Woofer stuck in cabinet...HELP!

[Pure_Brew]

I need to pull the 10" out of my Snell CIV and it appears to be stuck in there good. Maybe too good. The speakers weren't well cared for as it is. I almost wonder if the woofer is a replacement, and some unscrupulous person glued them in!

There is a potentiometer for the tweeter that is really dirty and I can't seem to fix it from the outside. The other speaker was ok, maybe a tad rough, but I was able to get enough cleaner in there to correct it. This other one is still troublesome.

I put this off before as I couldn't get the woofer out. It's also deeply recessed to avoid hitting the flush grill, so I can't slip a screwdriver under the basket edge at all.

I tried hand twisting a much bigger screw into the original hole in the basket so I could have something to grab. It doesn't budge. I've been able to use a small driver in the past, pushing at angle into the screw holes for some pry leverage. No luck here either, snapped one. The basket is pretty heavy cast.

I'm getting ready to use a hammer and start tapping around but I am afraid to do some serious damage.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks

 

[speakerman1]

Can you get in from the back by pulling the binding post plate? Lay it face down and use a piece of wood and TAP not beat the magnet using the wood and a hammer? By laying it face down you will be using its own weight to help get it going. Plus it won't travel very far.

Larry

 

[Pure_Brew]

The posts are attached to the crossover board which protrudes from a cut-out on the back of the cabinet. Can only be removed from inside. However, there might be room if I go through the port. I would be blind though.

 

[Web Police]

Can't you pry on the edge of the basket wit ha medium sized screw driver and work your way around it? I have glued or silconed in drivers where I never expected to take them out again.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Can't get under the basket as it's recessed like 3/4" into the front baffle. I tried smacking a screwdriver in between but I'm going almost straight down. Can't seem to get leverage at any direction. The port ends up not being an accessible point.

Having the speaker face down, I tried to re-apply some lube to the pot, and worked it some more, hoping that it will work in a bit better in that position. Seemed to do the trick for now. It's a bit of a mess though. The whole crossover/binding post board is something like paper backed MDF. So a little lube will spread all over if you can imagine.

I've been pretty patient with things generally, but sometimes the up keep on old stuff is f'n frustrating!

 

[Rex Everything]

What about removing the mid and pushing from behind?

 

[Pure_Brew]

The mid is totally sealed, no access unfortunately. I guess at this point something will have to get ugly to take it out.

These sound like different speakers with these pots cleaned now though. I bet the crossover has been ragged, sounds right now. Hope it lasts.

 

[Web Police]

Are you sure you have all the screws out? I have had drivers before with black tape over the screws holding the driver in. I guess if you don't need to repair the driver than probably just work the pot to improve it's performance.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Yeah there is 8 with slight recesses for each in the aluminum/cast. But yeah I took a more serious stab at working the pot and has so far helped immensely.

Thank for the input y'all

 

[speakerman1]

Just something to think about. I was taught no resistors in Xovers. They make noise. A pot is just a variable resisitor. I have done this to a few speakers. I took out the CBs, the switches and the pots. Usually what I have left is a nice little 2nd order Xover and a very different sounding speaker. Usually while I'm there I change the caps. It does make a difference.. I also put the Xover in the bottom of the cabinet. Change out the wires and getter done. I always do point to point soldering.
Just something to think about.

Larry

 

[Pure_Brew]

Do you have the test and measurement equipment to do this or are you just hand tuning in your own acoustic space.

 

[speakerman1]

I hand tune. You may change your Xover points a little not much at all. You will hear a difference. It is not subtle at all. Most of the time your Xover points overlap a great deal. I started building speakers when Xover software was very expensive. I did it with formulas and trial and error. I had one pair of speakers all I would do is change drivers and wiring and listen to find the best components to use. My speakers weren't cheap then and they sure wouldn't be cheap now. I don't have the patience to do it any more. Back then I would get my 12 pack and do it for hours and days. There are pics somewhere on here of me rebuilding a pair for a customer.

If you build a good sounding speaker it is going to sound good where ever they are. I have heard speakers built and tested in an anechoic chamber. They sounded flat to me. The numbers looked good ; but.

Larry

 

[Pure_Brew]

I suppose testing for concistancy is probably more an issue for repeat work. I tried hand/ear tuning once. It came out better then the PC design I did, but there were issues I couldn't resolve. I would have needed a lot more on hand parts and I wasn't winding coils.

On these Snells I suppose bypassing the the pot for a single value would be plausible, maybe even a cap change. But I feel the design overall is good, with a very even power response. They sound good at any seating position. A lot of speakers don't. They worked real hard on matching and network design, more than a lot of companies in the day. Replacement drivers used to come in matched pairs and typically with a few new xover pieces for careful matching.

 

[speakerman1]

I use open air ribbon inductors. You can order an inductor that will put your points very close. Wound coils in electricity class. Hated it. Was always breaking a hair size winding and would have to start over. We had to do a project. We built a little 3 watt tube amp. While loading caps and putting them on peoples seats. LOL We were mean; but had fun. LOL

Larry

PS I do have an inductance meter.

 

[Pure_Brew]

That's funny lol

Those coils don't come cheap. I'd rather get better speakers. I'm researching/shopping currently.

 

[speakerman1]

Trust me they are worth it. You wouldn't believe what they do. I used nothing else. I tried but the other type inductors just didn't cut it for me.I just did my labs with 12 ga silver plated wire. LOL wasn't fun to work with. Just something I like to do.Do I want to bring the Vandies in? Then the amps would have to make an appearance. I think the little Hafler wouldn't be to bad a pre. Can't wait for the tubed pre.

Larry

 

[stuwee]

Ain't ya got one of those fancy PL 500 dohickey thingies?? That outta blow the woof out of anything , set the levels to blast off all the way to the right, peg the meters than stand back and catch the bitch as it flies across the room

 

[Pure_Brew]

Think 60 amps out of my PS Audio would do it?

 

[Pure_Brew]

Wow... That PL is a BEAST. I just looked up info on it. Didn't realize it has soooo many output devices. Holy mother of crap.

 

[laatsch55]

And when we get done with em , they are even better.