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Driver replacement help.

linnfomaniac83

I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
Hi guys, unsure whether this should be in DIY…

Anyway, my cousin has managed to blow both bass drivers in his MK1 Ruark Crusaders, the original driver is Seas P17-RCY/P, the closest replacement I can find is Seas CA18-RLY but I think the baffles would need some careful routing to make them fit. Anyone have any other suggestions? It would be a shame to write these speakers off.
 
Contact Seas directly. They may have spares, or can advise a more suitable replacement. Routing the cabinet to accommodate a bigger driver is not trivial.

PRESTIGE WOOFERS (seas.no)
Good idea, will get onto that tomorrow. My next door neighbour is an extremely skilled cabinet maker, so if it came to it, he would route the baffle… I certainly couldn’t do it without making a pigs ear of it. I do really want to find a good match rather then just sticking something in that fits the hole… I would rather modify the cabinets to fit a driver with a good electrical and acoustic match than fit something that drops in and sounds terrible/crucifies the amplifier. Something that drops in and works properly would be preferable.
 
The CA18-RLY, which I've used before has very different parameters from the P17-RCY/P. A ported design like the Ruark will be much more sensitive to T/S parameter changes.

Can the blown drivers be repaired?
 
Good idea, will get onto that tomorrow. My next door neighbour is an extremely skilled cabinet maker, so if it came to it, he would route the baffle… I certainly couldn’t do it without making a pigs ear of it. I do really want to find a good match rather then just sticking something in that fits the hole… I would rather modify the cabinets to fit a driver with a good electrical and acoustic match than fit something that drops in and sounds terrible/crucifies the amplifier. Something that drops in and works properly would be preferable.
Try here
https://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/drive-units-1/seas-drive-units.html
 
The CA18-RLY, which I've used before has very different parameters from the P17-RCY/P. A ported design like the Ruark will be much more sensitive to T/S parameter changes.

Can the blown drivers be repaired?
I’m very much a novelist on speaker design, I’m not gonna lie!
 
Coils can be rewound on new formers.

By who?

Unless someone has started-up doing it, there is/was only one person in the UK, possibly Europe, and they are a butcher-bodger, based on personal experience.

This has come up here before if people want to search.
 
Any ideas on a reputable driver repair service?

I’m gutted for him, but I did worry about his lack of restraint with a pair of bridged Sony TA-N55 ES amps knocking out around 300 watts per channel.
 
Sometimes Falcon Acoustics have obsolete SEAS in stock.

eBay is worth checking as well.
I’ve called Falcon, seem like genuinely nice guys there. The guy who knows is out until this afternoon so they’re going to call me back. I have a feeling it’ll be expensive, because the speakers were expensive new and use higher quality drive units… but we will see!
 
By who?

Unless someone has started-up doing it, there is/was only one person in the UK, possibly Europe, and they are a butcher-bodger, based on personal experience.

This has come up here before if people want to search.

I know who you mean as he screwed me over, too but I understand that he has now given up.

Thank goodness…
 
This has been discussed before - rewinding voice coils, but I can easily see how making a good job on any easily dismantled driver could take 3 hours and more - strip, clean, measure and prepare the wire, winding the coil, varnish/glue the coil, connect everything up, re-assemble, test - the financials do not add up, especially for so niche/small volume a service.
 
Winding voice coils was one of my favourite tasks when building driver prototpyes back in my speaker-designing days.

It was fiddly, time consuming and easy to muck up, but it was immensely rewarding when you got it right. If an old coil winding machine ever crossed my path I'd be sorely tempted to snap it up.
 
Winding voice coils was one of my favourite tasks when building driver prototpyes back in my speaker-designing days.

It was fiddly, time consuming and easy to muck up, but it was immensely rewarding when you got it right. If an old coil winding machine ever crossed my path I'd be sorely tempted to snap it up.
I’d be a customer if you did. I’ve wound transformers quite a few times but a voice coil is another task altogether, in large part due to the necessary disassembly and reassembly of the driver. I’ve re-coned a few drivers using OEM re-cone kits, and that’s fine because you don’t have to worry about damaging the original cone, dust cap and spider.
 
What's needed for coil winding? You see these machines on the net for few100 quid.
Just thinking aloud here: What if all uk members chipped in a quid, or sommat like each...? If @Beobloke was up for it??? I know it's all the work getting the driver to pieces and rebuilt that's labour-intensive and requires precision but maybe the individual could do that themselves.
 


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