Reconing: Infinity

1415 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by zorminster, Jan 7, 2007

zorminster

Discussion Starter · Jan 6, 2007

Well, i was unloading some stuff from the trunk when I hear dad say "Hmm, looks like ya punctured the sub!" I hadn't noticed it, but i've definately poked a hole almost dead center of one of my infinity Perfect10 VQ. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the infinity speakers in particular- It almost looks like the center of the cone could be popped out and just have that center piece replace?
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-W0Kzrd...ab=morephotos&pi=5&i=108per10vq&display=L#Tab

Does anyone know if this is the case? Also, any guesstimates on how much to have this sub reconed? Also, does infinity have any certification program for dealers/repair shops that I should look for instead of just going to any stereo shop willing to do it?

And the shameful question- Anyone ever sorta just patch up a cone with some duct-tape and it work okay? The hole in mine is kinda weird- i think the corner of a picture got it, theres a spot about the size of a dime thats been dented in, but the actual puncture is smaller than a pin-head.

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DrWebster

· #2 · Jan 6, 2007

Most speakers aren't designed to be field-reconed, including Infinitys. (Boston Acoustic makes some competition-grade subs that are modular and can be field-stripped.)

The average price for a reconing is somewhere in the $50-75 range IIRC, at least for home speakers of that size. If you're worried about shops being qualified to do it, you could instead send it to Infinity for repair -- it may cost a little more, but at least you'd have the peace of mind knowing that the job would get done properly.

And, it needs to be said: Regardless of whether you fix your sub or buy a whole new one, invest in a grill, particularly one of those mesh ones.

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zorminster

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 6, 2007

yea, i'd had intentions of sticking grills on there, i just never got around to it. Definately regret it now : /

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geewhizbang

· #4 · Jan 6, 2007

Just put a wad of bubblegum in the hole and it should be fine.

Unless you dented it so much that you bent the voice coil, a hole that small just looks bad. Even the tiny hole is probably inaudible, but it may whistle a bit.

You can get plastic "dust covers" from partsexpress.com, but you would have to very carefully remove the old one. It is probably better just to accept the dent, put some caulk (or the aforementioned bubblegum) on it and be more careful next time.

Reconing a speaker is not very difficult when it is made of paper, but a woofer made with more modern materials and glues cannot be fixed quite so easily. I also suspect that a lot of companies doing "reconing" actually just replace the driver with a compatable new one.

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dehoff

· #5 · Jan 7, 2007

Get ahold of these guys, or possibly another store that's more local- http://www.midwestspeaker.com/services.htm

Yes, they actually recone speakers, and don't just replace them.

They reconed a JBL titanium dome midrange quite a few years back that one of my buddies dented in with his knee. I know they reconed it because the drivers had stamped serial numbers that were in matched sets.

Anyhow, they're also a Factory Authorized Service Center for Infinity, along with a lot of other companies.

Edit- You might be able to have them just replace the dust cover if that's all that is damaged.

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geewhizbang

· #6 · Jan 7, 2007

The JBL's probably had replaceable cones. The reconing company just ordered a new one and put it into the speaker. A lot of tweeters have replaceable diaphragms; you just have to know where to order them. A lot of this stuff is only sold wholesale or to registered dealers. Titanium is very difficult to fabricate, and doing a one-off cone would cost more than buying a whole new speaker.

So they had to have ordered new parts even if they went into the old magnets.

As far as the hole in this particular woofer, I would leave well enough alone at the moment. If the driver still works, just patching the hole will be quite fine. It won't look so great, but it is not like it is in the middle of the living room.

Even if the driver no longer works, nothing short of sending it back to the original manufacturer is going to get it properly remade. Even then, the shipping and extra handling makes it easer to start over. The voice coil would probably have to be replaced and there is a considerable amount of complex work that would be very hard to duplicate in low volume production.

So if the woofer fails, just buy a new one. I bet it is just cosmetic and it will work for a long time.

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dehoff

· #7 · Jan 7, 2007

I agree, leave it alone, but see if it whistles. If it does, make sure to seal that hole up or you'll have problems down the road. Sometimes there are actually two dust caps on car audio drivers, with the exterior one being purely cosmetic.

If the cosmetic problem is that much of an issue to you, see if Midwest Speaker can even get the parts to recone or replace the dustcap. Sometimes the companies don't have access to replacement parts due to the fact that they don't manufacture the drivers (much like how most audio cable is just silk-screened with a companies name, but manufactured by another company). If that's the case, you'll be forced to buy another driver.

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zorminster

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 7, 2007

aight, sounds like im leaving the small duct-tape patch on there for now

its not unlikely that these are on their way out the door anyway. see my other thread:
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=66278.0

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