Me and my old Marantz Speakers, LS340 speaker questions Options

[Funky Monk]

Hey everyone,

This is my first topic and post woo.

Ok now thats out of the way I have a small story and some questions.
So recently I got this new sound card for my PC as my audigy 4 died. I got my hands on an x-fi extreme gamer (and Im very happy with it btw) and although it out puts to my speakers (logitech x530 pc speakers) rather well Im kinda after some better sound. So I was looking for a solution for this problem and my Dad mentioned that he has some old Marantz speakers sitting in the shed.
After I worked out how to take the mesh of the front I found some info about them:

Model: LS340
55 watts @ 8ohms

After having a good look at them I relised that the edges on the woofer holding the cone has kinda decayed away. Is there any way that I can fix this? I dont want to have to get a new woofer for both speakers. My Dad reckons the drivers should be fine and all I would need to do is replace the cone. Is this the way to go or can I repair them some how? Here are some pics (I have taken the mesh off for these pics):









Lastly, I am after an amp to drive these. Im planning on connecting the amp I get to my PC using an toslink cable. Thats not a prob since my card (even the old audigy 4) will decode my audio and then send it through the SPDIF to the amp. So Im looking for an amp that can do at least 50 watts per channel at 8 ohms and has optical-in in the form of a toslink port.
Ive heard the Onkyo stuff is pretty good and the same with the JBL equipment. But Im kinda new to this stuff.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[hödyr]

The woofer needs to be reconed. Also I don't know if the dustcap is alright, maybe it needs to be replaced too. These old speakers often used non uv-resistant foam material for the sourround, so they degraded over time.
Unmount the woofer and check for the exact name (you should find something on the back of the magnet), find a company near you and send them the pics and they should be able to give you a rough cost estimation.
Reconing kits are available for popular speakers, again, find out the exact model of your woofer and check if you can find one. I'm not sure this is so easy to DIY though.

[Funky Monk]

...

Thanks for the quick reply. Ill definatly have to have a look at doing something like that then.

Anyone have any experience with these speakers, or know anywhere I can find out how good they are? There is absolutely nothing on google about them. I guess because they are so old lol.

[WmAx]

As for the amplifier, I recently observed credible 3rd party measurements for one of the Audio Source(Phoenix Gold's Home Line) amplifiers: Amp One. It essentially is producing exactly what it claims in terms of power. It is produces 80 x 2 into 8 Ohms and 100+ x 2 into 4 Ohms. It is stable into very low impedances as well - so if you have speakers with low impedance (2-4 Ohms dips) that may cause most receivers to limit power output severely, this amp is useful also. It is really cheap, and made pretty well from what I can gather(and based on my handling/inspection of one). It can be had for 120-160 dollars on line from reputable sellers.

If you need a pre-amp and source selection abilities, look for factory refurbished Onkyo SR505. You can get these for $133-$160, depending on the current inventory at different places.

-Chris

[Glenn Gundlach]

The woofer needs to be reconed. Also I don't know if the dustcap is alright, maybe it needs to be replaced too. These old speakers often used non uv-resistant foam material for the sourround, so they degraded over time.
Unmount the woofer and check for the exact name (you should find something on the back of the magnet), find a company near you and send them the pics and they should be able to give you a rough cost estimation.
Reconing kits are available for popular speakers, again, find out the exact model of your woofer and check if you can find one. I'm not sure this is so easy to DIY though.

Unless the cone itself is rotted, it does NOT need reconing, just re-foaming. I've done it on 6 Advent drivers and it isn't hard at all. Costs about $10 per woofer and about an hour. Here is one of many vendors. I read somewhere the problem was fungus eating the urethane. Supposedly the new foams have fungicide in the recipe.

http://www.partsexpress.com/

The search was 'woofer foam'

G²

[GregDunn]

Replacing the urethane surround is not difficult if you have patience and a few simple tools. I've done it to several old speakers and the result is quite satisfactory. The only problems I've had are if the dust cap or voice coil spider (spring/support) are damaged; those are not easy to DIY.

I've had good results with kits from these people:

http://orangecountyspeaker.com/

[Funky Monk]

hrmmm, thanks for the replys guys. Im going to have to get these woofers done sometime soon. Ive found an amp btw, I managed to get my hands on a Sherwood RVD-6095R. A mate of mine who makes hi-fi speakers gave it to me - it seeems to be doing a good enough job.

[pdq]

A mate of mine who makes hi-fi speakers gave it to me - it seeems to be doing a good enough job.

When you say that he makes hi-fi speakers, I assume that you mean that he makes speaker cabinets and mounts speakers in them?

[Funky Monk]

A mate of mine who makes hi-fi speakers gave it to me - it seeems to be doing a good enough job.

When you say that he makes hi-fi speakers, I assume that you mean that he makes speaker cabinets and mounts speakers in them?

Yea thats what I mean, he doesnt make the drivers - he orders them in. But he makes everything else.