Help replacing 8" woofer on Gershman Avant Garde Rx-20


In a bit of exuberance while my kids were out of the house, I went past 50% on my amp and blew out my woofer on my 10 year old Gershman Avant Garde RX-20.  

I believe it's an 8" ribbon driver?  Looking for an exact replacement or an upgrade to both.  

Any suggestions?  https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/staff10.htm

 

 

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@acresverde i was hesitant to call him because of that being explicit on the website.  He asked me to send a photo of the driver and based on that he felt confident it looked very similar to one he does work on and could fix it.  Turned out my issue was a simple fix but he was prepared to do the work.  I would just call him.  You might be pleasantly surprised like I was.  

I am a bit confused here. On his webpage Bill Legall makes it very clear that he only services specific brands he lists under the heading "brands we service". If your brand is not listed, do not ask...no exceptions. Gershman is not a listed brand. I'm curious as to how you pulled this off. I, myself, have four 10" woofers I want to recone and my brand is not listed. Thanks for any help you might provide.

and thanks @bache for offering.  next time I'm in Brooklyn I intend to look you up and come over for a listen.  

For those of you who were nice enough to reply, update is Bill has already fixed my driver in less than 24 hours.  The voice coil worked loose and that was it.  Good as new.  I can't recommend Bill and the work he does more highly.  The guy is a gem and probably one of the only people on the planet who does what he does.  Truly unbelievable.  We who spend lots of money on this hobby don't have enough honest brokers to rely on.  Bill is one.  If you ever need a repair on your speaker, give him a holler.  You won't regret it.  

I’ve sent my woofer to Bill LeGall at Millersound. @testpilot Gershman no longer had parts for the AG RX-20.  Once you hit 20 years of a particular speaker, even the big brands (I.e. B&W) likely won’t have replacement drivers.  Fingers crossed but I’m told Bill is the best in the business.  Will update once I know.  

I bought a store demo GAG.

Once I got it home, it buzzed on one particular CD. I thought it was the driver. The dealer ordered a new driver from Gershman and I brought the speaker back to the dealer and tested on his machine. Well, the buzz was hardly noticeable. Anyway, the dealer installed a new driver. When I brought it home, the buzz was reduced, but a tiny buzz was still there. Then, I realized the problem was on my part. Then, I upgraded the amp and preamp, and the buzz was completely gone.

My amp/preamp was almost 20 years old (Plinius SA102 and M16P), and once upgraded, Gershman sounds much better.

I guess you can simply order a driver from Gershman if they still have it. Or, you can ask them about replaceable driver.

I also listen loud and dial at around 12 o’clock on preamp volume.

Jerry,

thanks for writing.  Curious what makes you say that regarding the reflection on the amplifier?  This amplifier

was recommended to me by Gershman, a Simaudio 340i.  It’s very capable.  
 

how does one check the crossovers?

This failure likely reflects more on your amp than your speaker. 

You can also check your crossover. the fact that 2 drivers are misbehaving might point to the crossover, which would be much easier to find parts to rebuild.

Jerry

Will do and agreed, they’ve been very helpful in the past.  Not sure I agree on your assessment.  50% volume might be driving the output to 70% power, but don’t believe it’s possible that it could be 100% at 12 o’clock.  Amp should clip way before full power output.  

Contact Gershman, they have excellent customer support. 

BTW, 50% of the preamp dial means nothing.  Depending on the source, at 50% of the volume dial you could be driving your amp to full power.

 

lastly, going past 50% shouldn't do any damage, especially as the amp wasn't clipping and is rated for these speakers.  second time this has happened.  kind of  a drag.  

and let me add, my cone is making a classic buzzing sound so might be repair-able?  I checked back and Gershman fixed one before, many years ago.  does anyone know a reputable repair person I could possibly send my driver to?