My rear sub sounded awful in my ML LX470. I pulled the rear panel, but my rear foam looked good. No degradation, but man, the cone was moving way too much. I've already ordered and received the new 6" speaker foam kit. Should I have replaced it?
How to tell if I need new speaker foam? (1 Viewer)
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Did you actually feel the foam? Often it may look good but there are small cracks along the edge.
Could also be the voice coil, although that seems much less common. I’m contemplating tossing a cheap Pyle in there instead of reforming mine.
Could also be the voice coil, although that seems much less common. I’m contemplating tossing a cheap Pyle in there instead of reforming mine.
Check that the spider is still attached. The spider is a cloth like suspension on the narrow part of the cone near the magnet. If someone has over driven the sub, they might had detached the spider from the coil former (the tube the coil wire is wrapped around). It can be repaired with epoxy but it might be easier to just replace the driver if it has separated since they might have damaged the former.
If the spider is still attached, then try the refoam and see if that solves your problem.
An example of a detached spider on a vintage KLH woofer.
If the spider is still attached, then try the refoam and see if that solves your problem.
An example of a detached spider on a vintage KLH woofer.
for me it's the rattle during certain songs, throw some rap with deep bass and go put your ear next to each speaker.
When I pulled mine, they looked fine, but as soon as I touched them I realized the foam was brittle an detached. Make sure you actually feel the foam.
Check it out... it looked fine, but sounded terrible.
Also, the new foam has held up and worked great so far. I would still recommend this procedure over getting new speakers.
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I had the same experience as @Slashzero. One of the front door speakers was visibly toast - the foam was separated, loose, etc. The other looked fine. But, since I was having one re-foamed, I took both in. The guy at the shop looked at the "good" speaker and gently pushed on the foam and showed me how brittle it was - it took nothing to separate it. That speaker was like one bass drop away from coming apart.
Refoaming is usually a DIY job. But, the guys at the shop (yeah - not an objective source, I know) pointed out that you have GOT to get the cone perfectly centered so the path of the cone is only up and down; not side to side even the slightest... or it... I stopped paying attention about then. It was something to do with the sound quality. He was charging $40 and I wasn't buying new speakers, so... I didn't need much convincing.
Refoaming is usually a DIY job. But, the guys at the shop (yeah - not an objective source, I know) pointed out that you have GOT to get the cone perfectly centered so the path of the cone is only up and down; not side to side even the slightest... or it... I stopped paying attention about then. It was something to do with the sound quality. He was charging $40 and I wasn't buying new speakers, so... I didn't need much convincing.
LOL that you stopped paying attention.
I re-foamed my front driver and passenger side speakers. The rest haven’t torn yet, so I left them alone (but I have foam for them just in case). The procedure was pretty straight forward. I think you’d have to try really hard to end up with non-centered cones.
Glad you tackled it yourselfLOL that you stopped paying attention.
I re-foamed my front driver and passenger side speakers. The rest haven’t torn yet, so I left them alone (but I have foam for them just in case). The procedure was pretty straight forward. I think you’d have to try really hard to end up with non-centered cones.
Reconditioning LX470 wheels, subwoofer repair, Brakes, hatch, dye seats, delete resonator
I agree it really easy to do right!
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I pushed and prodded the speaker foam with my fingers, and it rebounded just fine. I'll check the internals next time I have it out. Makes me want to just upgrade to something a bit more responsive.
