Boom speaker split - replacement - Altec Lansing Live?

[akroehn]

My boom just recently developed an issue with distorted sound - so I pulled the speaker grilles off and found that my woofer suspension is split - looks like a common issue from this thread:
http://forums.slimdevices.com/showth...e-Fixing-Booms
But as yet there doesn't seem to be an easy fix. I have emailed Logitech and got the standard reply that they don't have any spare parts and cant repair, so I'm on my own. Plus they wont comment on any future squeezebox products (I read this as = there will be none). I am going to try to re-glue the suspension with some silicone to see if I can get some extra life out of it, but I don't think re-glueing will be a long term solution. Will post back with some pics and info if/when I get it to work.

Anyway I started looking around and other than Sonos I thought there was nothing similar.. but then I found this on the Altec Lansing site: "Altec Lansing Live - the WIFI music system"
http://www.alteclansing.com/page/live5000preview

There's not much info on it yet, but it looks like it will have a server component, then you control it with your iOS or Android device. Plus at the bottom of the page it says there are more Live products coming soon.. This could be good! Although starting from scratch with a new server software will probably mean it'll be buggy for the first year or so (or 5..?).

Apple Airplay could also be an alternative I suppose, but I want to be able to have full control over my music database (75GB so far) and not just play whats on my iphone or ipad. I also don't want to have to have the iphone/ipad on all the time and playing music.

Anyway thought some people might be interested in the Altec Lansing player, not sure if anyone else has seen it yet or not?

[aubuti]

Plus they wont comment on any future squeezebox products (I read this as = there will be none).

Sorry to hear about your Boom speakers. It does suck when they go like that.

I would not interpret the "no comment" as "there will be none". Slim Devices never commented on future SB products, and Logitech has largely maintained that policy since they acquired Slim Devices (the exception being in response to a very public leak of the Touch's existence by an over-eager retailer). And over those 10+ years of "no comment" they released something like 9 different SB models.

On the other hand, I think there are _other_ reasons for thinking there won't be any more SBs as we know them -- the current trend is AirPlay and DLNA, which btw will also play tracks off your pc via iTunes.

[akroehn]

Hi all,
Just thought I'd update everyone with a fix I managed to do on my Boom speakers..
See pics here:
http://sdrv.ms/MsOVhs

Basically I pulled both speakers out and thickly coated the outside of the surrounds (both, even though only one was split) with some silicone. This should hold the surround in place for a while - I don't expect it to last forever, but I would think as long as I don't pump it too loud (ie put too much stress on them) then it should last me a couple of years.

It looks a bit messy, and if I did it again I'd try and find some black silicone instead, but you really cant see much of it through the grilles - only the very edges - and it looks like the speakers just have a grey highlight around them unless you put your face 20cm away and have a close look. Most of the silicone is covered by the mount.

I used some roof & gutter silicone, as it is designed to be permanently flexible. It took about a week to fully cure (not sure why, it is only supposed to take 24 hours, but it was several days before it stopped being sticky). Depending on where you are in the world I'm sure you could find something similar - just make sure it is one that is designed to be flexible - for roof and gutter or for expansion joints. Maybe silastic might work too..

While I had the boom apart I also trimmed off the sharp edge of the speaker surround, which may have had a part to play in the original split (see pics). Only took a couple of minutes with a sharp knife.

Once I put it back together, the buzzing sound was gone, and it sounded completely normal again. So far it's been a month or so and all is good. I cant tell any difference to the sound, the surrounds can still move quite freely and the silicone seems to be doing the job. I turned the bass down a bit just in case, and using a sub would also help reduce further stress on the surrounds, but in my house that would have a low WAF so can't do it ;-)

Hope this helps someone!
:-)

[Pascal Hibon]

Good to hear it worked out for you!
The one thing I’m a bit causious about is that you could run into problems after some time of usage. Depending on how stiff the silicone is, the foam of the speaker might start to tear right next to where the silicone sits on the foam of the speaker.
Idealy you would use special glue to refoam speakers. This glue is applyed under the foam (facing the speaker frame). And carrefully alined so that the coil does not rub the magnet. There is a good source about refoaming speakers here: http://forums.audioreview.com/how-ar...kers-5371.html

[akroehn]

True, it wont last forever.. but remember that the original speakers don't last forever either - there is a major issue with them splitting the surrounds! ;-)
These are just a pretty cheap driver, i would guess maybe a few dollars per unit from an OEM in china. The surrounds are not a high quality rubber or foam like a high end hifi driver - these are cheap plasticky surrounds.
So in this case, a quick & simple fix, for people who were going to throw their booms away, might just extend their useful life for another year or so - until another alternative arrives.

But having said that, the option to refoam the drivers from your link above would extend the life of the drivers for a long time - maybe I'll look into doing this when my quick-silicone-fix fails, if I haven't found an alternative by then..

[mftech]

Hi all,
Just thought I'd update everyone with a fix I managed to do on my Boom speakers..
See pics here:
http://sdrv.ms/MsOVhs

Basically I pulled both speakers out and thickly coated the outside of the surrounds (both, even though only one was split) with some silicone. This should hold the surround in place for a while - I don't expect it to last forever, but I would think as long as I don't pump it too loud (ie put too much stress on them) then it should last me a couple of years.

It looks a bit messy, and if I did it again I'd try and find some black silicone instead, but you really cant see much of it through the grilles - only the very edges - and it looks like the speakers just have a grey highlight around them unless you put your face 20cm away and have a close look. Most of the silicone is covered by the mount.

I used some roof & gutter silicone, as it is designed to be permanently flexible. It took about a week to fully cure (not sure why, it is only supposed to take 24 hours, but it was several days before it stopped being sticky). Depending on where you are in the world I'm sure you could find something similar - just make sure it is one that is designed to be flexible - for roof and gutter or for expansion joints. Maybe silastic might work too..

While I had the boom apart I also trimmed off the sharp edge of the speaker surround, which may have had a part to play in the original split (see pics). Only took a couple of minutes with a sharp knife.

Once I put it back together, the buzzing sound was gone, and it sounded completely normal again. So far it's been a month or so and all is good. I cant tell any difference to the sound, the surrounds can still move quite freely and the silicone seems to be doing the job. I turned the bass down a bit just in case, and using a sub would also help reduce further stress on the surrounds, but in my house that would have a low WAF so can't do it ;-)

Hope this helps someone!
:-)

Thanks for the tip:
I used this product from GE and cover the woofer surround, the silicone get dry after one hour, both woofer was affected:
http://www.drillspot.com/products/13...upreme_Sealant

[properjob]

I know you've silicone repaired it but what size are the drivers? Could a similar sized one be sourced and posted up here?

Would seem a shame to lose a whole Boom for the sake of a few £/$/€ on a new driver...

[aubuti]

I know you've silicone repaired it but what size are the drivers? Could a similar sized one be sourced and posted up here?

We've been down that path and come up dry so far, even with input from Logitech employees. For more info, please see http://forums.slimdevices.com/showth...e-Fixing-Booms

[chill]

We've been down that path and come up dry so far, even with input from Logitech employees. For more info, please see http://forums.slimdevices.com/showth...e-Fixing-Booms

This and a couple of other threads about failing Boom drivers prompted me to take a look at the drivers in mine last night. Thankfully no sign if the dreaded splitting reported here, yet. For what it's worth, I'm not convinced that the speaker surround is to blame. With the grilles removed I wound up the volume, and the drivers don't seem to physically move enough at that radius to touch the surrounds. There seems to be a virtually constant gap of about 1mm.

Nevertheless, planning for the future, I took a look on a web page that I'd bookmarked when I built my own speakers (http://www.europe-audio.com/). There does indeed seem to be a shortage of 4 ohm 3" woofers (http://www.europe-audio.com/Product.asp?Product_ID=7240). However, there seems to be more choice among 3" full range drivers (http://www.europe-audio.com/Producte...tgroep_A_ID=73). Obviously the crossover in the Boom isn't going to pass very much high frequency sound to these drivers, but if the low frequency specs are suitable I would think a full range driver could work. As noted by others, the flange mounting seems to be an issue. I'm tempted to dismantle my Boom further to see whether the rear of the speaker surround could accommodate a wider flange, at least for some of the circumference. It's difficult to see from the white paper photos, but it seems possible that the flange restriction only applies to the sides, so a flange shape such as this (http://www.europe-audio.com/Product....oduct_ID=11310) might work, although note that that particular driver is 8 ohms. I'll also take some more detailed measurements of the flange hole spacing and the overall dimensions of the speaker.

Does anyone have a feel for how critical it will be to match the resonant frequency of the original drivers?

[toby10]

.....Does anyone have a feel for how critical it will be to match the resonant frequency of the original drivers?

Where is Caleb when we need him?