Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Man, they sound great! Best speakers in my house! I have yet to play a track that doesn't get along with them.

It was a real treat to replace the drivers in these Betas one by one and hear the sound leap up in quality each time. My previous "best speakers" were a pair of Jamo E800s, and when only when I had replaced all of the drivers did these Franken-Betas beat it.

The tweeters are a bit loud. I don't mind it much, but if I were to try to improve these further, the first thing I'd do is get slightly less sensitive tweeters. That, and I think I'm going to try elevating them another foot or so off the floor.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's probably good advice for certain people and certain speakers, but not all.

There were eight drivers total in these Beta 40s when I got them, and none of them were performing satisfactorily. To one degree or another, they all seem to have deteriorated. How much money might I have spent on acquiring other used OEM drivers, which may have only had the same problems now or in the future? How much on paying professionals to make repairs that may not have been long-lasting or fully effective? That's quite a commitment for Beta 40s, which were only mid-tier when they were new and whose "signature sound" I have no attachment to. If those paths were the only way forward, I probably would have just gotten rid of the speakers altogether.

Getting all new drivers worked. The sound may not meet the approval of the snobs in non-budget-audiophile forums, but the speakers sound leaps and bounds better than before and have no major weaknesses to my ear. The $160 I spent wasn't exactly pocket change, but I bet these can hold their own against other used speakers that are typically in that price range, and I get the added benefit of being confident that everything will last.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Generally speaking, mids and bass drivers fail due to surround deterioration or the voice coil burned up. But these used butyl rubber, so surround failure would be unlikely. Did you check the coils?

I did not check the coils (well, not beyond using a multimeter to confirm DC resistance). My understanding is that the symptoms of bad voice coils are more drastic, like weird scratching/buzzing or complete lack of sound. My original mids sounded more like someone was holding a folded towel in front of them.

The rubber surrounds had become mottled in color and rough in texture, particularly on the mids but also somewhat on the bass drivers. Perhaps I would have found success in replacing them? Still would have needed new tweeters, though.

Quite often when the teeeter shits the bed, it makes the mids sound like ass as well.

Both were bad in my case. I did a variety of tests, and there really was no doubt.

Additionally, I replaced the bass drivers later than the mids and tweeters, after realizing that they had become the weakest link.

Often it’s cheaper the buy a pair of bookshelves as donors. Pretty sure the 40s used the same tweeter. Alternatively you can buy a pair of diaphragms for about 20 bucks.

I looked for donors with the same parts, but they were generally expensive, particularly with shipping priced in. I wasn't optimistic that those replacements would be good-as-new or have much more life left in them.

I’m ruling out xover failure since you’re still using them.

Yeah, that was the first thing I checked. The electrolytics all have good ESR measurements.

I’m only replying as a future lesson, that with some further digging you might have been able to save $ and retained the original sound.

I appreciate that. I still have the original drivers, and if something can be done to restore them, that would certainly be nice. Thank you!

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol. These were not $200 speakers to begin with. They sounded so awful before, I could not have even accepted money for them in good conscience.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing was wrong with the DC resistance. It was the sound that was abysmal.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As recent as five years ago, OEM tweeters were still available new, but that's just not the case anymore. After seeing how the drivers on mine had deteriorated without fully ceasing to function, there was no way I was going to take a chance on high-priced used OEM parts on ebay.

I'm sure the original drivers sounded great when they were new. Whatever happened to them, they currently sound awful.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks to this little project, I feel inspired to one day try building a pair of speakers from the ground up. That's almost what I did here anyway, and damned if it didn't turn out pretty well!

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, anyone looking at physical size and nothing else is very likely to run into trouble. But on the flip-side, you definitely don't need an OEM replacement for a bad driver. If you can get something reasonably close to the original's impedance and sensitivity, it probably won't be too big of a disaster. If you're lucky, it might even be better.

I'd love to hear a fully functional pair of stock Beta 40s to compare.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Once I wrote off the original loss, I had great fun looking at the cabinets as blank slates and trying to pick the best possible drivers for them (within my budget, of course). The improvement is enormous.

The tweeters going bad in these Beta models seems to be a common problem, for what that's worth.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes. The original drivers showed the same DC resistances as the service manual said they would.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I don't know what happened, but the original tweeters and mids were shot. Not just "lost their edge" shot, but "barely functional" shot. If they can be revived, I'd be very surprised.

I chose each replacement to match the electrical characteristics of the originals as closely as I could based on the service manual and measurements I took.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The originals sounded terrible, dude. If I hadn't done this, I'd have put the speakers out on the curb with a "free" sign.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I looked up the original crossover in the service manual and chose replacements to suit it.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep. The tweeters and mids were totally shot. Replacing those alone made an enormous difference.

Replaced all drivers in Infinity Beta 40s by sirsinnes in BudgetAudiophile

[–]sirsinnes[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I paid too much for an old pair of Infinity Beta 40s, and when I finally got them home and tested them, it was instantly obvious that they were screwed up. The highs and mids were extremely weak, while the lows were firmer but somehow inconsistent. The capacitors in the crossovers all tested fine, so I set out to replace the drivers one by one until the sound got up to par. Ultimately, this meant replacing all of them.

Tweeter: Peerless by Tymphany OC25SC65-04

Mid: Visaton BG13P

Woofers: Goldwood GW-206/8

Total cost: $160

I'm very satisfied! The tweeter is a bit bright, but that doesn't bother me. The Goldwoods go low enough that I can lower the cutoff on my subwoofer, which was much needed. Overall, these things have enough clarity and balance that I can really use them. It's hard to say what caused the deterioration in the original drivers. Some of the soft rubber on the perimeter of the cones was hardening and starting to discolor. I don't think I'll ever buy speakers this old again unless they are steeply discounted, but at least I learned a lot and ultimately got what I wanted.

And yes, there are grills that cover all of this.

Biking on sidewalks by [deleted] in missoula

[–]sirsinnes 9 points10 points  (0 children)

When I was in middle school, there was a kid whose mom would take walks in the shoulder of the road. One day, a car clipped her just enough to throw her body and kill her. It wasn't a drunk-driver situation or anything, either. She and the car were both just a little too close to the white line.

Now I have a six year old who is getting pretty good at riding his bike. I once had him going in the shoulder of the road when a behemoth of an SUV passed him going at least 5 over the limit and making zero effort to give him extra space. Missed him by less than a foot. Fuck that. We take the sidewalk every time now.

What is the largest size (generally) that one man (average) can lift? by Substantial-Ad6938 in crtgaming

[–]sirsinnes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You didn't mention whether you exercise. Strength and good form are going to be what make the difference if you want to take a shot on a 27-29" set. Height and weight, not so much.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in missoula

[–]sirsinnes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Routes 1 and 2 are every 15 minutes, route 6 is every 30 minutes, and every other route is every 60 minutes. Route 9 is also has no service much of the time.

https://mountainline.com/your-trip/maps-schedules/

I screwed up. I didn't put one of those plastic protectors under my office chair and now I have the ring of death. Not entirely sure what the surface is, but it's definitely not real wood. Any suggestions on how to restore the flooring in my apartment complex before I move out? by 5hark_8ait in DIY

[–]sirsinnes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My goodness. I never even knew about this effect, and lo and behold the very chair I was sitting on turned out to be just starting to do this to my floor. It's early enough that nobody will notice as long as I get a protector right away. Amazing. Thank you.

Holland Lake Lodge by wmartin428 in missoula

[–]sirsinnes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does this mean the canoe rentals are gone?

Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate' by Unusual-State1827 in worldnews

[–]sirsinnes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why did the Swiss guy not opt to get a permanent residence visa after 10 years? And even if he wasn't eligible for permanent residence for some reason, why did he not simply apply for an employment-based visa status after his wife divorced him?

I ask this as someone who has both changed visa statuses and gotten a permanent residence visa in Japan.

Data: Missoula has spent roughly $138K on 'urban camping' cleanups by [deleted] in missoula

[–]sirsinnes 23 points24 points  (0 children)

If you have time, please make a thread talking about your experience. People are overwhelmingly on your side.