ADVICE NEEDED - DRIVER DAMAGE - SILVER i PSB

Jim:
Best course of action is to immediately inform the seller and FedEx. My next call would be to PSB. Most companies are very helpful in these matters; they will be able to give you guidance. But, to answer your question, the easy thing to do is put the speakers next to one another, play a mono CD or LP and play one speaker, and then the other. If they sound different, there are issues. Usually though, drivers are not typically damaged in shipment, cabinets are. Of course, if you hear a scraping sound from the driver when you play music, then the voice coil is no longer in the linear part of the magnetic gap and the driver will have to be replaced or reconed.

Thanks Viridian, for your thoughtful response. I have contact FedEx to start the claims process and the seller and PSB. Fortunately, I have before pictures from the seller that show the speaker in perfect cosmetic condition...as for PSB, they will repair the speaker at their usual repair rates, but can only touch up the finish on the ding, as they do not stock replacement casing parts for these towers. I have a mind to unscrewn the driver myself and see if the connection wires are loose, but I'm concerned about any glue or adhesive that may be holding the driver in place -- don't want to make things worse. But I also don't want to ship the speaker out to PSB if it's something simple that I could do at home. If you have any other advice in this regard, I'd love to hear back from you.

Thanks again.

Best, JIM.

Jim, advice? Usually, worth what you pay for it, no? Seriously, I am not familiar with any speakers that have glued in drivers. A few have a rubber gasket between the back of the driver and the front of the cabinet that can make it seem like the driver is glued on, though it is not and usually just needs to be pried off with a screwdriver, after the mounting bolts are removed. Driver failure is the most common cause of infant death in speakers, so manufacturers design them to have the drivers removable. In fact, the tabs that attach the crossover to the driver are usually just press on, not even soldered, which makes it easier still to remove them. My one caution is that you may need to put pressure on your screwdriver to remove the mounting screws. Don't slip or your screwdriver will go right through the cone and you will be....well, screwed. I have been there, In fact, use your free hand to keep the screwdriver away from the cone.

Finally, just to verify the no glue thing, you may want to talk to your buddies at PSB one more time.

Marty