Cobourg On K9A 4G1
(416) 414-8900
NOW LOCATED in Cobourg Ontario!
48 Brook Rd South, Cobourg On K9A 4G1. For convenient drop off and pick up call Jim @ 416-414-8900 during business hours or by appointment almost anytime. Fab Audio ~ THE choice for you when it comes to your valued sound systems.
Check it out!
Images of work performed at Fab Audio.
We specialize in specialty work!
Click the image at right.
We now have a wide variety of raw drivers in stock and for sale, for speaker hobbiests or to use as replacement speakers!
Fab Audio has long been recognized far & wide as a premier facility, reconing & repairing many thousands of speakers over more than 30 years!
From Reconing & Surround Replacement to Voice Coil Replacement, Cross-over Work plus Diaphragm Repair and Replacement... we do it all!.
Everything is changing so fast! Getting smaller and smaller. However you just can't beat the sound of old world craftsmanship in Classic Speakers.
Every repair is performed by a skilled and qualified technician. We painstakingly go over each detail in our quest for the perfect sound.
Shipped to Fab Audio from ALL over Canada on a regular basis, we repair speakers AND just parts. If you need, call Jim for shipping and packing advice. Together with Jim you will be able to determine what should be shipped for repair.
Canada Post is most commonly used however we accept packages from all courier companies and will be happy to ship back to you via the same source.
Appointments available almost anytime. Please call Jim directly at 416-414-8900
Fab Audio also performs expert electronic repairs both Solid State and Tube.
Fab Audio is NOW LOCATED in Cobourg Ontario!
Our address is: 48 Brook Rd South, Cobourg On K9A 4G1. For convenient drop off and pick up call Jim @ 416-414-8900 by appointment almost anytime. Fab Audio will still be THE choice for you when it comes to your valued sound systems.
We now have a wide variety of raw drivers in stock and for sale, for speaker hobbiests or to use as replacement speakers!
Fab Audio has long been recognized far & wide as a premier facility, reconing & repairing many thousands of speakers over more than 30 years!
From Reconing & Surround Replacement to Voice Coil Replacement, Cross-over Work plus Diaphragm Repair and Replacement... we do it all!.
Everything is changing so fast! Getting smaller and smaller. However you just can't beat the sound of old world craftsmanship in Classic Speakers.
Every repair is performed by a skilled and qualified technician. We painstakingly go over each detail in our quest for the perfect sound.
Performed by qualified technicians.
Reconing; surround, cone, voice coil, spider, dust cap and lead wire replacements; diaphragm repair and replacements, cross-over work, speaker replacements.
We service all brands and also offer custom speaker and 2-channel audio design.
This is the process of removing all the moving parts of a speaker driver and replacing them with new parts. The parts are called a speaker recone kit. A kit consists of a cone, spider, voice-coil, lead wires, dust cap and gasket. A full recone is usually necessary when: the suspensions (surround, spider) are collapsed (in a down or negative position); the voice-coil is rubbing (there are numerous varieties of this phenomenon e.g. the voice coil is bottomed, overheated or blown); or, the spider or cone is ripped and not available separately. Original recone parts are often available and, when not, replacement or after-market parts are usually available. We take great care to match the individual parts as closely as possible to the original.
This is a repair usually used for hi-fi drivers as they are the most common speakers that use foam material for the outer cone suspension. The foam surround has a usual life expectancy of 8 - 14 years depending on climate, usage and speaker placement. Direct sunlight (ultra violet rays) as well as a very dry or humid climate will speed up the deterioration process. Being near salt water will also have an effect on the speaker surround life. At Fab Audio, we carefully select the surround type to match the original part. Mass and compliance are very important. We pay close attention to these details when restoring a speaker.
This type of repair is normally performed on vintage and older speakers where recone kits are no longer available. The moving parts are extracted without damage and the voice-coil is matched and replaced. When matching a voice-coil, the following need to be considered: material - phospher-bronze, aluminum, paper, Kapton - diameter and height of the former, height of winding, wire material - aluminum, copper, flat or round, number of layers - and impedance. The voice-coil replacement process is time consuming, requires skill and is expensive. However, if properly working vintage speakers are important to you, then voice-coil replacement is a good decision.
A cone can only be replaced if there are no other damaged or worn parts. Cone replacements are usually performed on a speaker that has been accidentally ripped (a flying shoe or thrown beer bottle?). This repair type depends on the availability of the cone. Otherwise a complete recone kit would have to be installed.
When all speakers in a cabinet are functioning properly when hooked up individually, but not working when hooked up through the terminals, there is usually a cross-over or terminal problem. Cross-overs are mainly made up of resistors, capacitors, inductors, L-pads, wiring and sometimes circuit boards. We have all these parts on-hand and, because we also have many years of design experience, can repair most cross-over problems.
Dust Caps
The dust cap keeps dirt/dust from getting into the voice-coil gap. Also, the dust cap can affect the sound of the speaker. For example, an aluminum dust cap attached to the voice-coil former will add a substantial amount of high frequency. We closely match the size and material (aluminum, paper, felt, cloth, plastic, rubber etc.) of the replacement dust cap to the original.
Lead Wires
When a speaker does not work or measure on a multi meter, but all parts seem good and are moving freely, the speaker may only need lead wire replacements and not a full recone. When you take your speakers to a repair shop do not allow them to take a knife to your speaker (cut it open) before proper testing has been completed. Otherwise, you will be paying for a whole recone when the less expensive repair of lead wire replacement was all that was needed. However, it is possible, through arcing, that the voice-coil is damaged below the spider where the winding separates from the coil and runs up the former. In this case a full recone may be necessary.
Sometimes a compression driver diaphragm or dome tweeter diaphragm can be repaired if the wire on the coil is not burnt or has not come unwound. This repair, when possible, can save a lot of money, especially for compression diaphragms.
This repair is performed when the spider only has a tear (usually circular around coil). The cone kit is carefully removed without damage and a new spider is installed. Most often this repair is performed on vintage and occasionally on pro speakers.
For one reason or another, a speaker repair may not be possible. In this case, replacing the entire speaker part would be the only alternative. We can provide an original (or a very close match) replacement speaker (sub, woofer, mid or tweeter).
