Tech Forum

A quick Google search for “speaker reconing” will result in 100’s if not 1000’s of hits for this service or parts. Many offer a DIY kit while others are businesses offering the service or an exchange program for speakers.

We know of one business in our area that does the reconing/refoaming service:
TV Service in Crete, Nebraska. His webpage is www.reconespecialists.com
Phone: 402-826-3540
My personal opinion, I would enlist the services of someone experienced unless you really feel confident in doing the work yourself.

If the cone on your Cerwin- Vega speaker is still good, why not consider purchasing a surround kit. They are available online and maybe at your local electronics parts store. Go online and look up your particular model of speaker’s surround kit. They are usually priced around $20-$30 depending on the make and model. It’s an evenings work, but if you have some manual dexterity, with some care, you can have your speakers back up and running like new.

I have been successful doing this on several JBL, Altec, and Bose speakers. I suggest that you stick with U.S. made surrounds. Follow the instructions, and make sure to use a low frequency signal from either a signal/function generator/oscillator or the CD that comes with some of the kits to make sure that everything is centered, and that the voice coil doesn’t rub on the pole piece, etc. Good Luck!

I was recently given an old pair of Cerwin Vega speakers from a co-worker in much the same condition, it sounds, as yours are. The woofers in both cabinets were electrically good as was the physical condition of the voice coils and cones. Both woofers though, exhibited the common problem of foam rot. Not only does the foam separate but seems to dissolve leaving the cone and voice coil to rattle around without direction. 

I performed a web search on the subject and found a solution that seemed very reasonable. Simply Speakers (simplyspeakers.com) has re-foam kits for numerous speaker manufacturers including Cerwin Vega.  I’m not touting Simply Speakers as the only provider, but they were excellent to work with, sent me everything I needed to do the job and provided a youtube video on how to do it. Search youtube for “Simply Speakers” to see the video. I just finished mine last week with excellent results.

If the cone and the driver are in good condition, I would do it. It isn’t very expensive or difficult. I replaced the flexible foam on a set of old Speakerlab speakers about 5 years ago. There are a number of places on the internet and on ebay that sell the parts and they have instructions. I’d check out some of the sites and look at the instructions to see if you feel comfortable with the procedure.

For the subwoofer, I had to repair the foam on both the 10” speaker and a passive radiator. I did decide to make a ring out of 1/4” plywood to make the assembly of one of the larger rings easier but you probably wouldn’t need to do that.