SpeakerTalk

[speakerguru]

[quote="ColinR"]

[speakerguru]

[quote="Parts"]

[raedididi]

My first ever forum, not counting one I couldn't get past registration on. I own the Calinda's since 1978, but now they need repairing. I know nothing about audio stuff. Is it possible to repair them? I live in northern British Columbia, so Edmonton or Vancouver are my closest large centres. All the jacks need to be tightened up, but I think there are other problems too, my ears aren't good, but my wife and daughter want to throw them out and buy something as good, but new. I have done nothing to take care of them, I didn't know how, but I love them. Does anyone know where I can get them repaired? What might it cost in CDn$$ or US $$?

Thank you muchly.raedididi.

[proffski]

It all depends entirely as to what the problems are.

Drive units or crossovers or both. Then there is the availability of drive units as they are no longer made.

[raedididi]

Thanks for reply. I really appreciate it. I don't listen much, but my wife and daughter really do want me to get new speakers.

How do I tell what the problems might be. What do I look for? I know that they are not clear anymore, the connections at the back also seem loose. I do not know much about speaker components. I am also still using the same amp that I bought with the speakers in '78, an Alpage AA-4000, 155 watts, made by Alpine Electronics of Japan. I take it that the Type SP 1053 means the same as 103's.

I come to England this summer (Oxford) to visit family for 1 1/2 weeks and could perhaps find parts (with help), but I still would need directions or assistance on fixing the speakers. I need to be realistic about my capabilities of fixing them I guess. Should I just look for some new speakers of excellent quality and accurate reproduction?

raedididi

[ColinR]

[raedididi]

The plate on the back says SP 1053, serial # 10078 and 10092. But I have no clue, maybe it is a typo.

raedididi

[Gary]

I have a pair of Calinda's - they still sound great to my ears. In my humble opinion, there is not too much out there in "modern speaker land" that I particularly like.

First you have to figure out what is 'wrong' with them. Is there a sound problem of some sort? Do they fuzz out or distort the music? Or are they just big and clunky looking - and someone is pressuring you to get something modern?

I guess you took them apart, right? The drivers are still intact (no holes in them - surrounds are still glued? All the wires are still connected? Are any of the capacitors discoloured or burnt looking?

Is it the receiver that is really causing the problem? That's happened to me with my 1980's era Technics receiver. In my limited experience, speakers tend to live longer than electronics unless you really blast them!

Can you post a picture here for the experts to have a look-see?

Start a new dedicated thread, perhaps?

Perhaps there is a crossover schematic somewhere....

I am not a very good repair type of person - but I'd sure give it a try if I were you!

Gary

PS Wish I could pop over to help you - but it's a 4 day drive.... eek!
_________________
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
-- Charles M. Schulz (as Charlie Brown)

[raedididi]

Thanks for your reply. I haven't actually opened them up yet, but you are right when you say that it is others in the family that want better speakers. They are the ones that hear the problems with the Calindas. I will open them up and I guess this means unscrewing them etc. but before I do that I need to get another set of something to replace them while I get them fixed. Thanks for your suggestions. As you can tell, I didn't even know where to start. I guess that taking them apart piece by piece is where I need to start. The others say they distort the music and are no longer clear and crisp. My ears are no longer great, so I don't hear this, but I think that they are right.

Cheers. Raedididi

[Gary]

Eh I still think they want you to "modernize" or something.

I'm not sure what's available in your area as to other speakers but I'd give the Calinda's a chance and try to fix them before you do anything drastic.

Good luck!
_________________
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
-- Charles M. Schulz (as Charlie Brown)

[raedididi]

Okay, broke my thumb since last time, but can type one handed. pulled the cover screen off. all looks good, nothing broken, glue still good, rubbers still good, slightly dusty. wires connected to middle, smaller tweeter. I pulled off the smaller, middle speaker, wires are connected on the inside, saw no capacitors or anything inside, only a hole, the same size as a the whole calinda - almost. Pulled off the passive "speaker", everything looked good, the yellow "paper" that moves the center cone is whole and seems in good shape. I noticed the centre round part of the tweeter was dented in, so I suck on it to get it to come back out and be round again, but it still has a few small dents in it now, I must have touched it and dented it in. The top main speaker is also good, both wires connected to two short copper wires and they are both connected in two places to the yellow paper part thatmoves the cone and rubber outside. I saw nothing else except a hollow inside. There is still two layers of foam on the bottom, ( I only checked the bottom.) My wife listened to the speakers individually when I adjusted the Bass and the treble, When the treble is raised to +10 (on my alpage amp), the static increases slightly. She didn't notice the same thing happening (to the woofer - top speaker) when I increased the bass - on the top speaker. I have pictures, but I gotta figure out how to get them onto the forum.

Raedidi

[raedididi]

I see nothing inside that looks like anything. What is a crossover, what does it look like? Can something be wrong with the magnetic part of the woofer and tweeter? or should I put in new speaker wires and connections or a new amp to see if they are the problem? jUST AS LOST AS BEFORE, BUT STILL LOOKING.
Raedididi

[Gary]

I'm glad you're starting to experiment. Hopefully this did not cause you to break your thumb!

Ask your wife what exactly is wrong. Distortion?

A crossover (or 'dividing network' for our overseas friends) is where the wires come togeather. There would be wires from the back of the speaker to the crossover and then wires from the crossover to the woofer and tweeter. the crossover will be a small, plastic 'board' with capacitors on it.

Everything looks attached - that's good.

Do you have any way to check if the receiver / amplifier is the culprit? Do you have another amp that you can try out? Can you borrow one?

Did you try disconnecting the interconnects and wires leading to the speakers? Did something come loose?

A thought: If you're going to England, you might want to consider taking the crossovers with you to have repaired....
_________________
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
-- Charles M. Schulz (as Charlie Brown)

[raedididi]

So, if a crossover is a small "electonics board" then it must be hidden behind the plastic foam, maybe fairly close to where the speaker wires plug into the back of the Calinda????

Yes, OKay, I will pull off the bottom passive device (name???) and pull out the foam from inside, then look to see what is what. I can't take out the top woofer, unless I want to unsolder the wires from the woofer speaker (name???), the same with the tweeter, both are too heavy to just hang from the small wires.

Cheers.

Thanks a bunch. Maybe there will be something to bring to England to get fixed this summer.

Raedididi