kit" together.

From my description, he diagnosed mine as a voice-coil problem, fixable for $60 with an approx 1 week turnaround. I thought that was reasonable so I sent the driver off. I'll let you know how it works out, but I can say so far that they've been friendly and quick to respond by phone and e-mail.

They're at http://www.speakerrepairofcolorado.com if you'd like to check them out.