2. speakers
  3. 1379008807

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!
joelv
7 responses Add your response
joelv's avatar
joelv OP
103 posts
 
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.
patrickfoley
1 posts
 
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
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
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.
joelv's avatar
joelv OP
103 posts
 
Thank you for the responses!

I wish it were a sagging cone (and you can bet I took the driver out to test that theory as soon as I read it!), but I'm afraid it's something to do with the voice coil.

I called one of the people B&W recommended (Speaker Repair of Colorado) and they think they can fix it for $60.00, so that's where I'm leaning at the moment.
jjrenman
279 posts
 
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.

I worked for a speaker manufacturer that made there own drivers and I can tell you that having slightly different drivers for each model is fairly easy to do. More than likely the engineers would mix and match from the many various parts that they were already using to fine tune each driver to it's intended use. An example would be using a smaller magnet with a stiffer surround to alter the parameters.

Sorry to hear about your B&W driver.... If pushing very lightly on the bottom of the surround eliminates the buzz you may just have a sagging cone. If that's the case you can try rotating the driver 180 degrees.
zydo's avatar
zydo
242 posts
 
contact Madisound. They are located in Madison Wisconsin. They may be able to help.
james63
534 posts
 
I would make sure the current model's screw pattern matches up and if so I would just use those drivers. Yes they could have small differences but really the speaker is broken now anyway. Maybe check to see what the oldest model they have in stock (maybe closer to what you have now).
Log in to respond
More to discover
Borresen C1
GOLDMUND RELIST PRICE LOWERED GOLDMUND
Kharma Exquisite Extended Ref 1a