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Major Contradiction, Can you replace foam surrounds with Rubber Surrounds on Speakers ???

Hi Guys, I have a major conundrum to decide, and need the experts in the community to help. I have the Wilson Watt Puppy 6's and have 4 woofers that need re-foaming.

 Here's the issue, First, according to Wilson, I had called 2x(at different times) and asked to speak with a speaker engineer, Both times the knowledgeable staff member that answered the phone said that wasn't possible, but would relay any message to them on the spot and get back with me while I hold. My question was: Can you replace the foam surrounds on the Wilson speakers with Rubber Surrounds . After waiting on hold for about 5 minuets, he said "yes, you can",

I Then proceeded to call the well regarded Miller Sound in PA, who is recognized to one of the best in the Industry to do the replacing of speaker surrounds. I proceeded to ask the same question to him, and he said, "No, & that it would change the sound of the speaker and to only redo them using foam surrounds to preserve its original sound quality" . I see no other supporting evidence one way or the other on the net. What do you folks say and please elaborate one way or the other to help me justify my decision. Thank you, Rich
audiofan1

Showing 2 responses by golfnutz

golfnutz
231 posts
 
Based on the following link, they’re saying it’s trial and error, and mention things to be aware of.
https://speakerrepairshop.nl/en/questions/foam-or-rubber-surrounds/c-9

My impression is that you want to use rubber surrounds so you won’t have to worry about re-foaming in the future. You’ll still have to replace the diffraction pads at some point, so it’s not going to be completely future proof with rubber surrounds.

You haven’t indicated how long you’ve owned these speakers. Do you have a point of reference to how they use to sound with good surrounds?
I think it’s an important question because if you decide to go rubber how will you know if they sound right? What happens if they come back and you don’t like the way they sound, or you do, but after a couple of years the rubber starts to sag a bit due to weight of driver. How will you know if the rubber surrounds are the proper thinness/thickness for these drivers? You’ll be back to where you are today.

If you do use rubber, and decide in the future to sell the speakers, will you inform any potential buyer you had them re-foamed with rubber instead of foam as they were originally?

My recommendation is to just use foam and not worry about it. Chances are, you’ll sell the speakers before they need to be re-foamed again anyway.


golfnutz
231 posts
 
I like @artemus_5 analogy, and just to simplify it.

I called my local garage and asked if I could use Winter tires in the Summer, of course they said yes....

FYI - Wilson doesn't sell or do re-foaming, they use to suggest a third-party, but not sure if they do that now because that place has closed (orange county speaker repair). Lots of other places sell the re-foam kit though.
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