I'm an old speaker guy and can tell you that ANY speaker recone is a guess in a sense. If you have ever re-coned many speakers, you may notice that you get one surround and it is thin and wimpy, you get another and it is thick and stiff. Anytime you change the mechanical ease or difficulty that allows the driver to move, you change QMS. So the trick would be to try to mimic how stiff that original surround is. The likely hood is, If you have a sealed box woofer that you could get away without much noticeable difference using a butyl surround, but be aware, YES, the woofer spec will change when changing from a foam to rubber surround. If you do change it, make sure that you re spec the woofer, the port tuning may need to be tweaked. Again, if it is sealed, the difference should be minor. Good Luck, Tim
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
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