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Ferrofluid questions.

I am considering changing out the ferrofluid in the tweeters on my Thiel CS 3.6 speakers. It appears that I should be able to do the work myself. Someone gave a link in another thread to little tubes of the ferrofluid that you can buy for less than $10 from Parts Express.

I have been attributing unclear vocals to my Bryston 4Bsst2 amp being not clear enough. I may still upgrade the Bryston amp to the "cubed" version of the 4B but I’m starting to wonder is it more an issue of my older Thiel speakers’ tweeters having overly resinous ferrofluid.

Could too old of ferrofluid in a tweeter contribute to coarseness in the treble range? What about a slight lack of vocal elocution? I have resorted to using the Soundhound app on my iPhone when listening to vocal music in order to bring up the lyrics. Or, I read the lyrics on the CD cover if they are provided.

If the new ferrofluid improved vocal clarity I would be a very happy guy.

I hope I don’t damage the tweeters in the process.

Also, if you can change the ferrofluid on the tweeter, does the midrange cone work in the same manner?

I look forward to optimizing my speakers further. Thanks for any help you can give.


masi61
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
masi61


Here is just 2 of the instructions and links I gave, there are others you'll have to search. 

https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/1920652?highlight=ferro%2Bfluid%2B

https://www.speakerrepairshop.nl/en/instructions/replace-ferrofluid-in-tweeter/c-36

Cheers George
jetter
2,951 posts
 
masi61

I am not very handy, and likely looked at the same you tube videos you did.

In fact, I took my tweeters apart, cleaned them and reapplied the ferrofluid in my scanspeak tweeters. My tweeters were so much easier to disassemble than those in the you tube videos. If they had been any harder I would not have attempted it, you can mess up.

So this is what I am getting at, your Thiel’s may be really easy or difficult to work on, hopefully you can find some precise information for your specific tweeter before attempting.

On the other hand, if it was me, and I wasn’t totally comfortable, I would call Bill at Millersound and inquire if he would take it on. He is great to work with and reasonable as all get out.
Good luck
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,744 posts
 
lots of Thiel owners including two guys whp worker there and one that services Thiel over on the Thiel thread - curated by Jafant. The 3.6 is a wonderful speaker when functioning as designed. The triangle shaped bit is a phase plug. Also, there are Ferrofluid midranges they tend to be domes, but.. i would do a bit of searching.

Coherent Source Service , Rob can help you.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
One day I'll have to replace ferrofluid as well.  Not only in tweeters but also in 6" midrange that uses it for suspension (no spiderweb suspension).   I know it can be obtained from Parts Express or Madison Speaker Store, but wonder if there is only one type/quality of ferrofluid.  Do they make it in different quality or viscosity?
cbrents73's avatar
cbrents73
151 posts
 
Yes, there are differences in ferrofluid types and brands:

https://ferrofluid.ferrotec.com/products/ferrofluid-audio/audioselect/

One of the little known facts about Paradigm Loudspeakers, we still buy ferrofluid for our Tweeters, Mid-Ranges, and Woofers from the original manufacturer of it - not from a knockoff company.

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