Genesis I -How Serious?

I have been an EPI fan for close to 40 years. These are sonically equal or better. Nice speakers if both were in good shape. I'd pay $100-125 for a pair in good shape. However, you will sink $140-150 into these for new woofers and capacitors. I don't think they're worth rebuilding unless you really want the sound and the cabinets are in really good shape.
 
correct woofers for these do pop up on ebay from time to time and are worth the wait.a very good vintage bookshelf.
do the other three drivers function as intended?
 
I don't see a serious voice coil issue, unless the coil is shorted or the former is melted in such a way that I can't see. What I do see is a separated spider, which is pretty easy to fix. Get a new dust cap with your new surrounds, carefully cut the old one off, set the voice coil back into the gap, use some paper or thin cardstock to shim the coil so it's set right, lift the cone a bit so that you can get to the base where the spider used to attach (if the shims are the right thickness, there will be enough friction to hold the voice coil wherever you set it in the gap), use a long, stiff, thin tool (I've used a fairly thick piece of copper or steel wire, with a small "foot" bent into the end of it) to apply a thin bead of 5 minute epoxy to the spot where the voice coil former attaches to the cone (be careful, you just want enough to fully reglue the spider to the coil, excess can get into the gap and really screw things up), then press the cone down so that the spider re-seats and glues back where it was. It's a lot easier than it sounds. As long as the coil is good, there is no need to replace it, despite what the Negative Nellies may think.

As an aside, this is what can happen when someone continuously cranks up a driver with a bad foam surround...
 
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correct woofers for these do pop up on ebay from time to time and are worth the wait.a very good vintage bookshelf.
do the other three drivers function as intended?

I haven't even hooked these up yet moebuster.
I spent most of the rest of my evening fiddling with other recent finds. Is there any chance of incurring damage to the output source by powering these up? I spent some time at a garage sale talking to a proprietor who has built or repaired a number of speakers and he was warning me about what he called a "dead short" wrecking an amp or receiver.
 
I don't see a serious voice coil issue, unless the coil is shorted or the former is melted in such a way that I can't see. What I do see is a separated spider, which is pretty easy to fix. Get a new dust cap with your new surrounds, carefully cut the old one off, set the voice coil back into the gap, use some paper or thin cardstock to shim the coil so it's set right, lift the cone a bit so that you can get to the base where the spider used to attach (if the shims are the right thickness, there will be enough friction to hold the voice coil wherever you set it in the gap), use a long, stiff, thin tool (I've used a fairly thick piece of copper or steel wire, with a small "foot" bent into the end of it) to apply a thin bead of 5 minute epoxy to the spot where the voice coil former attaches to the cone (be careful, you just want enough to fully reglue the spider to the coil, excess can get into the gap and really screw things up), then press the cone down so that the spider re-seats and glues back where it was. It's a lot easier than it sounds. As long as the coil is good, there is no need to replace it, despite what the Negative Nellies may think.

As an aside, this is what can happen when someone continuously cranks up a driver with a bad foam surround...

I like your answer a lot Sam! I have nothing to lose so I'm going to try your recommendation. I"m not sure if it will be "sooner" or "later," but I will most definitely report back afterwards.
 
Sound advice from Sam!
looking at the photo where the cone is pulled away from the suspension...
this is what i would do-strictly an observation mind you...

cut the dust cap back and leave a 1/8'" flap and tape it back to the cone,(or replace as Sam suggested)
i'd sort of do a dry run positioning the coneback into it's original position lineing up the
"tear' marks.then determine the shim thickness.
set it all in place and see how the damaged /torn areas line up.
at this point you might be able to access the two glue surfaces and if you use a non runny type of glue dab it in on the cone/spider.i'm thinking Delcron 2 part jell type epoxy.it doesn't "string out" when dabbed/pulled away.
if access and application are a problem you might want to apply a little glue to both surfaces them slide together/shim the voice coil and after that dries dab some more in to add to the bonding surfaces.hope this helps a little.
 
I ordered a Rick Cobb surround kit yesterday, so I'll be tackling this project soon. I was able to slide the cone back into place and then did a quick test. The speaker sounds fine at low volume, so I'm hopeful for a total restoration, using the suggestions made here.
 
I don't see a serious voice coil issue, unless the coil is shorted or the former is melted in such a way that I can't see. What I do see is a separated spider, which is pretty easy to fix. Get a new dust cap with your new surrounds, carefully cut the old one off, set the voice coil back into the gap, use some paper or thin cardstock to shim the coil so it's set right, lift the cone a bit so that you can get to the base where the spider used to attach (if the shims are the right thickness, there will be enough friction to hold the voice coil wherever you set it in the gap), use a long, stiff, thin tool (I've used a fairly thick piece of copper or steel wire, with a small "foot" bent into the end of it) to apply a thin bead of 5 minute epoxy to the spot where the voice coil former attaches to the cone (be careful, you just want enough to fully reglue the spider to the coil, excess can get into the gap and really screw things up), then press the cone down so that the spider re-seats and glues back where it was. It's a lot easier than it sounds. As long as the coil is good, there is no need to replace it, despite what the Negative Nellies may think.

I've done this many times, and more often than not, it's fixed the problem.

Just be care to get the right shims (it needs to be snug, but not so tight you can't get them back out), and you need to make sure that whatever glue you use, does NOT have an opportunity to run down under the spider (down into the voice coil winding themselves). A thicker glue is better...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
No harm trying to fix the woofer...if it does not work out you have lost nothing.

Equally any EPI woofer correct diameter will work. Should be able to get one for about $10-$20 either BarterTown parts or the 'bay.

The Genesis 1 sound is basically the same as the EPI 100...and you can see from my signature that I am a Genesis EPI fan and I have some other great speakers to compare to.

Whatever you do to get them running you will be happy with the outcome. I think they are amongst the best value bookshelf speakers around.
 
Well I must admit up front that anything that involves glue is typically not my forte'. But I'm quite pleased at how this turned out. I spent considerably more time on the refoam than what's commonly mentioned, but I took great care in getting the frames clean of the old, green residue. Not only was this my first attempt at refoaming, but the bigger issue was the cone that had pulled away from the spider.
Anyway, it turned out wonderfully and the speakers sound great. I've given them a couple of hours of listening thus far and all is well.
Thanks to all for your tips. This little project, while likely seeming almost second nature to many of the experienced hands around here, was uncharted waters for me and gave me immense satisfaction upon successful completion...I love this place!
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/highway_chile/000_8367_zpsef21689e.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/highway_chile/000_8368_zps8fe92b2c.jpg
 
Looks like you did a great job!
They are very equivalent IMO to EPI 100's and are very good speaker.
Surprising bass for its cabinet size and that inverted tweeter is one of the best out there.
Congrats again for saving a true classic speaker.
 
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