Sonus Faber "lushness" and "beauty" - what is/was it?

[steveashe]

Cool information. The more I read, the less I want to think about doing anything to these speakers. I'll just listen to my music for now.

I bought them at auction on another audio site a few years ago; I was on a road trip to visit some colleges with my son and pulled over to the side of the road a few minutes before the auction ended to make sure I won the auction. We were literally 5 minutes from the hotel; it was about 1am after a long drive but dad was going to win these speakers. I probably paid a bit too much, but I regretted selling my SF Signums a few years earlier and really wanted these. I remember the seller well, an American military officer from down South. They were literally like new with original boxes, sheaths for the speakers themselves, almost like getting them new from a dealer. Anyway that's my trip down memory lane just wanted to share a bit. Thanks again for the info.

[Kenkirk]

Originally Posted by steveashe

I've got a pair of EAII's, probably 16 or 17 years old. They are my dream speakers and I'd like to keep them that way. Is it a good idea to proactively replace drivers in these speakers or just leave well enough alone? They still sound wonderful. Interested in thoughts and advice on this. Thanks so much.
Steve

Hi Steve,

Great speakers! I do have some experience with the EA II's. I have replaced the midwoofers in 2 pairs of them for friends. In both cases the rubber surround adhesive was failing. In one pair, the passive radiator surround adhesive was failing also. Since at the time, a few years ago, Sumiko still stocked the drivers, so we elected to buy replacements from Sumiko and I replaced them. We saved the old ones. I later reglued the surrounds on one set of the woofers and it worked perfectly. I would never mess with the crossover unless there was an obvious problem. I own a set of EA I's and they have never shown this failing adhesive problem. Neither have my Extremas or Amati's. I have only seen it in the EA II's, and it was both sets that I had access to. So just watch for the surround starting to separate from the cone. Also you can carefully and gently push in on the woofer and watch the passive radiator. It should move with it perfectly. If not, you have an air leak and it will be the adhesive starting to fail. The adhesive I used I bought here : Speaker Repair Adhesive, Dust Caps, Lead-Wires, MI-2000. Also the dust cap came loose on one woofer and the adhesive worked to repair that also. Hopefully you won't have to do anything to yours! But be on the watch out. The drivers are hard to find. But they are not hard to fix. A steady hand and a rotating table helps!

Ken

[steveashe]

Ken of course I had to try your suggestion about gently pushing on the woofer and watching the passive radiator move two minutes after I read your post :-). They radiator on each speaker moves in tandem at the slightest touch of the woofer so looks I'm good. I never would have known to do that and they do seem to work perfectly. How interesting. Thank you!!!