Replacement Speakers

[Talos4]

I'm looking at possibly replacing the drivers in my current mains.

These are old Atlantis 10 3 way speakers. 10" woofers, 5" mid and 3.5" tweeters.

The drivers are showing their age (20+) dust cover is mssing from one of the woofers, Paper cones are drying out. etc.

Is there a local source for quality drivers?  I realize the internet is rich in choices.  But I would like to avoid the hassle of returns if I don't "like" them.

Re-coning and re-edging is a possiblity, but I think with newer drivers, especially the mids and tweeters I would be able to better appreciate the audio quality of DVD's and CD's.

Considering the top end of audio when I bought these speakers was vinyl and tape.

The reason I'm "thinking",  of upgrading the drivers is that the cabinets are great.

Or should I just breakdown and buy new? :confused:

[StarvingForHDTV]

I would suggest "breakdown and buy new".

[bklass]

Try "Audio Ventures" in Waukesha.
262-896-9000
They specialize in Speaker Repair & Parts.  I've been very pleased with their work.

Good luck!

Barry Klass

[Matt Heebner]

Personally I would just breakdown and get new. Speaker technology hasn't changed much...but the materials they are made with are light years ahead of where they were just a decade ago. For example, B&W uses kevlar in their woofer material. These things will probably outlast you and I !

Honestly, the next set of high end speakers someone buys more than likely will be the last ones they need to buy. Gone are the days of woofer rot, paper cones drying up, and sprung voice coils.

AND...the best thing of all....you get to check out and audition new speakers !!! Hell, I am not even in the market and I love to do that !!

Good luck

Matt

[Gregg Lengling]

I agree go new...however if you are cheap and want to buy some good used ones check out the for sale section of this board.  My old KLH's are for sale (about 6 years old) as I just moved them out of the family room today and calibrated my Bose Lifestyle 38.  Yeah I know a lot of people say that the Bose is over-rated...but I sell them for part of my living and everytime I start the demo with the Bose and move on, the customer keeps coming back to the Bose, no other complete system for that price sounds that good.

Just finished calibrating the system and watched a couple shots of DVD's with surround and some good music and I must say it's great and even my wife loves it.  I'm now starting to load the hard-drive with all of our CD's.  Now I can put them away and not hunt for the right one, it's all in the system.
 :OnAir:

[Talos4]

Matt, unfortunately, the hunt began before i knew it.

I found myself in one of the demos rooms at Flanners over the weekend.

Ended up walking out out with a new Boston Acoustics VRC center channel.

And while we were there,  just happened to audition the matching mains :eek:  :guitar: .

The wheels are turning, but the wallet is hurting at the prospect. plus there is the WAF to deal with.  3 foot tall towers are not the same as a 22" cabinet.

[StarvingForHDTV]

I'm now starting to load the hard-drive with all of our CD's.  Now I can put them away and not hunt for the right one, it's all in the system.
 :OnAir:

That sounds great!  Is the hard drive available for your car too?  Maybe my dreams will finally come true......

[dj1111]

I've been building my own speaker cabs since Junior High.  The company I order most of my parts from is MCM Electronics //www.mcmelectronics.com.  Quality has always been very high and they have a great selection.  Another company with a large selection of D.I.Y. speaker stuff is //www.partsexpress.com.  Haven't ordered anything through them, yet.  My latest project is a 250-watt bandpass subwoofer.  The 12" woofer has a 20mm excursion.  I'm hoping it causes some structural damage to my house.

[HiFiTy]

Another good source of drivers and tweeters is   Madisound and they are located in Madison.