Speaker repair - Sonus Faber

[Harry Flashman]

Hi all, I have a pair of old Cremona M floorstanders'. For a short while I have been noticing a sound imbalance. It now looks as if the midrange driver in one of my speakers has given up, or the wiring to it has perished. I don't really know - sadly not an expert and don't know how to test such things.

The "finger test" shows little or no vibration compared to the other speaker. I need to wait until everyone is out tomorrow to crank the volume and really test this, but at my current low volumes, it's not looking good.

Anyone know someone that can repair/replace such a unit? I'm in London. I'd rather refresh these than replace, as I do love the sound. Probably going to replace both mids as doing one seems a bit silly.

A bit gutted...

[AdamV12V]

Sorry to hear that Harry

The best way to tell is simply put you ear close to each speaker, obviously not too loud tho. It will be very obvious indeed if one unit isnt emitting any sound or is a lot quieter than the comparible one in the other side.

If one isnt emitting any sound then it could either be that mid ramge speaker or the crossover in that said thats failed.

Sonus fabers website says to call the uk distributor for parts and repairs so id start with a call to them. From the SF website it looks like its these chaps in fife:

Fine Sounds UK
1-2 Pentland Court Glenrothes Fife, United Kingdom KY6 2DA
https://finesounds.uk/
[e-mail]
01592 744710

ps - Id avoid touching speaker cones really, the oils in your skin can damage them over a long period of time.

[Lucid_AV]

It's rare for wiring to perish. More likely that a voice coil burned out or something in the crossover (a capacitor, usually) has curled up its toes. Favourite is the voice coil.

To test, use substitution. Swap the drivers between the two speakers. If the problem follows the driver then you know it's a driver issue. If the problem stays with the speaker cabinet then it's more likely to be a crossover issue.

To prevent the screw/Allen bolt heads getting chewed up during removal/refitting, put a little bit of masking tape or electricians tape over the tool before applying.

[Harry Flashman]

Thanks, chaps! Will do all of this!

[Harry Flashman]

Well, this was a non-starter. Screws out, but driver still attached. Glued in?

[Lucid_AV]

Or just a tight fit.

[Harry Flashman]

Tapping the driver out gently from the rear port seems to be the option! Now to find a length of dowel, a mallet, and an assistant to catch it. A bit of internet research suggests that the leather facing in the speaker expands to fill the air gap and provide a right fit - which is why the screws were not tightened too much and were so easy to remove.

Apparently the drivers are soldered to their wiring, so that extra step will be fun too.

If the driver is done, can voice coils be renewed? Or is it a full replacement job? More googling, I think! I don't think Soares for these are easy to come by, so I may need to replace with non-SF drivers, which seems like a whole minefield...

Edited by Harry Flashman on Friday 14th April 11:40

[normalbloke]

Maybe buy a pair of the whole drivers and replace as a pair ( assuming they or an equivalent are available from the manufacturer). Chances are, if one has died, the other has similar mileage and may not be far behind.

[lufbramatt]

Looks like those drivers were made by Scanspeak. Might be something in their range that is a suitable replacement if you can find the specs (sonus Faber May have commissioned a specific oem design). The “revelator” range looks like it uses the same chassis design.

Tweeter defo looks like a scanspeak/Vifa design.

Maybe talk to Wilmslow audio?

[AdamV12V]

Have you tried calling the UK authorsied distributor yet? That's what it says to do on the SF website. I'd be very surprised if they cant source you the original OEM replacements.

Id try them first before calling Tom, Dick n Harry - excuse the name! No way I'd fit non OEM speaker alternatives if the OEM ones are actually available.

[Digger]

Try Bartletts HiFi as they have an in-store repair fella. They are based on Holloway Road & used them many times over the years, albeit not recently.

https://www.bartlettshifi.com/service-repairs/

[Harry Flashman]

Thanks all - will do.

Taking a soldering iron to high end speakers to remove a driver? Not enjoyable.

Had to tap the driver out through the port with dowel and mallet. Had bonded to the leather faceplate as intended by Sonus Faber. Also a not fun process.

[Harry Flashman]

Next, resistance test.

Noticed damage to the paper cone as well on inspection.

[Harry Flashman]

We have, however failed the 9v battery test, so it looks like the driver is dead. Hopefully none of the impossible to get to in-cabinet electronics are fried...

[wolfracesonic]

10 PH points for using Wera screwdriver, minus 1..5 points for not using an ESD non magnetic version.

[Harry Flashman]

Can I get a replacement driver easily?

No.

Will SF charge me stupid money, If they have one?

Yes.

Will I give up and buy a pair of Focals? Maybe. The SF cabinets will make nice plant stands.

[AdamV12V]

Harry Flashman said:

Can I get a replacement driver easily?

No.

Will SF charge me stupid money, If they have one?

Yes.

Will I give up and buy a pair of Focals? Maybe. The SF cabinets will make nice plant stands.

How much did they say it was then for a replacement driver?

Id genuinely be surprised if it was more than a couple of hundred quid.

[AdamV12V]

Here you go…. I just googled both of the part numbers off your photo.

Looks like they are out if stock but available to order.

https://www.triodo.it/commerce/scheda.asp?id=2941

If they can get them then i cant see why the uk distributor cant get them too.

[tonyg58]

You coud also try Scanspeak themsleves?

UK distributor looks to be -

https://www.audiocomponents.info/

[Harry Flashman]

Why is my googling so much worse than all of yours? The Italian lead is a thing.

That said, Scanspeak distributor did come back and say that as these were OEM for SF, they couldn't help.