best replacement woofers for early advent speakers


my dad has these old advents that he bought new about '71 he says, and the surround on the woofer is gone again. i'm thinking we should invest in a more modern pair of drivers for these speakers, but i don't know where to look. i don't want to ruin the original sound quality. i checked out simply speakers but noted that others on here said their replacement woofers are not the same quality. i'm also unsure about self-repair kit. will that be true to the original? i love these speakers and i want to upgrade them with modern technology but i also want to preserve their originality to some degree. is there a product out there to suit my needs? these things sound killer when they're healthy and i know if i treat them right, we'll get another 30 years out of them no problem.
phatelessd0d6
wow, thank you very much for the offer! so you're saying to use the original surrounds, or a different one? just pick up the surround of my choice and glue that on? in that case i could use a high-quality rubber surround like i wanted. that would be awesome. you do realize though, that i am all the way in california? thanks!
where do you get tweeters for the original Large Advent?

Thanks for the info about the woofers...

Phil
I have done a couple of these successfully, and it's really no big deal - it's actually rewarding to do it yourself. So here's my 2 cents:

1. You cannot "just glue on new surrounds". You either have to remove the dustcaps and shim the voice coils OR you have to use a "live" technique of playing a low bass test tone through the woofer as you do the final glue. This technique is very easy and fully explained in the surround kit that I'm recommending next in section 2.

2. You should use a quality replacement surround that has the proper, larger "roll" diameter. The original Advent roll was larger then the typical speakers of it's day.
I STRONGLY recommend buying these from a guy on Ebay whose handle is "looneytune2001". He's got very detailed, practically foolproof instructions AND he also provides very helpful email support if you should need it - which I did. (I have no relationship with him.) His "kit" comes with all you need (except for new silicone caulk to put around the woofer rim when you reseal it to the cabinet). His is slightly more expensive than others, but I initially ordered my first surrounds from elsewhere and it was a disaster. Here's a direct link to them (assuming Audiogon allows links): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3276&item=5719250021&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

3. You SHOULD glue the new surround to the INSIDE of the brown masonite ring. (It's more trouble because you have to remove the woofer from the cabinet.) Any deviation from the original conformation will compromise the quality and longevity. If you glue to the outside you will be starting the "throw" of the woofer in a slightly advanced spot with tension on the spider that is incorrect and it won't sound the same. And if you used any typical small roll surround and glued it outside, Yuckkkkkk.

4. If you do this right, the woofers should be good for another 15 years.

Hope this helps.