Aging speakers

[Fitts]

Well, I finally succeeded in getting two Altec 416 woofers for my A7 cabinets. They are the green basket type and from the scuffs on them I would say they have seen some significant use over the years. They are both alnico magnet speakers. The accordian surrounds on both speakers are in very good shape but have lost their tacky feel. Otherwise the cones and dust caps are fine.

My questions: How much of an improvement might I expect from a reconing by Great Plains Audio ?

Is there any way to refresh the tacky stuff on the accordian surrounds ?

I know that Alnico magnets loose their strenght over time and the magnetic loss affects the high frequencies. These speakers have good upper range response so I think their magnets are OK.

Does anyone have any other non destructive criteria by which I can evaluate the magnetic strength of these speakers ?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice,

[cclark65]

If you find that you need to have the amplifier up higher than what you would consider normal to get the sound out, then the magnet might be in need of re-charging. If I am correct in my thinking, a weak magnet would make for reduced sensitivity, requiring more power to get the sound, and possibly burning out the voice coil because of that. I believe the magnet can be re-charged without rebuilding the speaker. I am pretty sure they can put another layer of goo around the outside also without any problems.

I'd say if they sound fine to your ears and you aren't overdriving them, then that's all that really matters.

[boltupright]

Dave, If the speakers just needs the doping & a recharge, thats great, don't recone unless it is absolutly nessisary.
A speaker with the original cone is far better sounding than a recone, to my ears at least!

[scott fitlin]

dave, you can send your woofers to GPA for a recharging and redoping of the surround! If the voice cil and cone are ok, there is no need to recone!

Regaussing the magnet will improve its sound, and will work like new!

[taudo]

Dave,

I've had a pair of 416's reconed and remaged by Bill at GPA and can report that they sound excellent - clearly superior to my 34 year old original 416's in mid-bass and punch. I'll be sending the originals to GPA quite soon.

taudo