Ebay guy sold me a faulty KEF SP200 1039

FONSguy

Super Member
Crap!! I bought a replacement SP1039 SP200 8" woof. The woof buzzes at low frequencies. 3 years ago I knocked over a stack of KEF 104aB's into a pair of borrowed monoblocks. I caught the top one, but the bottom one fell into the power amp corner, putting a hole in the cone.
 
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Seems strange that a woofer would "rattle" unless it is loose in the cabinet or something is touching the cone inside, such as a wire.
 
If FONS is lucky, it's just a wire laying against the cone or spider. If not, it could well be a VC rub from a over-driven, over-heated, or otherwise damaged driver. When he says rattle, maybe it's a rattle sound at very low frequencies and more of a buzz as the audio frequency increases?? Is it possible the driver has the surround replaced recently and the VC wasn't centered properly during the repair?? Just a couple thoughts... Could verify the origination of the rattle sound by removing driver from cabinet and playing a conservative/limited audio signal through the driver to rule out one of the wires contacting the cone or spider. If it's a VC rub, it probably won't take much power to confirm rattle from driver outside the cabinet.
 
See if your spider hasn't separated from the backet. If so, re gluing should be a simple fix.
 
Its a slight kind of slight distortion. I will re cap the crossovers before proceeding. At lower levels it doesn't make the noise. I might try rotating the driver in the speaker to see if that helps.
 
you could even try just rotating the driver
Can be surprisingly effective. I got some really nice UK 2-ways last year, only to discover one of the 6" mid/woofs had bad coil-rattle. Assumed it was fried. Put it away for a few months, upside down — and now it's perfect. I knew this trick can work for 12" or 15" where the cone weighs a lot, but never thought it would work for a lightweight little 6". Probably takes some time for gravity to work its magic...
 
I tire of seeing eBay grievances posted here -- they serve little purpose and aren't revelant to the forum

Ebay has its own buyer protection resolution method -- that's effective for most users
 
Pull the driver and physically hold it in your hand while you apply volume. Easy way to check before a recap.
 
If FONS is lucky, it's just a wire laying against the cone or spider. If not, it could well be a VC rub from a over-driven, over-heated, or otherwise damaged driver. When he says rattle, maybe it's a rattle sound at very low frequencies and more of a buzz as the audio frequency increases?? Is it possible the driver has the surround replaced recently and the VC wasn't centered properly during the repair?? Just a couple thoughts... Could verify the origination of the rattle sound by removing driver from cabinet and playing a conservative/limited audio signal through the driver to rule out one of the wires contacting the cone or spider. If it's a VC rub, it probably won't take much power to confirm rattle from driver outside the cabinet.

I pulled the driver, layed it down flat, facing up and using a very low distortion amp it still made the buzzing sort of distortion. I have a pair of the SP200 1022's, but the power handling is roughly half of the 1039's. So I won't even bother to swap that one in. RATS! I really like the sound of a pair per side.

Sorry That I went into details about acquisition etc, and complaining about that other place. The driver I took out still works, doesn't have the rubbing, buzzing sound but it does have a hole in the cone itself. Surrounds are fine. Perhaps I can repair the hole. If I remember correctly they are bexatrine(SP?). I wonder if a semi-flxible glue like Plumbers Goop might work......
 
I will try and fix the original 1039 that I put a hole into. I can't even remember who the seller was... I acquired that 2 year ago.
 
I tire of seeing eBay grievances posted here -- they serve little purpose and aren't revelant to the forum

Ebay has its own buyer protection resolution method -- that's effective for most users

Have to agree, this belongs more into a Rants & Raves forum. I have been a victim myself twice, I was lucky enough to be able to fix the items. If you are looking on how to fix the damage issue, it is ok, but to complain about a purchase that happened 2 years ago is something else.
 
The driver I took out still works, but it does have a hole in the cone itself. Perhaps I can repair the hole. If I remember correctly they are bexatrine(SP?). I wonder if a semi-flxible glue like Plumbers Goop might work......

Just demand return and refund, don't fix it.
I think he means fixing the hole in the old driver, not trying to fix the defective new one.

Depends on the hole size and type, Fonsguy. I fixed a bextrene cone (not trying to correct your spelling, but you asked) on a LS3/5A by patching from behind with very thin cloth (so as not to add weight), using contact cement to secure it, and kinda molding it with my fingers over a baseball to get the curve right. That still left a big ugly flaw in the bextrene coating in front. I cleaned up the rough edges with an Exacto, used a little black silicone sealant, and kinda sculpted it with a chopstick to give it a similar texture. The color was a great match and the patch was pretty much invisible, even from inches away.

I could always see it, of course, even from across the room, because I'm the idiot that put the hole there.
 
Couldn't afford both the B200 and a pair of T27's at the same time. I got the tweets this year along with Falcons re-cap kits. I wonder if it could be repaired with a soldering iron? I'm still much better with glues.
 
I tire of seeing eBay grievances posted here -- they serve little purpose and aren't revelant to the forum

Ebay has its own buyer protection resolution method -- that's effective for most users

They serve a good purpose actually, they teach us the concept of caveat emptor.
 
I think he means fixing the hole in the old driver, not trying to fix the defective new one.

Depends on the hole size and type, Fonsguy. I fixed a bextrene cone (not trying to correct your spelling, but you asked) on a LS3/5A by patching from behind with very thin cloth (so as not to add weight), using contact cement to secure it, and kinda molding it with my fingers over a baseball to get the curve right. That still left a big ugly flaw in the bextrene coating in front. I cleaned up the rough edges with an Exacto, used a little black silicone sealant, and kinda sculpted it with a chopstick to give it a similar texture. The color was a great match and the patch was pretty much invisible, even from inches away.

I could always see it, of course, even from across the room, because I'm the idiot that put the hole there.
Hmmmm.... I Love the LS3/5's. I always thought the KEF 104aB's were just the LS3/5's bigger brother.
 
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