Hello Simon, Hope I will get to you with this message. I am french and I just bought a pair of SPENDOR SP100 (second hand from 1998). I have a problem : a lack of low frequency apparently due to hard woofer surround. The speakers have not been used for the past 2 years. I was trying to find replacement surround and experienced exactly the same problem you had with SPENDOR after sales service. I saw your post with brake fluid. I am just a bit curious before attempting this operation. I can see that you did this operation in 2012. Do you still have your SP100 ? Are the surround affected or damaged by the brake fluid ? Is it still ok after a long period of time ?
Thanks for your advice. Best regards Hubert |
Salectric,
You are correct. I had forgotten that. |
According to my Spendor manual, they keep a record of driver performance characteristics for every speaker they made, so if a driver needs replacement they can sell one that is an exact replacement. Spendor takes great efforts to match drivers precisely---to within 1% I believe---so getting a speaker with the original drivers would be very important IMO. This also explains why the price for a replacement driver might appear high. They are doing more than just selling a speaker that you could buy from a mailorder place. |
I regrettably agree that the drivers must be original. I would be sorely tempted to return the whole mess to the guy that sold them to you. If they were a gift that is obviously a whole different story. If you really want Spendor after knowing about the service issues I would buy another all original pair. In fact I never even considered buying "modded" speakers. The enginerring is so precise and carefully planned I just don't believe this is a place for amatueres.
I replaced the tweeters on my JM Lab Focal speakers with exact drivers, that wre there originally and were provided by the North American importer. I wouldn't have done it any other way |
I don't believe that you ould find any buyer who would knowingly purchase a Spendor speaker without original, or factory replacement drivers. The sound of the speaker is largely due to the drivers used.
If your friend sold you S100 speakers with a foam surround mid driver, then I would say it is not original. If he, or someone else managed to cobble it together with a foam surround, it will not sound the same. |
Did you call the guys at Q S and D audio. They were the US Importers for Spendor for years. That mau have some advice for you. http://www.qsandd.com/ |
How will not have factory spec drivers impact the potential resale value of the Spendors?
I own or have owned three different versions of the S100 series, all purchased used, and I'm not sure I would even buy a Spendor at a steep discount if it didn't have factory drivers? |
Not that different from what I can see. I use to be a Spendor dealer but not currently one. I am a dealer for other products brought in by the current importer so I see price lists and technical info. The best bet would be to get them direct from England; you might check on the Spendor forum on Yahoo to see if anyone on there could help you or contact a Spendor dealer in England. |
Stanwal,
The current price $10,000 is for SP100R2 which is different
with 1st generation S100 and 2nd generation SP100
I would appreciate if you have the connection where to get the mid and woofer for SP100! |
Are you dealing with Spendor or with the American importer? I recently had an importer ask me to pay $400 for an IC that was avalable in quanities of 10 from a large supply house for $40 each. I eventually bought 2 for $64 on ebay. The importer's defense was " that he had to make a living". The current Spendor SP 100 cost is above $10,000. On the other hand the Tweeters in the S 100 are Scanspeak and go for $60 each; I replaced a pair last year. I think they are the same as the ones in the SP 100; the rest of the drivers are the same. |
Robman99999,
Yeah, happy listening!
I hv got relpy from Bill that he don't hv any rubber surround for sale! Anyway, thanks so much for your
information and Bill is really a very nice guy, he has
offered me an advise that to wipe the rubber surround
with "brake fluid" to make the rubber surround back to
"soft" and it really works fine, the woofer is become
much 'softer' and should not affect the performance!
Regarding the mid driver, actually I just got this speaker
from my friend and he has the mid driver changed to "foam"
surround i/o "rubber" surround. I don't hear any problem
with the "foam" surround but if I can find the correct thickness/size for rubber surround I still prefer to change
it back to rubber surround in order to make sure the mid range perform the best and back to original look! So if any
expert here can provide the source please HELP me!!!!
Salecteric,
The problem on my SP100 mid/woofer rubber surround is because my friend stored the speakers for few years and
when he recently took it out and the rubber surround on
the mid/woofer were both "dried" & "hard". Especially
on the mid rubber surround which must be replaced otherwise can't sing due to it turns to "too dry/broken & too hard".
I believe, if the speakers are keep singing frequently, and
I will apply something like "transparent cleaning oil" for every 2 to 3 years to avoid the rubber surround getting dry/hard again, it can be last for at least 20 to 30 years!
Roxy54,
Compared with the drivers selling price from Thiel, the Spendor drivers are overpriced!
Thiel model CS5i list price : over $10,000
- $275 for a pair of tweeter
- $490 for a pair of mid range
Spendor model: SP100R list price: $6,000
- $5xx for pair of mid range
- $1,xxx for a pair of woofer
Regarding service, for the drivers with problem on the rubber surround, Thiel will not force you to buy new driver, sure they will replace your drivers with new
surround with reasonable charge!
May be not only Spendor, Proac also don't repair any
drivers with problem on the surround foam. If I'm not
getting this pair of SP100 at a cheap price from my friend
..................sure I will not buy any product from
these 2 UK speaker maker becos of "lake" of repairing service of drivers surround and "unreasonable charges" on
drivers! |
I have had 2 pairs of S 100s since about 1990 and both are still working perfectly. |
Simon, How did the rubber surrounds on your Spendors get damaged in the first place? The fact that both the woofer and mid need repair suggests that something out of the ordinary occurred, like somebody poking the speakers.
I have had SP100s for over 10 years and they are basically the same as the day I bought them. I would certainly hope that the surrounds will continue for another decade or two without problems.
The SP100s are really nice speakers! |
|
Thanks for the adv!
Rodman9999,
I'm checking with Bill if have the suitable rubber surround which fit
for SP100, thanks! |
I second the advice to use Millersound to repair your speakers. Bill is fanastic, you really can't do better. |
Talk to Bill, at Millersound: (http://www.millersound.net/service.htm) I used to own a shoppe myself, and did reconing/speaker system repair, as a facet. Trust me when I say, this guy knows his business. He'll sell you whatever parts you need, as well as repairing them for you, if you choose. I've dealt with him several times. He's tops! |
I believe that both of the drivers are proprietary to Spendor, and it is likely that special cement and jigs are needed for assembly. That is probably why they want to sell you new drivers.
Considering the original cost of the speakers, probably at least $5000.00 dollars when new, $1500.00 is really not that bad to replace four of the six drivers. |
Check out Parts Express. They do repair speakers, and also sell foam/rubber surround. Hope this help. |
You could try a local repair shop if there is one; I had 8 12" woofers repaired recently. The speaker company that had produced the subs they were in was out of business. If no local shop possibly look for one on the internet. Have you tried the Spendor Forum on the net? |
