Spendor S8 driver replacement? Or something else?

[Yardbird]

Help Please!

 

Hi there,

 

I have just picked up a set of Spendor S8 (not S8e) floor standing speakers which I could not demo at the time of purchase. 

Whilst the speakers sound great and tight with what I would consider good bass response at least to what I've had in the past, I have noticed some annoying vibration coming from one of the woofers. Where it gets tricky is that it seems to be at a certain volume and frequency. Has anyone come across this?

 

I have tried several different music styles and it is not present on most musics; rather Miles Davis (doobop) which is overlaid with early RAP samples so it's bass heavy. 

 

The driver itself seems to be fine otherwise. 

 

Does this sound like a replacement driver (which is discontinued), a connection problem, manufacturing placement issue, baffle issue or a loose wire somewhere? I'm a little stumped on this so any advice would be great appreciated.

 

I am currently running these speakers via a Music Fidelity M6i amp with a Marantz Pearl Lite CD. 

 

Thanks.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Yardbird

[A9X]

First thing, swap the driver out to the other enclosure. Does the fault move with it? Yes? Then most likely driver. If so, send it to somewhere like Speakerbits to get looked at. It might be a piece of muck in the coil gap and therefore an easy repair. Or it might be stuffed, but fault finding is a step by step, eliminate one thing at a time process.

[Yardbird]

Brilliant A9X, will give it a crack later today and see how I get on.

 

[A9X]

Glad to help. Post your results and we'll work from there.

I generally post only every few days, so sorry if I'm slow in responding.

[cafe67]

Is the woofer in the other speaker doing it as well or only in one speaker

[Yardbird]

Cafe67 defiantly only one woofer. It's seems to come with music that has plenty of bass. 

[Yardbird]

A9X I have swapped out the woofer and it has followed the crackle across to the other speaker. So at least I know that it's defiantly that driver. All leads and connections look to be tight and correct. 

I've had a look online to see where I might be able to secure a new driver but can;t seem to see anything available as the drivers have been discontinued for many years now. 

Driver: Spendor SD-08-a No. 19912 0dB

 

Would you recommend a different driver or a speaker doctor? 

Other than this the speakers are great, but it is completely annoying to listen to the speaker vibration. 

[cafe67]

Check with Andy at Audiofix , they were the spendor dealer for quite some time, may be able help out 

[Yardbird]

Thanks @cafe67. There is a new distributor that I have contacted for a replacement driver and they are looking into it. Do you know if it's okay to replace one or should they be matched? That's assuming I can still buy any. 

[cafe67]

If you can get an exact match , should only need the one. 

[Yardbird]

Thanks. Appreciated. 

[A9X]

On 12/02/2019 at 6:26 PM, Yardbird said:

A9X I have swapped out the woofer and it has followed the crackle across to the other speaker. So at least I know that it's defiantly that driver.

 

Driver: Spendor SD-08-a No. 19912 0dB

 

Would you recommend a different driver or a speaker doctor?

Snipped for brevity.

 

If it were me, I'd probably get the driver looked at first, then replace it with a factory unit if a repair can't be effected and there actually is a part available. If the driver needed replacing, I'd be more tempted to replace both if possible and within budget.

 

If there isn't one available NOS, set up an ebay search, be patient and hope. Someone may be in a similar situation to you and part out a speaker or two if theirs has a fault.

[Wimbo]

@YardbirdPlay the speaker with music that makes it distort. When its distorting, roll your fingers around the outside of the suspension. Maybe the glue that holds it on the cone has failed somewhere. Simple fix.

[VanArn]

It is definitely the wisest procedure to have the  Spendor SD-08 looked at by a specialist repairer, as your first option. If  there is  a major problem, such as an overheated voice coil which would require  a replacement to be fitted, then it would be prudent to supply the good speaker as well for measurement  ( T & S parameters)  to enable exact matching to be achieved. Repair work is normally  cheaper than buying  Spendor replacement drivers.

[Yardbird]

@A9X I went today to Total Recoil and he was pretty vague and mention that he would look at it for $360 which seemed interesting. Although he didn't really give any ideas about what could be the cause of the problem nor any assurance as to whether it was a fixable problem.

@Wimbo I have had a super closer look at the woofer and I have a feeling that it has something to do with the dust cone for the woofer. I can feel a tactile sensation around my finger as if the glue is moist and can see slight separation. Although I played at the volume that has the problems starting point and when I hold the suspension ring with gentle pressure the sound goes; however, I am not sure if it's related to the amount of pressure applied thus reducing the amount of travel in the frame itself. Additionally, the dust cap has been pushed in and sits close to the voice coil which I can really tell if there is contact during play that could be affecting this. I have attached a few photos of the dust cap where I can see slight separation.

@VanArn I agree about the new drivers and to peruse all other options before this choice. I have managed to track down new driver from Spendor UK, but it's 4-6 weeks to manufacture and the cost of each is $700+ then freight on top which really becomes about finding different drivers as per your suggestion about parameters and dimensions to try to match something.

 

Oh, just getting difficult to isolate this annoying sound. At this stage I can't smell any burning smell which might indicate the voice coil and everything looks to be intact with not loose leads or wires. The rubber suspension looks to be in good condition. All help has been great appreciated SNA's. 

 

[VanArn]

Yardbird, you went to the wrong place for speaker repairs. The common failure with this model Spendor is  the voice coil ,as it only suitable for  moderate power operation. Typically the voice coil windings part from the aluminium former when overloaded. A  repairer has to carefully dismantle the cone assembly from the speaker frame and inspect the assembly. It is a highly skilled task to remove a blown coil ( if this is indeed the fault) from the polypropylene cone and fit a suitable replacement and achieve a performance that complements the original design.

Edited February 14, 2019 by VanArn

[gat474]

If you are in Melbourne take the driver to Gary Cawsey in Preston or Atilla in Thomastown. Not sure of Atilla’s contact but someone on Sna will have it. If it’s a heated voice coil these guys may be able to sort that for you. 

[Wimbo]

@Yardbird I'm talking about the outer suspension area,where the outer part of the cone is connected to the outer suspension.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Wimbo

[Yardbird]

@Wimbo I'll have another look. Cheers. Will let you know. 

[VanArn]

14 minutes ago, gat474 said:

If you are in Melbourne take the driver to Gary Cawsey in Preston or Atilla in Thomastown. Not sure of Atilla’s contact but someone on Sna will have it. If it’s a heated voice coil these guys may be able to sort that for you. 

Gary Cawsey is now at 41 Edward Street, Brunswick.

[Yardbird]

@gat474 I'll track them down and see what they can do. Thanks for the recommendations. 

[Yardbird]

@VanArn ok so heaps to consider here. It's well beyond my scope now so I'll get in contact with the folks that were recommended. I see you mentioned Brunswick, so thanks. 

[Woody4572]

How did you go Yardbird? I have a pair of SP2/2’s that might need a birthday soon?

[Yardbird]

Hi everyone, I though it timely to give you an update on these speakers and the issue around some slight distortion experienced at lower frequencies. I swapped out the original Music Fidelity M6 amp that I had driving them. Changed to the Manley Mahi monos and the problem went away. I suspect that this was due to the lower watts driving the speakers. After this no problems again and a change out to Cymer monos, still didn't experience any distortion.

 

So, no problems at my end. 

 

I finished up saving a pair of Proac 100's with wrecked cones so I through to try my hand at a driver rebuild, so I can understand how a driver works. The rebuild was Scanspeak 8542 and was able to pull these down and rebuild, inspecting things along the way such as spiders, cones, voice coils, dust caps etc. So the project was well worth it. Learning little things such as gently pushing the drivers in to listen for friction against a voice coil, etc. Got them going and very happy little pair for the office.

 

Also, my main speakers, I was lucky enough to get my some really great condition Spendor SP1, so the S8's got parked for a while.

 

So back to the S8's. I listed for sale and had plenty of people wanting them, so I decided to withdraw the ad and keep them for a little while more, to fall in love them again. I had a fella wanting to buy and ask many questions about the result of this thread. After this call I went back to the speakers with a consideration that if the distortion might not have been rectified, rather a lower output amp simply wouldn't drive the speakers as hard, attaining to less travel or distance from the rubber surround as it doesn't get pushed back as much. 

 

I pushed the drivers in manually listening for any scrapping from the voice coil, nothing. So, I noticed that one of the dust caps was pushed in. The photos in this thread show this too. When pushing in the driver ever so slight, I noticed the dust cap coming into contact with the pole piece. This is the error. Damn. So, I popped on some acetone, popped off the dust cap, popped it back out, placed back on and sorted. This also explains the distortion at lower frequencies as the driver would be pushed back further. 

 

So, after all the info above to troubleshoot, it was the easiest of fixes in the end. I am now driving these with a McIntosh 252 and simply have fallen in love with the S8. 

 

As good as the speakers have been with an M6, Manley's and Cymer the 252 has really taken them to a next level for me. So, from here it's all about synergies. I get this. And one very happy boy. The S8's are going to be in my collection for a long time to come.

 

The 252 has made the speakers sing giving more space and depth, faster, more responsive and plump lowers, image is fantastic, so much clearer with excellent separation. Simply put, they sound like a completely different speaker to what I had. 

 

I always struggled with lowers feeling the Spendors just lacked in this department and was looking to pair with a REL T5. With the 252, what a difference and the lowers are some much better and extending further.

 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread and without any of the collective knowledges, who knows. But for me, the sharing of info and ideas is invaluable through this forum. 

 

Side note: I was the lucky one who got the 252 off Marc listed the other day. 

 

Cheers.

[Resonance-2-Rythm]

My consultation regarding dust cap causing distortion... That would be $100 fee thanks  . Glad you started to enjoy them again. I'll keep searching