WATKINS STEREO AND LOUDSPEAKERS
Over 48 Years of Building Quality, Award Winning Speakers
423-246-3701
LOUDSPEAKER REFOAMING AND REPAIR
Restored to Factory Specifications
Refoaming for Original Sound
Many of the older Infinity speakers have become classics. We designed the Watkins woofers for these, and we restore them to their original specifications. So don't compromise their quality with an inferior repair job.
Surrounds are made with many different degrees of compliance (stiffness.) To obtain the correct amount of cone movement and thus the same volume of bass and low distortion as our original design, we use only our original type of surround.
When refoaming, the voice coil must be realigned, and correct alignment is also critical. One method is to cut out the dome cap in the center of the cone and use shims. This destroys the dome cap and generic replacements alter the frequency response and change the sound of the speaker. The other method of alignment is to move the coil-cone assembly around until you don't hear the coil scrape metal. Some use a test tone, but this only makes the scraping louder. Neither of the methods gives any indication of when the voice coil is in the center of the magnetic field. We use our exclusive electronic alignment process that centers the coil with perfect symmetry, allowing linear cone movement and minimum distortion. This along with an undistured dome cap and the proper surround insures that the speaker will perform and sound the same as when it was new.
We check all the following:
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Impedance
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Buzz and rattle
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Integrity of dome attachment to cone
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Integrity of coil attachment to cone
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Integrity of coil attachment to spider
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Spider adhesion to frame
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Integrity of magnet, plate, and frame attachments
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Accelerometer output and distortion
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Input lead integrity and dress
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We clean the input terminals if needed
We also use polyether foam which lasts much longer than other types of foam, along with Airflex adhesive. It remains flexible, the same as that used for original construction.
TURNAROUND TIME:
3 working days, and all repair is overseen by Bill Watkins.
GUARANTEE:
5 years
PRICING AND SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS
Cost Each to Refoam, align voice coil and Perform Minor Woofer Repairs:
(Each):
15 inch - $95
12 inch - $90
10 inch - $85
8 inch or less - $80
Midranges - $75
INFINITY IRS control woofers are $175 Each, their associate woofers are $125 (Each).
Repair & update Infinity WA120 woofers with locked magnet/cones add $120 (Each).
Infinity/Watkins woofer full suspension rebuild - $550 (Pair).
If you have speakers with botched refoaming add $45 (Each).
15 inch
East $105 - West $125
12 inch
East $80 - West $95
10 inch
East $70 - West $85
8 inch or less and midranges
East $65 - West $80
Return shipping, packaging, and insurance (Pair):
Removal and Packing
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Disconnect the wires. If they are soldered on, clip them 3" from the terminal. We will supply wire-nuts to reconnect them.
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Locate four (4) #10 screws 1.5" long and four (4) matching nuts or four (4) 3/16" to 1/4" HEAVY DUTY zip ties.
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Bolt or zip tie the speakers together, face-to-face.
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The speakers should be wrapped in bubble wrap to a minimum thickness of 3-4". DO NOT USE AIR PILLOWS, PEANUTS, STYROFOAM OR PAPER.
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Don't scrimp, bubble wrap is cheap compared to finding scarce and expensive replacement woofers.
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Insure the package for a minimum of $700 if they are Infinity/Watkins woofers.
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Ship by UPS to: Watkins Stereo, Inc. 1019 East Center Street Kingsport, TN 37660
Payment and Warranty
Payment
We will call you for your credit card information upon completion of your repair.
Warranty
Any part we replace and any work we do has a 5 year warranty.