Speaker re-magnetizing service available in Canada?

[TECHNOKID]

Since you are in the Montreal area, haven`t you tought of checking with addison. Even if they couldn`t help you, I am convinced they could lead you to some contacts that could do the job for you. These guys have been in business forever, they seem to have the passion and expertise.

By the way, wouldn`t you think that while you are getting the magnet taken care that it would be a good idead to get recogning done at the same time. As Fraser points out, may have been redone since but you are still talking quite a few years old and generally would be cheaper on labor to get the 2 done at once instead of 2 different jobs??

Cheers!
René

[montreal]

Originally Posted by cfraser

But the deteriorated foam *does* kinda stick, even though my '76 HPD315As didn't have glue. ........Anyway you'll get a good sense of it after you remove the 4 metal things that hold the surrounds, if the cones don't easily pop out....

You are correct in stating that by the time the foam surround is crumbling, then it will likely be also sticking between the frame and metal clips.

I did change one surround (on the Monitor Gold) 5 years ago immediately after buying the four 12" drivers and yes I remember what old foam feels like.

But on the two drivers in question, the front and back side of the foam is still fairly dry.

But I appreciate your warning because if the surround(s) fail to release cleanly, then I'll have to abandon my exercise of swapping magnets. I'll have to live with the 7 db. difference.

[montreal]

Originally Posted by TECHNOKID

Since you are in the Montreal area, haven`t you tought of checking with addison. Even if they couldn`t help you, I am convinced they could lead you to some contacts that could do the job for you. These guys have been in business forever, they seem to have the passion and expertise.

By the way, wouldn`t you think that while you are getting the magnet taken care that it would be a good idead to get recogning done at the same time. As Fraser points out, may have been redone since but you are still talking quite a few years old and generally would be cheaper on labor to get the 2 done at once instead of 2 different jobs??

Cheers!
René

Some of my four 12" Tannoys come indirectly from the Radio Canada studios and all the HPD315s look like they have been reconed before, or at least I hope so. The Monitor Gold needed its surround replaced, but there is no sign of cracking in the foam on the HPD315s when viewed from the back side.

I'm not sure if Addison will know who has a large electromagnet in Montreal in order to re-magntize the assembly.

I'm still waiting for an answer from a magnet manufacturer in Oakville.

Tannoy Canada thinks that there may still be a company in Montreal able to do it.

P.S. the surround kits come from Australia and I do the work myself, so the only economy of replacing two surrounds at once is saving on the postage.

[cfraser]

Well, let us know how it goes. I'm nervous about it and it's not even mine LOL. Though it sounds like you know what you're doing, there in your Tannoy coaxial shrine...

[montreal]

Originally Posted by cfraser

Well, let us know how it goes. I'm nervous about it and it's not even mine LOL. Though it sounds like you know what you're doing, there in your Tannoy coaxial shrine...

It is kind of you to be concerned about the outcome of my repair effort.

Thanks for the sobering reminder that when we take apart very old and difficult to replace pieces of technology, there are many unforeseen pits that can be fallen into.

I shall do my best to exercise caution while proceding and I will post results as soon as available.

[cfraser]

Many "respected" people think the Tannoy coaxials are the finest drivers ever made. Especially the Reds and Golds (some disagreement over which of those are #1), with the original HPDs third.

[montreal]

Originally Posted by cfraser

Many "respected" people think the Tannoy coaxials are the finest drivers ever made. Especially the Reds and Golds (some disagreement over which of those are #1), with the original HPDs third.

While I don't want to see this thread evolve off topic, particularly since it was originally started in the Loudspeaker sub-forum and quickly moved to the Shopping sub-forum by the administrator, I will say that back in 1970 there were many people in the world who would have agreed with your statement, given that the market had relatively few players and Tannoy was the monitor reference standard in Europe, while Altec was the standard in America.

Over the years, much has changed and I now view the Tannoy sound as being unique (coaxial), different, but not necessarily better than the competition of today which uses smaller high tech drivers.

Comparing quality loudspeakers is a bit like comparing pianos (say Yamaha piano vs. Mason & Reich), each have a slightly different tonality but all sound magnificant when played by a talented musician.

Within the older Tannoy family, those drivers which use ALNICO magnets seem to have kept up their value more. And our HPD315s seem to be the last of this generation to use ALNICO.

In my bedroom, I have a mixed pair of one Monitor Gold next to a HPD, and I can hardly hear the difference between them.

Enjoy...

[cfraser]

I just meant that they're highly regarded, so worth preserving. I don't think they're the finest drivers, I wouldn't know to judge, as always I hear drivers in an enclosure and that changes the whole thing.

[montreal]

Originally Posted by cfraser

I just meant that they're highly regarded, so worth preserving. I don't think they're the finest drivers, I wouldn't know to judge, as always I hear drivers in an enclosure and that changes the whole thing.

So in your case, I accept that I won't be preaching to the converted about the (lack of?) merits of Tannoy.

[cfraser]

Oh no, I was long ago converted. In fact, back in the day before university grants and loans, I chose buying Tannoys over spending my own $$ going to a "better" school LOL. I think I made the right decision, nobody cares what school you went to after your first job. But good speakers can be appreciated daily.

I expect my HPDs to outlive me. That is one reason I chose the Tannoy recone kits rather than just replace the surrounds last time. If Tannoy doesn't have recone kits the next time I need them (2020 at least), or should an accident happen, I figure I have enough cones/spiders to get by and then I'll just do the surrounds. I don't have "backup" drivers like you do.

From what I have gathered, the Tannoy coaxials should really be in quite massive "boxes". I have never heard such, only the consumer cabinets some of which I would consider very large (like Arden). I am incapable of building speaker cabinets, least anything you'd want anybody to see. I do not use my Tannoys in my main system (Maggies). They're in the bedroom driven by some SET amps now. This was not my intention, but Maggies taller than me in the bedroom driven by 450wpc Brystons turned out to be...scary.

[montreal]

Originally Posted by cfraser

..From what I have gathered, the Tannoy coaxials should really be in quite massive "boxes". I have never heard such, only the consumer cabinets some of which I would consider very large (like Arden)....

It is hard to put two Tannoy aficionados together in the same forum and not have them want to talk about their individual experiences, so I hope Hugh will forgive me for commenting off-topic in this thread.

My 15" Monitor Gold purchase was influenced after my visit to RCA studios in Montreal in 1971 where I was doing some contracted post production audio work. All the monitors throughout the building were 15" Tannoys in boxes made to look identical to the Altec A7 (Voice of the Theatre) box. Instead of having a curved plywood horn in front of the woofer, these 12 cu.ft. boxes, custom built in Ottawa, had two plywood flat plates to mimic the horn - a poor cabinet maker's shortcut. The Tannoys at RCA were hinted to have a stiffer surround (40 hz.) compared to the retail audio store version (26 hz.), and the stiffer model is the one I requested when I made my purchase the following year, later to my regret.

I built my own copies of the RCA boxes and they followed me around the country for the next 8 years until I decided that two 12 cu. ft boxes were too large for my living room.

Then I built an Arden size box for my drivers and sold the empty A7 clone boxes. The small Arden box was never intended for a Monitor Gold and they immediately lost their smooth low end. Twice I added wooden telescopes on the back of these 7 cu. ft. boxes looking for the minimum extra volume that would restore the bass. Even at 9 cu.ft. it didn't happen.

Then I had the "stiff" surround replaced with a foam one, and that did lower the resonance of the driver back to what the retail store model was generating, but the bass was still deficient, boomy for some notes, weak for others. Then out of desperation, I made HPD style cardboard ribs and glued these to the back of the cone thus modifying the T&S parameters.

Finally I accepted that for these Monitor Golds to have smooth bass without sounding boomy, they had to go back to a large box and in 2002 when I built my Home Theatre wall system, I included caveties of 12 cu.ft. to accomodate these 15" Monitor Gold. And now with their foam surrounds and ribs, their bass has never sounded better in 35 years.

My only regret is that the weight from the ribs has reduced the mid-range slightly.

Now come along this mix of four 12" drivers I bought in 2003, (3 HPD's and 1 Monitor Gold-with a replacement HPD ribbed cone) and inspite of me putting them in four 2.5 cu.ft. boxes, they all sound as good bass-wise as their 15" cousins downstairs and their mid-range is even better. The morale is that ribbed cone HPDs seem to tolerate smaller boxes better than their older un-ribbed Monitor Gold cousins, and 12" models fair better than 15" models in a smaller space.

And while I recently heard several pairs of powered small scale monitor speakers in a professional studio that all have a very tight sound and much clarity, there is still something different about 12 inch or larger coax speakers that cannot be described in words.

And I think you are one of the few members of this Tannoy club likely to understand what I am talking about.

[cfraser]

Yes, I understand. Anybody reading might think we're a couple of old men reminiscing about the good old days. Untrue. The vast majority of my many speakers were bought in this century. But the amount of labor required to assemble the complex coaxials, if done in the UK, would probably make each raw driver sell for at least $1k now. They cost a few hundred even in the late 70s IIRC, before all the big inflation even. Compared to the fairly simple and relatively cheap drivers used now, even in quite expensive speakers. The big diff is materials and computer design. An awful lot of plastic in most speakers now.

It's funny calling Ardens small. They are roughly 2.5X the volume of my Cheviots, and look quite large in a living room. Dominating in any but a very large living room. Even the Cheviots are "large" compared to what most people buy these days. In the old days they were considered "the next size" after a bookshelf speaker... I have seen pics of single 15" red/gold drivers in cabinets the size of small sheds.

It is surprising (or maybe not?) just how many of this "ABCDE" product line from the mid-70s are still around and in use. It is also not that hard to get the cabinets by themselves, quite cheaply, as it seems many hobbiests scavenge the drivers to put in "proper" cabinets (no use to me as no bigger consumer cabinets for my 12" drivers). IIRC even Tannoy themselves freely admitted these consumer cabinets were nowhere near optimum for the drivers. I think they also at one time provided plans for building cabinets that they considered "correct" for each driver. The British have always been much more into the DIY part of audio (and pretty much everything else too). There was a time in the UK when "Tannoy" was synonymous with "speaker", like we use "kleenex" for "tissue".

My cabinets are made of particle board/veneer. I wish they were made of MDF (not invented yet back then??), can't help but think they would be better. Already darn heavy and dull sounding when rapped, but more wouldn't hurt.

It is often said that the 12" HPDs have the sweetest overall sound of any of the coaxial drivers, especially the midrange. IMO they are quite excellent for typical home use.

You are correct that those "nasty" foam surrounds are quite important to the overall LF sound. This is fairly universally acknowledged, and the only reason people put up with them.

[montreal]

I'll leave your last post as having allowed you to rightfully have the last word. Amen.

[Ikemhla]

Hi,

I have 15" Dual Concentric Speakers.
I made a mistake of dismantling the Magnet and Poof!!
The whole thing lost the Magnetism.
Tannoy Uk advised me that the assembly is magnetized as one unit in order to
get the flux density required in the gap.

Once you dismantle the assembly you lose the magnetism. I have one good unit and one dead unit now.

Also to dismantle the contraption you have to dismantle the tweeter.
The tweeter is finely tuned in assembly by inserting paper shimms to achieve the required clearances.
This is then torqued down to a certain force. Chances are it will not work well after diss assembly if over torqued or under torqued.

If anyone has a spare magnet assembly I could buy it as I am in love with the sound of the Vintage units.

I bought the recon kits from Tannoy UK.

Regards

Ike

[majortom]

Hi Ike,
Welcome to the forum.
Not sure if this helps you or not, but lately I've been researching radio restoration for a friend.
A week or so ago, I came across this article about remagnetizing old speakers, mfr'd before they used good permanent magnets.
Either way may be worth a read.

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Referenc...sh/Flash06.htm