Drag on driver causing noise


I bought a pair of old bookshelf speakers with the intention of using them as a part of a desktop setup. The seller was straightforward that the cone was rubbing, and it was affecting the sound. The first time he demo-ed it, the distortion occurred as he said; he paused the music, we poked at the driver to feel the drag (which there was), then he started the music back up, and the problem temporarily abated.

I got a discount as a part of my purchase, my question is what are my less invasive options to try before I start taking off the dustcap/cone/etc?

Thanks

ricksgiving

Sounds like you’re going to need to swap the voice coil, cone, spider and surround or if you can find a replacement driver, that would be the easiest and quickest option, but unless you can find the exact same replacement driver, the sound won’t be exactly the same since the crossovers and drivers are designed to work together.

I can’t think of another option.  Places such as Parts Express have a good selection of inexpensive drivers!

Hopefully the frame is not bent, if you decide to fix it.

For uniformity, I would highly recommend repairing or replacing drivers as pairs, regardless of what option you choose. Good luck!

Driver… rubs are never self healing ( i know i will regret stating this on the internet ). Madisound might be able to provide a similar match….

Found a matching pair out of the UK for $100. Bummer, but if two people from the internet say it's fatal, then I guess it has to be true (thank you for your input).

Sometimes a voice coil rub can be mitigated by turning the speaker over (i.e. rotating it 180 degrees). If they are small, perhaps you could try rotating the cabinet to find a position where this doesn’t occur, then re-mount the woofer to this position.

It’s free to try.

 

Coincidentally, the seller suggested this. I have had the speakers flipped upside down since I purchased them. The point of friction is not at 6:00, it's more like 4:00.

As others have suggested, remove the rubbing driver and invert it 180* and reinstall.  This can usually fix the issue.