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Matching Replacement Woofers

Here's a question that will betray my complete ignorance of physics, electricity and quite possibly everything else that matters in the world.

I recently purchased a pair of speakers, only to find one has a blown woofer. Unfortunately, the speaker company is out of business, so a replacement is not available. I would like to replace the woofer, and assume it would be best to replace its mate in the other speaker as well, so the two speakers will sound similar. However, assuming - and this is where my stupidity shows up - that in any speaker system the sensitivity of the woofer must be matched with the other drivers (midrange, tweeter) so they have a cohesive sound, how can I know whether a replacement woofer will have a similar enough dynamic output to the woofer its replacing to pair well with the other drivers? If that question makes sense to anyone but me, I'd appreciate hearing how best to select replacement woofers for consistency in tone (a pipedream, I'm sure!) and most importantly, dynamic output. Also, in terms of frequency range, is there a significant difference between good quality bass drivers of the same dimension, or is frequency range more a function of cabinet design? Thanks much!
128x128balthus
rhyno's avatar
rhyno
642 posts
 
buddy of mine replaced stock watt puppy woofer with an aftermarket part...diff surround, diff material, but could not tell any diff in sound (whereas we can and do hear big diffs w/ plating on AC plugs).

just get the specs right and you should be fine.
tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,515 posts
 
Rod,how can you say ALL reconers use Waldom Electronics parts?Just curious.
rodman99999
3,557 posts
 
Mr T- Because Waldom is the only manufacturer of reconing parts, outside of the companies that distribute kits to their warranty stations(mostly just for pro drivers; ie: Gauss Cetec, JBL, EV, Altec, etc.). At least; that's the way it was when I had my shoppe. As far as I know; no one else has ever given Waldom any reconing parts supply competition, at least in this country. Then again- it's been a while.
elevick
2,439 posts
 
Many of the companies out there are using drivers from just a few companies such as Vifa or Seas. Ask Madisound or speakercity for a replacement. You should either recone both or replace both.
balthus's avatar
balthus OP
43 posts
 
Hmmm, some food for thought, thanks. However, I may have led you a bit astray by failing to mention that the blown woofer is no longer present, i.e. I don't have it any more. Also, the woofer is proprietary, made by the speaker company and not purchased by them from a supplier.

Reading your responses, it seems the consensus is that the sound and sensitivity of replacement woofers would vary from the original, but with luck and careful matching it may be possible to find a replacement close enough to be suitable. Fair?

In any case, the suggestion of speaking to Madisound sounds like a reasonable place to start. Would the specs of the existing good woofer be printed on the back of the driver? I'd prefer not to remove it from the cabinet to check unnecessarily. (Just guessing the speaker company may not be too forthcoming about their woofer specs, since I'd be using them to purchase a replacement from someone else!)

Just f.y.i., not to be too mysterious about this, but I do prefer not to mention the brand of speaker, as my experience is that any remarks voiced on audiogon about an audio product that can be construed (or misconstrued) as critical can have quite serious consequences for the company, especially if it is a small one. And also for the owners of their products. I like the speakers, don't blame the company for the woofer failure, and prefer not to have their name brought up in a negative context not of their making. Whew, that was a mouthful!

Thanks again for your thoughts!
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