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Scanspeak 10" driver replacement - blown woofer

Hi, I have to replace 2 10" drivers on a pair of Vandersteen 3a's. The drivers are 25w aluminum cone, and the voice coils are fried. Vandersteen will rebuild for 289 each.

Question: Is there a comparable replacement on the market that would be cheaper then the rebuild, and close in performance? I found a company, Madisound speaker components, which sells many 10" drivers from 37.00 - 355.00

I have hooked the speakers back up and have found the bass to be insane with the big 10" hole in the back, apparently in the design the 10" drivers act as acoustic couplers, part passive radiator and part driver. I placed a large book over the holes and the bass is instantly tighter, but not as deep as they used to be.

How important is the quality of these acoustic couplers?
Would a SEAS presitige aluminum woofer be as good at 165.00?
Would I hear the difference?

I know it's impossible for you guys to answer all these questions, I am just trying to paint a picture of where my head is at. Have any of you had to replace your woofers with aftermarket products? What brand did you choose? and how did it work out?

Thanks again,
Mike
hanaleimike
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
1. as per your previous post and the fact that you're still able to use your speakers, your crossovers are OK for sure and you don't have to send an entire pair of speakers so that's a good news.
2. the bad news that even if you manage to buy cheap new scanspeak driver, you won't be able to achieve the same performance and your speakers will be worth as they're with no driver. you will most-likely have to get rid of your original crossovers and properly setup an active crossover which is again to stretch your budget.
3. basing on 1,2 I guess, reconing your originals would be the best key even vs. buying available used 3A's and even vs. buying a single or a pair of powered subs. you will also bring back the value of your speakers.
trelja
3,223 posts
 
Call Bill Legall at Millersound, (215) 412-7700. Vandersteens are a specialty of his. He can replace the voice coils, no problem. And, at low cost. Also, if the spiders and surrounds need to be done at the same time, and only if it's required, he'll do them. Bill's incredible work costs no more than buying a cheap set of replacement woofers. You've got a good pair of loudspeakers there, do what is required to make things stay that way.

Replacing drivers is A LOT more complicated than one might think. Factoring in parameters that combine to be expressed in specifcations like Qts, excursion, etc. make it a more difficult proposition for most novices than they can get their head around.

For example, replacing a driver that is designed for a ported alignment with one designed to be used in an Acoustic Suspension topology, or vice versa (and, do you know what parameters make a driver oriented towards one or the other), is a recipe for failure. Sure, it will make sound, but you'll never have anything close to what you started with.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
As several others have correctly pointed out - if you can't easily (& cheaply) get the exact same model driver then it would be sensible to go with Vandersteen for repair in order to keep your speakers standard (better resale as nobody wants to buy a dogs breakfast of a speaker). Of course Vandersteen will be slightly more expensive than retail as they get the driver from Scan-speak and will probably carry a higher markup then a large retail outlet like Madisound (a clerk who just takes your order versus Vandersteen staff who are likely better paid).
hanaleimike OP
125 posts
 
Hi, Thank you for your inputs. Rodman, the bass is fine, was fine, great actually, it was a physical accident with a turntable, and more power then the speakers are rated for.

I cannot get an exact matching new driver, so I am left with getting them repaired. Vandersteen will charge 289 per, and Bill Legall charges 65.00 per.
The rubber surrounds are fine and the speaker looks perfect from the outside. I would hate to have Bill replace the voice coils to save a few bucks, then get them back and figure out the aluminum cones are warped or some other problem that Vandersteen would probably catch. I guess I could buy another pair of 3a's for 1000.00 and have spare mids and tweeters and cloth?

Well, I have some thinking to do,

Thanks for talking me out of cheap replacement drivers.

Mike
face
516 posts
 
Shadorne,
Have you ever dealt with Madisound? Of course they have clerks who take orders, but they also have an excellent technical staff, some who have been in the industry for a long time.
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