Replacing/Upgrading 8" Infinity Woofers for near fields.

[FFTT]

I would like nothing better than to replace my Infinity SM-82 speakers with a pair of good quality active near field monitors, but I just can't afford it at the moment.
Unfortunately, one of the woofers has blown after the foam support gave out, so now
I'm trying to figure out whether it's better to have both woofers re-coned or if I can find even better 8" woofers at a reasonable price.

Here are the SM-82 specs.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

Frequency Response: 75Hz - 25kHz (+/-3dB)
Crossover Frequency(ies): 2.8kHz
Sensitivity: 98dB (1 watt/1 meter)
Power Rating: 10 -125 watts
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Woofer: 8" (203mm) polypropylene coated
Tweeter: 1" (25mm) polycell "high-output"

I'm driving them with a Marantz 2252B which normally sounds fantastic.

If I were to rebuild these cabinets or just replace the woofers, what would you recommend?

Infinity says they do not stock replacement SM-82 speakers ( which sounds rediculous )

I can't even begin to work on any new projects until I get this resolved, so any suggestions
would be greatly appreciated.

[everybody's x]

******//www.partsexpress.com/

has some good stuff

[FFTT]

They certainly do have a great selection, but how to match or exceed the Infinity specifications
especially if I'm going for as close to reference quality as possible.

The idea is to turn these nice ported cabinets into a great pair of near fields that can handle accurate low volume mixes and all the kick I can throw at them.

[taturana]

try this address.... ******//www.speakerrepair.com/

they stock lots of infinity parts... i bought a couple of polydome speakers a couple of years ago with them...

[FFTT]

Well after a whole day of looking at speaker specifications, I'm stuck.

The tech advisor at partsexpress.com recommended the Audax AP210ZO 8" Shielded Aerogel Midbass selling for $37.50 ea. not bad, but I'm worried about power handling capabilites.
He felt that the Infinity SPL specs must be a misprint showing 98dB

Audax Specifications:
The Polymer chassis combines strength, excellent damping qualities and environmental stability (humidity, temperature and shock). It also contains a built in cosmetic ring designed for front, rear and recessed mounting. Each unit features high loss rubber surround, high temperature voice coil and Audax's unique HD-A Aerogel cones. Available in shielded and non-shielded versions.
Specifications: * Power handling: 70 watts RMS/100 watts max * Voice coil diameter: 1-3/16" * Voice coil inductance: 1.0 mH * Nominal impedance: 6.0 ohms * DC resistance: 5.3 ohms * Frequency range: 29-4,000 Hz * Magnet weight: 9 oz. * Fs: 29 Hz * SPL: 89.8 dB 2.83V/1m * Vas: 3.25 cu. ft. * Qms: 3.48 * Qes: .36 * Qts: .32 * Xmax: 2.6mm * Net weight: 3 lbs * Dimensions: Overall Diameter: 8-5/8", Cutout Diameter: 7-5/16", Mounting Depth: 3-5/8", Magnet Diameter: 3-3/4".
[img]******//www.partsexpress.com/images/296-175m.jpg[/img]

I've never had any known issues with my cabinets being right here on the table with my G5, but
apparently shielding is an issue to protect the hard drive data when the speakers are in close proximity to the CPU.

If I forget "affordable" replacement drivers, I like the specifications of the HI-VI D8. 8" Poly Bass/Midrange Shielded drivers better for power handling capabilities at $88.41 ea.

Specifications:
* Mineral filled poly cone * Foam surround * Shielded magnet * Aluminum die-cast frame * Power handling: 150 watts RMS * Voice coil diameter: 4" * Nominal impedance: 8 ohms * Frequency response: 30-2,500 Hz * Fs: 30 Hz * SPL: 87 dB 1W/1m * Vas: 1.66 cu. ft. * Xmax: 8.3 mm

[img]******//www.partsexpress.com/images/297-449m.jpg[/img]

I can't stop looking at the B & C 8PS21 8" WOOFER
at $86.06 ea.

8" woofer featuring a 2" copper voice coil on a Kapton® former, and 200 watts RMS power handling. Its long linear excursion provides exceptional LF performance with compact bass-reflex enclosures. A copper ring in the magnetic circuit reduces distortion and extends high frequency response up to 3 kHz. Specifications: *Power handling: 200 watts RMS *VCdia: 2" *Le: 0.5 mH *Impedance: 8 ohms *Re: 5.4 ohms *Frequency response: 70-3000 Hz *Fs: 73 Hz *SPL: 94 dB 1W/1m *Vas: 0.5 cu. ft. *Qms: 4.2 *Qes: 0.36 *Qts: 0.33 *Xmax: 5 mm *Dimensions: A: 8.8" B: 7.4" C: 3.5"

[img]******//www.partsexpress.com/images/294-654m.jpg[/img]

And the best overall value in the DAYTON ST210-8 8" SERIES II WOOFER
with a 5 year warranty for $39.00 each, but it looks like it's only set up to be back loaded.

Specifications: Power handling: 180 watts RMS/250 watts max * Voice coil diameter: 2" * Voice coil inductance: 1.56 mH * Nominal impedance: 8 ohms * DC resistance: 7.5 ohms * Frequency response: 45-3,000 Hz * Magnet weight: 38 oz. * Fs: 44.9 Hz * SPL: 91.1 dB 1W/1m * Vas: 1.34 cu. ft. * Qms: 13.54 * Qes: .41 * Qts: .40 * Xmax: 6.4mm * Net weight: 8 lbs. * Dimensions: Overall Diameter: 8-3/16", Cutout Diameter: 7-3/16", Mounting Depth: 4", Magnet Diameter: 5-1/4", Magnet Height: 1-1/2".

The mind boggles!!! Argggghhhh!

[taturana]

as i said give the orange county speakers i wrote yesterday a try.... i there's a place to find those original infinity speakers that's it...
also if your woofer only needs refoaming is not that dificult... i had 6 infinity woofers refoamed professionally and they sound just fine.

[barefoot]

Originally Posted by FFTT

Frequency Response: 75Hz - 25kHz (+/-3dB)
Crossover Frequency(ies): 2.8kHz
Sensitivity: 98dB (1 watt/1 meter)
Power Rating: 10 -125 watts
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Woofer: 8" (203mm) polypropylene coated
Tweeter: 1" (25mm) polycell "high-output"

These specs are totally inadequate, if you hope to fine a replacement woofer that will integrate properly with your speaker.

See all these funny looking specs for the drivers you listed:

Voice coil inductance: 1.0 mH * Nominal impedance: 6.0 ohms * DC resistance: 5.3 ohms * Fs: 29 Hz * SPL: 89.8 dB 2.83V/1m * Vas: 3.25 cu. ft. * Qms: 3.48 * Qes: .36 * Qts: .32 * Xmax: 2.6mm

Those are the very specific things you need to know about the original woofer in order to find a reasonable replacement. Same goes for re-coning. Unless the repair house has the specific replacement cone and voice coil for that woofer, they would need to know a lot more about the original in order to make a reasonable replacement.

In any case, the chances of finding a good replacement woofer off-the-shelf are pretty slim. And picking one at random will just give you crap. If you can't get them re-coned with the original manufacture's replacement assembly or an exact facsimile, then I would just bag the whole idea of repairing them. You'd be better off running down to the discount electronics store and buying a pair of $99 stereo speakers.



Thomas

[dementedchord]

there is alot more at work here than meets the eye... as has been pointed out you dont have enough of the original spec to make an informed decision on a direct replacement... and noticing your in RIO your not gonna run down to guitar mart and cop the latest and greatest... so in all likelyhood the best you can do is save up for some decent (high-end) stereo... (perhaps used audiofool market locally???)

[FFTT]

Ah yes the pitfalls of champaign taste on a tap water budget.

I spoke with another tech advisor today and it looks like my best bet is to go for
either the

B&C 8PS21 8" WOOFER
******//www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=294-654

or the B&C 8PE21 8" MIDRANGE
******//www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=294-652

We reviewed the orginial specifications of the Infinity cabinet dimensions, the crossover
frequency and the tweeter specs and came up with these two as the best bets to handle
my current amp set-up or any upgrade.

If I'm not satisfied with the results, I can always return them.

The alternative is to spend considerably more on a pair of powered 8" near fields or
add a new crossover and tweeter if necessary.

If I like the way the cabinets sound, then I might consider adding a pair of monoblock amplifiers.

The problem is that I need to monitor my bass tracks while recording, because I can't use headphones any longer only being able to hear out of one ear, so i need something that can handle the extra lows.

I know it's ass backwards recording method, but I'm kinda stuck doing it this way.

[ddageek]

go to an otherised infiniti service center get them reconed . Why becauseyou have no idea how anything else is going to sound in thesecabs with these x overs or with these tweeters. a woofer is not a woofer is not a woofer. these things take time an money to come up with a combination that works. Tech adviser
= salesman/ You have the guy who makes some of the finest moniters in the world saying not to screw with it and you can't afford something better.. but hey throughing money in the air on some highend drivers sounds good.
Send me the money I'll put it to better use.
note many major manufactures use drivers based on common drivers just cause they use the same basket gosen't mean they are the same/

[FFTT]

I confess my ignorance about the best solution and really do appreciate everyone's input.
It's frustrating because so much of my gear is in need of repair or replacement and I just don't have the financial resources to do things right.

I did visit the sites you mentioned hoping to simply buy a new or refurbished pair
of Infinity speakers, but it looks like everyone is out of the matching 8" Woofers and the
exact replacement parts are scarce.

What threw me was the combined price for re-coning and shipping.

Then again it's going to cost me around $230.00 with shipping if I buy the B&C's

I'll try to call the sites you mentioned for more information before I do anything.

[taturana]

here in brazil labor is a bit cheaper, parts are really expensive... got each one refoamed by $50....
unfortunately it's really hard to find the original speakers...i was lucky to find the polydome speaker for my infinity kappa9, which now is fully restored, at the time ( i understand orange county speakers ran out of them now)... i think those infinity speakers sound really good... you should keep them as original as possible...
do you actually need the cone to me remade? or just the foam?

[FFTT]

By the time I pull them, find a decent box and pay for shipping them, I might as well have them completely refurbished IF... they have all the parts.

They are not sounding distorted as long as I keep the volume reasonable.

The foam gave out while playing Red Rain off the Peter Gabriel Secret World Live DVD.

The sound was kickin' then all of a sudden the left side started going FWOP!!!! :-(

The Marantz volume control and all tone controls were set flat at 12:00

Sucks to be me.

[taturana]

refoaming is not that complicated. with the correct kit and instructions you could even try to diy... it's important that the speaker be correctly balanced though...


red rain is great... have so in sacd and it sounds really good....

[FFTT]

I called both Orange County and SimplySpeakers today.

Orange Co. can re-edge the speakers and even install new voice coils etc, but they do not
have any workable replacement for the cone itself.

SimplySpeakers said they could re-foam them, but they do not re-cone.

Both suggested that I just order the re-edging DIY kit since the speakers still work O.K.
at low volumes.

It will cost about $35.00 to re-edge both speakers if I do it myself.

It's $35.00 each speaker plus about that much more for shipping if I have them do it.

I also called Infinity tech support to find out they do not have a specification breakdown
of the stand alone woofer.

The only specifications they have are for the cabinet as configured.

It shouldn't be this difficult.

I just wanted to drop in a pair of new speakers and be done with it. No muss, no fuss.

No matter which way I go about it,
it's going to be a pain in the arse.

[FFTT]

Well today I went ahead and ordered the DIY re-edge kit from Orange County Speaker Repair.
www.SpeakerRepair.com

I could have saved a bit of money ordering from wooferrepair.com, but their foam kits are generic.

Orange County states that their kits are exact replacment.

I was termpted though because wooferrepair.com sends you a free instructional DVD.

I'll see how it goes.

[taturana]

i remember the guy who repaired my speakers said it was very important to correctly balance the speaker, if you glue the foam wrong it could be a problem.

i went thru the whole thing.
i got a pair of infinity beta reference 50 and a pair of reference kappa 9 as a gift from a friend, but all the woofers (2X 8" + 4X 15") were missing the foam.also on the kappa the 3" polydome mid driver had evaporated.

repaired it with jbl foam kits, and bought the polydomes at orange county (i understand they don't carry them anymore).

it was worth it.

[orbanatorfunk]

Originally Posted by FFTT

I would like nothing better than to replace my Infinity SM-82 speakers with a pair of good quality active near field monitors, but I just can't afford it at the moment.
Unfortunately, one of the woofers has blown after the foam support gave out, so now
I'm trying to figure out whether it's better to have both woofers re-coned or if I can find even better 8" woofers at a reasonable price.

Here are the SM-82 specs.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

Frequency Response: 75Hz - 25kHz (+/-3dB)
Crossover Frequency(ies): 2.8kHz
Sensitivity: 98dB (1 watt/1 meter)
Power Rating: 10 -125 watts
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Woofer: 8" (203mm) polypropylene coated
Tweeter: 1" (25mm) polycell "high-output"

I'm driving them with a Marantz 2252B which normally sounds fantastic.

If I were to rebuild these cabinets or just replace the woofers, what would you recommend?

Infinity says they do not stock replacement SM-82 speakers ( which sounds rediculous )

I can't even begin to work on any new projects until I get this resolved, so any suggestions
would be greatly appreciated.

Well if you like the sound I would recomend reconing them.
I own a speaker repair company in los angeles
Welcome to Orban Audio
424-208-9706
All my work is back by a one year warranty. Best work and quick turn around time. Fair prices, Free shipping !