Speaker Re-Paper

[sauerkraut]

I went to Speaker Works on Mingo to see about getting another spare needle for my old 1958 Motorola record player-- needles for that unit are hard to find, anyhow I mentioned to the guy that the big 15" speaker on the record player  has a small tear and he said I should re-paper it, he also said those speakers were made to min. bare bones standards and by re-papering it I could get more power out of it. The record player currently  sounds good to me with  my untrained ear - but maybe it's not as good as it could be. The cost is $65.00, I don't know if that's for a new voice coil too. He also mentioned that the amp should be re-built because it's over 50 years old and parts in it are out of range what ever that means. I won't mess with the amp. Did anyone here re-paper a speaker and is it worth it? 

[Nick Danger]

I have had Speakerworks repair a couple of sets of speakers over the years and Dave knows his stuff. He rebuilt them and they worked great, but not familiar with the term re-papering. He's definitely of the opinion that older speakers are worth rebuilding, and most of the new stuff is primarily disposable junk.

[In2neon]

Reconing is an art and when I was just out of high school (late 70s) George Beasly was the reconing dude in Tulsa and we became good friends over the years he has since passed on and David is "Da Man" for all things reconing... We have reconed many blown speakers @ Tulsa Raceway Park and have had reconed MANY speakers over my lifetime mostly by George before I met David @ Speakerworks... I believe him to be fair, honest, and an expert in speakers.... Would have and still have him recone for me anyday...
BTW I still have and use some 54 year old EV outdoor speakers that have been reconed by George 25 years ago and yes the reconers parts sometimes (depends on original specs of course,  voicecoil mostly) are to higher spec than original... My EVs were originally 30 watt rated but George said his aftermarket coil would go much higher ( I think 100W)and I have abused them for 25 years now...

[sauerkraut]

Thanks for the info, he said if I just have small tear it can be patched. I'll hold off on any major speaker overhaul, since it still works fine, I put a patch on the tear..  The first time I spoke with him he thought I had a major rip and speaker sound distortion, a re-paper would job would also give me a new coil... It's a big 15" speaker on a 1958 Motorola floor model record player. I did learn that the guy also sells needles for record players and I bought some. he had a needle for my 1958 unit and those are hard to find. I have two spair needles for it at home, I like to buy one when I come across one just in case. I also have a newer Motorola record player that is a stereo from the late 1960's and needles for that are easy to find and a cheap, that unit is solid state and has no tubes.

[rdj]

I have a pair of JBL studio series bookshelf speakers.  My oldest son poked a hole in the left speakers' woofer when he was just starting to walk.  They were about $1100 brand new.  I wonder if it would be worth having him repair them.  I packed them back in their original box and put them in storage because I couldn't stand to part with them.

[sauerkraut]

My 1958 Motorola is pre-stereo and has 6 tubes, it has one big 15" speaker and 3 small 6" speakers. My parents bought it back in 1958 for something like $165.00 a ton of money back then. We  played it alot as kids so the unit has alot of mileage on it- the volume & Bass can rattle the windows. I have seen units just like mine on youtube. I think vinyl sounds much better than todays cd's.

[sauerkraut]

I have a pair of JBL studio series bookshelf speakers.  My oldest son poked a hole in the left speakers' woofer when he was just starting to walk.  They were about $1100 brand new.  I wonder if it would be worth having him repair them.  I packed them back in their original box and put them in storage because I couldn't stand to part with them.

I'd say "Yes" if they cost that much money new , check into it. The cost to re-paper my 15" speaker would of been $65.00 if I needed it, plus I get a new coil too- however some rips can just be patched, this guy seems to know alot about speakers. Won't hurt to call.

[In2neon]

By all means see if it is repairable.... MANY speakers can be reconed or in some cases replace the offending woofer with a comparable one.... JBL should be repairable .... I have had other home speakers reconed... as in the flexible surround (foam rubber) deteriorated and reconing was a breeze....

[heironymouspasparagus]

If you go by whether it is "worth" it, you are looking at the wrong thing.  Do you like the unit?  Does it have value to you - sentimental, etc.  It is likely not "worth" $10 if you try to sell it, but that's NOT the value of the thing.  $65 sounds reasonable when the time comes to recone and voice coil it.  Where you gonna get something that gives you that much enjoyment for so little cash outlay?

Bet you waste more than that a week on eating out and getting unsatisfying mediocre food.  Certainly in a month...

(I am working on a 1960 Johnson outboard motor that probably is "worth" about $75.  To me it is worth more than the $250 or so in parts it will end up costing to fix it.)