I worked as a salesman at two different stereo stores: One store from 1987-1991, and the second store from 2000-2008. Both stores carried several “high end” brands. Even though, as others have said, you are justified in expecting to receive your used speakers in the condition they were advertised in (or better!), I have also contacted different manufacturers of speakers using soft dome tweeters about them being pushed in, and subsequently popped back out. (Customers would call to say their guests, and sometimes their children, couldn’t resist pushing in the tweeters). Every time I called, offering to purchase new tweeters, I was told that if they were returned to their original position, they would play as before. This did NOT apply to metal dome tweeters! My only personal experience with this was once I forgot to replace the grills on my Von Scweikert VR4jr, and one of my grandkids pushed in a tweeter. I called VSA, and they told me to just pull it back out gently and enjoy. Just my experience.
Soft-dome tweeter damage - NBD or permanently compromised?
I’d appreciate the community’s help untangling a tweeter damage question. I bought a used pair of floorstanding speakers produced by a boutique brand that is well known to the audiophile community. (I’ll keep the name to myself, I’m not trying to call them out.) During shipping, both soft‑dome tweeters were crushed. I used the tape‑and‑pull method to pop the domes back into shape, but I have always understood from others that a deformed tweeter can never perform the same after such damage.
The seller felt otherwise, leaving a voicemail claiming that the tweeters should perform identically once restored to their original shape. Of course, it would be in the seller’s interest to say that, so I resolved to find out from the manufacturer what tweeter was used so I could source replacements myself or ask the vendor to supply them. When I contacted the manufacturer, I heard back from the owner, who to my surprise said, "I don’t think that will affect the sound if you got them back to where they should be. It’s basically a dust cover anyway.... They’re soft domes. I’ve had it happen a few times over the years. I’ve never heard any problems with it myself." He offered no specs for a swap.
So I’m stuck. Are soft‑dome tweeters truly unaffected after being crushed and popped back out, or has their performance been permanently compromised? Should I keep listening or hunt down replacements (with almost no information on what to buy)?
Any first‑hand experience or technical insight would be greatly appreciated!