Can this MB Quart Speaker be fixed?

[Submariner1]

OK they are old, but useful as they were good quality and very compact for 80w rms @ 4 Ohms.
Also vital for me, to boost the power of the amp.
Basically the fronts are serious 120w RMS @ 4 Ohms Speakers and these additional speakers are in two custom boxes, each with 2 Speakers in Series (4 x speakers in the two boxes) ; so each channel sees 8 Ohms per box. So When each Box of 2 is placed in parallel with the Fronts it drops the impedance to 2.67 Ohms. Hence massively boosts the power output To 800w per channel. Only useful, as the amp is therefore just ticking over. Note it can load to 1.33 Ohms per channel so not stressed in anyway.




As you can see they are coaxial speakers, and the wire ( I guess ) going to the tweeter on one has broken.
Can I just strip or melt off the clear rubber coating and dab some genuine Silver Solder for HI FI, to join them?
I assume one uses the minimum amount of solder to join so you dont have a large bullet shaking around. Or should one buy some special wire and resolder at the original joints. Not sure I can see where the original joint is.

Obviously need a dust off too.
The other 3 (despite being 1997 vintage) still sound way better than the upgrade Harman Kardon ones in the CL500. This one sounds OK on bass notes but no highs.

Anyone good at HI FI ? If so what would ‘decoupling the tweeter‘ do to this speakers impedance (Ohms)?
Just thinking what would the Amp see if it was originally 4 Ohms but had lost the tweeter?

The beast that powers them:-

 

[s5tuart]

I believe the tweeter wire is resolderable but use the minimum amount of heat possible; even heat sink the wire if you can

 

[Uncle Benz]

I’d certainly have a go at fixing it with a dab of solder. What do you have to lose? Try to leave some slack to allow movement

 

[s5tuart]

There will be a built in crossover for the tweeter so complete disconnection shouldn't affect the impedance

 

[Blobcat]

I’d strip a bit of the wire back, feed some heat shrink onto the wire then fit the ends into each other, twist them, apply some heat and solder, then slide over the heat shrink and use the soldering iron to shrink it to fit.

 

[rorywquin]

All the above is good if you can solder & have a temp controlled appropriate soldering iron. I believe there are people that repair speakers - that would be my route . Would an appropriate resistor instead of the speaker work?

 

[DREAMER NO2]

I liked the sound of the Baupunkt music system in my old W124. But both speakers on the dash board had problems the outer suspension rings had turned to dust though the heat . Found a company in London that did speaker repairs so i sent them both to them for repair . You can do that repair yourself just a dab of soldier on it . Or you could try super glue .

 

[Submariner1]

I believe the tweeter wire is resolderable but use the minimum amount of heat possible; even heat sink the wire if you can

Thanks for the tip, I also thought I would put a shield of cooking foil underneath, just in case some dropped off.

 

[Submariner1]

There will be a built in crossover for the tweeter so complete disconnection shouldn't affect the impedance

Thanks, obviously I use these to load the amplifier.
It still sounds OK.

 

[Submariner1]

I’d strip a bit of the wire back, feed some heat shrink onto the wire then fit the ends into each other, twist them, apply some heat and solder, then slide over the heat shrink and use the soldering iron to shrink it to fit.

I thought about that, but was concerned of the extra weight.
I think it broke because the ’neck’ of this wire didnt follow the curve like the others do. So I assumed the wire had to bend a fair bit quickly, hence creating a stress point.

 

[Submariner1]

All the above is good if you can solder & have a temp controlled appropriate soldering iron. I believe there are people that repair speakers - that would be my route . Would an appropriate resistor instead of the speaker work?

Going the pro route would be my normal choice, especially with say the main Dynaudio speakes, but they are so old I thought I would give it a go; and if it held then leave it. If it fails again go the pro mend route.
that said, the sound quality of even these blows away Bose and HK upgrades. And as I use 2 of these on each channel it would require 2 sets.
As it is the amp is worth much more than the car!
one could use a resistor, but then one would “miss” the “volume“ from the left rear, even though its running in 2 Channel mode.
And my knowledge is insufficient as to whether a resistor verses the variable resistance of a speaker‘s impedance.
My main goal would be to protect the AMP. As it has an incredibly low THD.

 

[Submariner1]

I liked the sound of the Baupunkt music system in my old W124. But both speakers on the dash board had problems the outer suspension rings had turned to dust though the heat . Found a company in London that did speaker repairs so i sent them both to them for repair . You can do that repair yourself just a dab of soldier on it . Or you could try super glue .

Thanks
I am definitely a fan of old school audio.
Its about 1,000 x better than this modern crap.

Sad the way it has gone!

 

[DREAMER NO2]

My bit of old hifi

 

[rorywquin]

Going the pro route would be my normal choice, especially with say the main Dynaudio speakes, but they are so old I thought I would give it a go; and if it held then leave it. If it fails again go the pro mend route.
that said, the sound quality of even these blows away Bose and HK upgrades. And as I use 2 of these on each channel it would require 2 sets.
As it is the amp is worth much more than the car!
one could use a resistor, but then one would “miss” the “volume“ from the left rear, even though its running in 2 Channel mode.
And my knowledge is insufficient as to whether a resistor verses the variable resistance of a speaker‘s impedance.
My main goal would be to protect the AMP. As it has an incredibly low THD.

My dad was a 'hi-fi' obsessive (built his own amplifier & pre amp systems as well as speaker cabinets etc). One day he just got rid of the lot. When I asked why, he said that he spent more time listening for faults than listening to the music.

OTOH my hearing is shot from too much time spent near high powered rifles, artillery & my hobby of reloading and firing 100s of rounds of .357, .38 spl and 9mm every weekend. That, added to my tinnitus means that I’m happy to hear anything and it does not need to be from a fancy sound system.

 

[DREAMER NO2]

Yes i have also had the same type of noise etc - comp shooting clays DTL Sporting and skeet . And worked in power press work for for 40 years i was over a large press shop and 100 workers i dont know what was the worst.

 

[rorywquin]

Yes i have also had the same type of noise etc - comp shooting clays DTL Sporting and skeet . And worked in power press work for for 40 years i was over a large press shop and 100 workers i dont know what was the worst.

Yea when I started shooting we’d use a .38 or 9mm bullets as ear plugs. In the army they gave us ear plugs that were like wax impregnated cotton wool - never fitted properly and we used to burn them for the black smoke to blacken the sights (on the FN FAL 7.62’s we had in my basic training days). I did a huge amount of shooting as I was on the regiment’s competition shooting team & a regimental “sharpshooter” .

 

[Submariner1]

I liked the sound of the Baupunkt music system in my old W124. But both speakers on the dash board had problems the outer suspension rings had turned to dust though the heat . Found a company in London that did speaker repairs so i sent them both to them for repair . You can do that repair yourself just a dab of soldier on it . Or you could try super glue .

Fixed it I think!
Not my best job, as I reckon the reason it broke was the original solder didnt point the wire in the right direction. So there was too sharp a bend.
Ideally I should have desoldered the end joint, resoldered it pointing in the direction to make a gentle curve and then fixed the broken wire.
However the original joint was covered in a sort of flexible plastic. I guess designed to stop movement snapping it. So took the easy way of a joint pointing in the right way. Maybe it will last or need occasionally redoing. Just need to test it now. Very tricky thin wire with a plastic glue like crap on it.

 

[rorywquin]

Fixed it I think!
.............
However the original joint was covered in a sort of flexible plastic. I guess designed to stop movement snapping it. .........
View attachment 74663

Nice job.

Yep probably mechanical strain relief. What about putting a tiny blob of hot glue there or anything that will dry flexible- I think that the vibration is going to weaken that joint quite again.

 

[Submariner1]

Nice job.

Yep probably mechanical strain relief. What about putting a tiny blob of hot glue there or anything that will dry flexible- I think that the vibration is going to weaken that joint quite again.

Nice idea - sadly dont have a hot glue gun.
I think I will see if it lasts.
Its easy to get at, so even if it went in 6 months … fairly manageable.

 

[rorywquin]

Nice idea - sadly dont have a hot glue gun.
I think I will see if it lasts.
Its easy to get at, so even if it went in 6 months … fairly manageable.

You don’t have a hot glue gun!!!!!! ??????