dyche01
"Buy high. Sell low"
Life might just be too short to refoam the midrange driver on my ALS 40 II's, so I ordered the Monacor replacements from Falcon Acoustics. I worried that the Monacors might not be the same quality as the original drivers, so I was a little surprised by how substantial they look and feel.
I popped the old driver out of the speaker. The main impediment to removal is that the corners of the flange are stuck to the wood with little dabs of glue (blue arrows below). The best approach would probably be to slide a utility razor under all four corners, but a (carefully wielded) knife blade worked (yellow arrow).
Unlike the bass driver, which is mounted with bolts and threaded metal inserts, the midrange driver is attached by screws driven straight into the MDF.
In a side-by-side comparison you can see how substantial the replacement driver is compared to the original. The magnet is much bigger; the basket feels much more damped; and the surrounds are NOT made of crappy foam.
If you do this replacement yourself, beware. The holes on the flange of the Monacor are not in exactly the same place as on the original driver. They are close, but the mismatch is enough to make it tricky getting the screws back into the MDF.
Once installed, I have to say that the replacement driver actually looks better than the original -- more like it belongs in this speaker.
I gave the speaker a listen and HOLY MOLEY, it sounds a amazing. From the beginning I have been impressed with the IMF's clear and thunderous bass but, apart from that, they sounded a bit dull and lifeless. After the re-cap and midrange replacement, however, they are starting to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.
I popped the old driver out of the speaker. The main impediment to removal is that the corners of the flange are stuck to the wood with little dabs of glue (blue arrows below). The best approach would probably be to slide a utility razor under all four corners, but a (carefully wielded) knife blade worked (yellow arrow).
Unlike the bass driver, which is mounted with bolts and threaded metal inserts, the midrange driver is attached by screws driven straight into the MDF.
In a side-by-side comparison you can see how substantial the replacement driver is compared to the original. The magnet is much bigger; the basket feels much more damped; and the surrounds are NOT made of crappy foam.
If you do this replacement yourself, beware. The holes on the flange of the Monacor are not in exactly the same place as on the original driver. They are close, but the mismatch is enough to make it tricky getting the screws back into the MDF.
Once installed, I have to say that the replacement driver actually looks better than the original -- more like it belongs in this speaker.
I gave the speaker a listen and HOLY MOLEY, it sounds a amazing. From the beginning I have been impressed with the IMF's clear and thunderous bass but, apart from that, they sounded a bit dull and lifeless. After the re-cap and midrange replacement, however, they are starting to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.
Last edited: