Sonus Faber Bass Driver Removal Help

[Rilands]

I need to remove the top bass driver from one of my Cremona's. I've got the 6 screws out but can't get the driver to slide out easy. Does anyone have any experience with this? I don't want to scratch my speaker by slipping while prying out the driver.
Thanks.

[Face]

Mike, does the bass drive below it come out easily? If so, reach in and grab the magnet of the stubborn driver and apply pressure to the magnet of the damaged driver.

You can also re-install all 6 screws, but don't tighten them all the way. Wait overnight, sometimes the driver will come out easily afterwords.

I've used a few other methods, but none I'd be brave enough to use on a pair of SF's.

Good luck!

[Rilands]

Originally Posted by Face

Mike, does the bass drive below it come out easily? If so, reach in and grab the magnet of the stubborn driver and apply pressure to the magnet of the damaged driver.

You can also re-install all 6 screws, but don't tighten them all the way. Wait overnight, sometimes the driver will come out easily afterwords.

I've used a few other methods, but none I'd be brave enough to use on a pair of SF's.

Good luck!

Mike,
Great idea, thanks! But luckily for me I put "Dark Side Of The Moon On" and it pushed it out for me. The next problem is that the wires are soldered to the driver. Fortunately i have a really good salesman at Magnolia where I bought them and he's having a tech come to my home and install the new driver. I don't want to deal with soldering and screw anything up. We were hoping for an easy connection and install of my new bass driver.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by Rilands

Mike,
Great idea, thanks! But luckily for me I put "Dark Side Of The Moon On" and it pushed it out for me. The next problem is that the wires are soldered to the driver. Fortunately i have a really good salesman at Magnolia where I bought them and he's having a tech come to my home and install the new driver. I don't want to deal with soldering and screw anything up. We were hoping for an easy connection and install of my new bass driver.

Tell me was it "Money" that made the driver come out?

[metaphacts]

Guys I am traveling but when I get back home I'll write a post explaining how to safely remove drivers. Hint: the leather does a lot more than just look pretty.

[Masterlu]

[megasat16]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Tell me was it "Money" that made the driver come out?

It was the "Driver" that made the "Money" come out.

[piolaxo]

Is she the little girl from Harry Potter...? Time flies... Maybe there was some magic there.

[metaphacts]

Removing a Sonus driver is a little bit different than with other speakers. When the driver is installed, the leather on the baffle is compressed. Once in place the leather decompresses to fill any open space between the driver frame and the baffle opening. The leather seals the enclosure and firmly holds the driver in place while decoupling it from the baffle. In fact if you overtighten the driver screws you eliminate the decoupling and degrade the sound dramatically.

So how do we remove the driver? I will assume you are alone and have no help. If you have an assistant, you won't need to lay the speaker down but they will need to catch the driver as you remove it.

First you will need 2 2' 2 x4s(or large pieces of packing foam), 3 bath towels, and some microfiber cloths (optional but recommended), a 2' x 1" dowel rod, a rubber mallet(or hammer), a flashlight, a soldering iron with a clean tip and a #2 Phillips screwdriver.

1. Place the 2x4s on the floor spaced so that the speaker's top and bottom would rest on the boards if the speaker was placed face down on them.
   
2. Next fold 2 of the towels so that at least 4 layers of fabric are over the entire 2x4. Then lay microfiber cloths over the towels.
   
3. Lay the speaker face down on the covered 2x4s. Roll it onto one side.
   
4. Fold the remaining towel to create a 1 foot square. Place it on the floor in between the 2x4s so that when you roll the speaker back onto its face, it will be below the driver you are removing.
   
5. Remove the screws holding the driver in place. Roll the speaker back onto its face. The driver may fall onto the towel at this point but it is not likely.
   
6. Using the flashlight, look into the port behind the driver you are removing and find the back of the driver magnet.
   
7. Insert the dowel rod into the port so that it is against the back of the magnet. It is critical that the dowel does not slip off the magnet. Using the mallet, gently tap the other end of the dowel until the driver drops onto the towel below it.
   
8. Remove the dowel and roll the speaker onto it's side. Note the orientation of the driver before unsoldering it. Unsolder it and solder in the new one making sure you maintain proper polarity. You should be able to do this without adding additional solder.
   
9. Orient the driver like the old one and reinsert the screws deeply enough to position the driver but not enough to compress the leather. Stand the speaker up vertically. Now screw the screws in to pull the driver tight and compress the leather. Make sure that you evenly tension all screws. Do not overtighten.

It's much easier with an assistant.

[Supercronopio]

Holy Cow! Try getting this info anywhere else on the net. I Love AA!!