Is Boom speaker deterioration inevitable ?

[JoeMuc2009]

Hi all,
bumping this thread to hopefully get some detailed info.

Got the dreaded bass fart last week and today found some time to investigate.

Looks like the drivers are near impossible to get here in Oz.

so.... I was hoping that some of you legends would have an old ORIGINAL driver that has already been removed from the boom case, that you could run the ruler over and get some accurate detailed dimensions.
Then it should not be too hard to find a replacement that actually fits.

( I would like to order replacement drivers before pulling mine apart otherwise I would do the measurements my self.)

Anyone up for the challenge ??

Distance between opposite mounting hole centres
Depth of the driver from the mounting flange to the back of the magnet
Diameter of the opening in the front case baffle
Distance between the edge of the "front baffle hole" and the centre of one of the mounting screw holes

Any other measurements that you can make.

My gratitude would be immense for this vital info that everyone can use.

Hi there, please see here: https://joes-tech-blog.blogspot.com/...adio-bass.html
I have described the matter and how to repair it in detail, and there is also a draft with measurements plus a new image with all measurements you need:

• negative terminal size: 2.8mm
• positive terminal size: 5.2mm
• mounting hole diameter: 4mm
• Distance between opposite mounting hole centres: 90mm
• Depth of the driver from the mounting flange to the back of the magnet: 59mm
• Diameter of the opening in the front case baffle: 82mm
• Distance between the edge of the "front baffle hole" and the centre of one of the mounting screw holes: 9.5mm
  

I can send you repaired speakers from Germany for 20 EUR a piece, and shipping cost will also be around that. If you can find a source for different speakers that fit, please let us all know.

Cheers, and in advance a Happy New Year to everyone!
Joe

[leinster-lad]

Hi there, please see here: https://joes-tech-blog.blogspot.com/...adio-bass.html
I have described the matter and how to repair it in detail, and there is also a draft with measurements plus a new image with all measurements you need:

• negative terminal size: 2.8mm
• positive terminal size: 5.2mm
• mounting hole diameter: 4mm
• Distance between opposite mounting hole centres: 90mm
• Depth of the driver from the mounting flange to the back of the magnet: 59mm
• Diameter of the opening in the front case baffle: 82mm
• Distance between the edge of the "front baffle hole" and the centre of one of the mounting screw holes: 9.5mm
  

I can send you repaired speakers from Germany for 20 EUR a piece, and shipping cost will also be around that. If you can find a source for different speakers that fit, please let us all know.

Cheers, and in advance a Happy New Year to everyone!
Joe

Outstanding ! Thanks Joe , really appreciate your time.

All the best and I might just take up your kind offer of repaired speakers. I'll see how I go.

Regards
David

[KeBul]

Hi,

There's a couple of close to fit replacement drivers been used by the community... Faital Pro and Dayton Audio, some more reading for you here:

https://forums.slimdevices.com/showt...ment-Available

and another thread here... posts #88, #95, #102 #114 to get you started - no doubt plenty more in that thread.

https://forums.slimdevices.com/showt...e-Fixing-Booms

Also don't rule out putting on new surrounds (re-foaming) yourself if you are reasonably "handy", I've just done a pair and it's not too bad, take your time, Joe's blog procedure is pretty good and easy to follow.

Good luck

Kev

[leinster-lad]

Having a real good look around and discovered these

I know they are yum-cha brand ..... but ..........



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...1e8d763f3W9QPy

[leinster-lad]

Having a real good look around and discovered these

I know they are yum-cha brand ..... but ..........



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...1e8d763f3W9QPy

Just ordered a pair of these.
Will let you guys know how it goes / ease of install (looks like they will just drop in) / sound response.

[JoeMuc2009]

Having a real good look around and discovered these

I know they are yum-cha brand ..... but ..........

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...1e8d763f3W9QPy

These look like an excellent match! Hopefully a success for you

[KeBul]

Where did you purchase the new foam surrounds? Model number please?

Thanks,

David

Hmmm... good question, I bought them quite some time ago from speakerrepairshop.nl

Checking my emails it seems the ones I purchased (back in November 2015) were:

(***Note edits to add Foam surround link, and change advice on rubber surrounds***)

F3Ct3 Foam ring, 3 inch, for a unit with a cone size of 5,8 cm

https://speakerrepairshop.nl/en/foam...-4280-20000032

Also the rubber R3C1 have been tried, but Joe feels these are slightly too small and definitely more difficult to fit, thus recommending the foam surrounds above:

https://speakerrepairshop.nl/en/rubb...a-296-20000042

I also purchased their recommended glue.

As well as Joe's blog, I checked out this blog for replacement technique https://www.repiuk.nl/essays/. Scroll down to find the speaker repair section.

I preferred and used Joe's method of leaving the old surround stuck on the cone and just trimming it flush, also found that remaining ring of old surround on the cone a perfect area for applying the new glue and a guide for setting the new surround centrally.
I seem to remember Joe having problems with the glue drying... I tested it beforehand and found it worked better as a contact adhesive, apply sparingly to both surfaces and let dry (from white to clear) and then stick the two surfaces together.
I used the repiuk.nl blog tip of a straw cut to length to push the cone up whilst I set the inside of the new surround to the cone and then released the straw to drop the cone so the outside of the new surround could be stuck to the frame.
Finally I re-painted the metal frame to cover up any bare metal caused by scraping off the original glue and cover any excess glue on the frame and lightly dusted the excess glue areas on the cone with french chalk (or talcum powder) to remove any remaining tackiness and hopefully preventing dust sticking to it in the future.

Here's the two drivers with new surrounds glued in place prior to paint and chalk:



and a close up of one of them:




Kev

[djringjr]

https://speakerrepairshop.nl/en/rubber-surrounds/by-size/up-to-4-inch/rubber-ring-3-inch-for-a-unit-with-a-cone-size-of-5-5-cm/a-296-20000042[/URL]

I also purchased their recommended glue.

Kev

Kev, or others,

Is there a kit for re-coning that will fit the original speakers with a rubber surround?

A re-cone kit (I'm avoiding the word "reconing" because it defies my spellcheck.) has a cone, the surround, the voice coil and the voice coil cap, so you can use the old frame and magnet of the original loudspeaker.

If there is one that fits, my trick from 50 years ago when I professionally reconed loudspeakers and drivers for horns was to take some masking tape and taping a suitable length of it to a index card (thin card stock) with the sticky side out, and pushing the card with the sticky tape on it inside the thin slot where the voice coil fit and use it to remove any dust in the slot and to make sure the voice coil would move freely when the new voice coil was used to replace the old voice coil.

With musicians I found many voice coil forms deformed by heat resulting in warping the coil and when it was reproducing sound the movable coil would stick and make distortion.

I wish someone would take the Logitech Boom line up and remanufacture it, it was really ahead of it's time.

Perhaps with the increase of man-made noise on the medium wave radio band people would really enjoy the BOOM's ability to receive a Medium Wave AM radio stream static free.

My BOOM has replaced my bedside AM/FM radio and with synch I have music that plays room-to-room.

I love my BOOM.

Best wishes,
David Ring
Green Harbor, MA
USA

=30=

[KeBul]

Kev, or others,

Is there a kit for re-coning that will fit the original speakers with a rubber surround?

From reading the previously linked thread "Is Anyone Fixing Booms" it would seem the 3" drivers were a custom design for Logitech by GGEC. One forum member contacted GGEC to see if they would sell the drivers, but their last report back was "no" - this was back in 2011.

Searching online for 3" recone kits doesn't seem to yield any results and perhaps more telling is that the recone kits that are available seem to be for specific driver make/models... generally much larger than 3" and pretty expensive.

So I'd say there's no chance of getting recone kits for these speakers, it's down to the repairs or non-oem replacements with modifications that have already been discussed in threads on this forum and blogs.

I purchased my Boom in 2009 and suddenly noticed how bad it sounded a month ago, the surrounds had most likely been splitting for a while but I generally do not drive the unit hard volume wise so hadn't noticed any issue, anyway let's say 11 years to fail, my SB Radios which use the same drivers were purchased in 2012, it will be interesting to see if the drivers in those start to fail in the next few years.

I agree with your love for the Boom, but my love extends to the whole eco-system, I think it's the best thing I've ever purchased tech wise and certainly the longest lasting. I have friends now boasting that they can sync their music on Amazon Echos in each room... only took them 11 years to catch up with me

Kev

[JoeMuc2009]

It's just my opinion but I think reconing the speakers is overkill when the only thing that breaks is actually the surrounds which are well-reachable and available for purchase. I don't see a need to replace anything else. The quality of the speakers and the parts contained is really very good, and the fact that the surrounds are breaking is just a consequence of the amplitude they have to suffer - bit of a tradeoff for the great sound being produced. No material can withstand that forever, it's actually amazing that they last for so long. All other parts in the woofers are not degrading if handled correctly.
Please keep in mind that when Slimdevices designed the Boom, they programmed the DSP to match the woofer characteristics exactly to get the best out of them, and any modification or picking different chassis might collide with that, ending in a sound much worse than before. The DSP programming is part of the firmware and cannot be modified to adjust for other speakers. New surrounds are not as critical as long as they are not too stiff and provide an air-tight seal. I would not mess with anything closer to the magnetic parts though.

[KeBul]

It's just my opinion but I think reconing the speakers is overkill when the only thing that breaks is actually the surrounds which are well-reachable and available for purchase.

Absolutely agree Joe - was just answering the question.

it's actually amazing that they last for so long.

Yeah, but beta testers of the product started to see these failures back in 2010/2011 after two-three years of use. So relatively pleased mine lasted 11 years or so, I obviously started preparing for the failure for some years now - as well as the foam surrounds purchased in 2015, I have a new in box pair of Faital Pros (2018) and a new in box pair of Logitech 170089's snapped up when some appeared on eBay, also in 2018.
Just ordered some more foams as well, I have many more speakers to keep in top shape!!

Kev

[w3wilkes]

I wonder if these would work as replacements

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-PC83-8-3-Full-Range-Poly-Cone-Driver-295-156?gclid=Cj0KCQiAieWOBhCYARIsANcOw0yoxuYKjPx_-P9_OIsF4DIgberwNV9snNDrDk3zMrjmaEIAA-Lbd50aAln0EALw_wcB

[KeBul]

I wonder if these would work as replacements

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton...0aAln0EALw_wcB

Possibly, some forum members managed to fit Dayton Audio ND91-4 with some modifications to the case and speakers

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dayton-ND91.../dp/B005FMXUZ0

Here's one of the write-ups, post #95:

https://forums.slimdevices.com/showt...g-Booms/page10

Kev

[leinster-lad]

Hi there, please see here: https://joes-tech-blog.blogspot.com/...adio-bass.html
I have described the matter and how to repair it in detail, and there is also a draft with measurements plus a new image with all measurements you need:

• negative terminal size: 2.8mm
• positive terminal size: 5.2mm
• mounting hole diameter: 4mm
• Distance between opposite mounting hole centres: 90mm
• Depth of the driver from the mounting flange to the back of the magnet: 59mm
• Diameter of the opening in the front case baffle: 82mm
• Distance between the edge of the "front baffle hole" and the centre of one of the mounting screw holes: 9.5mm
  

Joe

Hi Joe,
Just wondering if you knew what the DC voice coil resistance of the genuine logitech woofer ?

I see that the FaitalPRO-3FE25-3 drivers are back in stock at Parts Express. There are 4 ohm or 8 ohm versions available, so just wondering which is better suited.

thanks

[JoeMuc2009]

Sure, I just measured 3.7Ω on one of the originals, close enough to 4Ω.