Rhadamanthus Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 I have a pair of very nice Vandersteen Model 3's in the house. Fabulous speaker, not as good as a Klipsch of course, but close. Problem is that one of the mid range drivers has a scratchy voice coil. Of course Vandersteen doesn't sell replacement drivers. But they will repair/update the pair of them for around $1,400 or so. I would have to pay to ship them out to California and back, I figure that would run me at least $300 ~ $400 round trip. And then of course I would have to worry about the damage that could happen during shipping. That is one of the nicest things about Klipsch speakers, you can get just about any part for them very easy. Should I just bite the bullet and send them off? They are to nice to toss in the garbage. I could get the one driver repaired by some shop with a generic driver, but I could never live with myself for doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Sounds like that vandersteen company has their customers over a barrell........Chalk up one more for Klipsch...[] Welcome to the Klipsch Forum......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 that ...may just be an o.e.m. version of something .. like the K-33 Vandy don't make thier own drivers . what's the EIA code ...?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Okay, read your lips. $1400 is some serious cack to repair speakers that will not be as good as Klipsch speakers. You could easily get the better Klipsch for $1400 or less. Salvage the junkers and use the money to purchase better Klipsch. Or, if you want to do right and keep them, put a different driver in place of the old one for gobs less. Personally, that's what I would do. As long as the speakers work good and look good, why should you care all that much to let yourself get totally bent over just so you can rest your mind that the drivers were made from the same mfg.? For a mid replacement, I can't see how the price could possibly approach $1400. Sounds criminal to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhadamanthus Posted November 11, 2005 Author Share Posted November 11, 2005 For that $1400.00 they update them from a Model 3 to a model 3A Signature or some fancy name. They work very well in the home theater situation. I just spent $440.00 on new parts for my "free" Cornwalls. I like to run a tight ship here. I believe I read somewhere that Vandersteen uses a Dutch company for some of their drivers. They "hand select" each driver to match the output of the others, or which ever one they pull out of the box first is more like it. I have not taken them apart yet, they are covered head to toe with a fabric. Maybe I'll skin em this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Don't know much about them, but I checked on Audiogon.com to see how much people are asking for Vandersteen 3As. Looks like between $1000 and $2200. I could never see spending that kind of money to re-do a pair of speakers. I think your original issue was a fried mid-range. I'd just replace it with something cheaper (and maybe better or just as good anyway) and go on. The disappointment of the minor issue with your nice speakers should not cloud your mind enough to convince yourself to sink a bunch of money for unneeded extras. Kind of reminds me about taking the old car in to the dealer for new brakes and coming out with a new car and my first note payment in the mail a month later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Rad, If you could afford the 1,400.00 to repair those- then may I suggest you sell those- (cheaply fix the mid range), and buy some used Klipsch RF 7'S!...........You may be able to get new for a few bucks more........or you could buy another set of Cornwalls for about 800.00 or less...........JMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spkrdctr Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Don't pay to have them fixed! Just throw a decent driver in the one speaker and sell them off for $800/pr. Someone will take them. Then buy those RF-5s or 7s. Vandersteens are NOT worth the money IMHO. I have listened to them versus Klipsch many times over the years. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 on most Vandy's i have heard ... thier fancy "time corrected" xover choked the life outta the music Klipsch just has so much more impact .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhadamanthus Posted November 13, 2005 Author Share Posted November 13, 2005 So, I found some type of Vandersteen forum, some guy was talking about having to break in his new Vandersteens for 120 hours![] What do they have to do, wear down a path for the electrons? Lap the voice coils in? Settle the cabinets? I slapped new K33E drivers and Mr. Crites crossovers in them and tortured them right off the bat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 "Just throw a decent driver in the one speaker and sell them off for $800/pr. " Replace only one and they will not image. Replace the pair, and they will probably sound OK. Many Vandy drivers were made by Gefco, Madisound's house branded drivers are made by Gefco. Send the working driver to Madisound and have them suggest a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago_Pete Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 I once chased a pair of Duntech Crown Prince speakers to a wallet draining shame. Crossovers fried, then drivers started going south one at a time. I said never again until a pair of B&W Matrix 801's found their way into my home. Same story, bad tweeter and then a woofer a month later. My advice would be to post them on eBay (accurately described) and take what you can get for them. Bought my Khorns and never looked back. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 What Dennis said. You can also try giving the folks in Orange County a call.http://www.speakerrepair.com/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Vandersteen's typically use Vifa drivers, you should easily be able to find a replacement from Madisound.com. Have you taken the driver out and looked at it yet, it may even have the Vifa codes on it. Is it a cone or dome type midrange? As suggested you could have it reconed as well rather cheaply, I would never spend that kind of money to refurb old inefficient speakers like the Vandersteen's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhadamanthus Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 Vandersteen's typically use Vifa drivers, you should easily be able to find a replacement from Madisound.com. Have you taken the driver out and looked at it yet, it may even have the Vifa codes on it. Is it a cone or dome type midrange? As suggested you could have it reconed as well rather cheaply, I would never spend that kind of money to refurb old inefficient speakers like the Vandersteen's. Thanks for the info. It is an 8inch (I think) cone type driver. I can feel the shape of it through the pain in the *** cloth that covers them. I need to take them apart, just haven't gotten around to it yet. They do need an arc welder to power them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 I would certainly check with a quality speaker repair shop before I would pay 1400.00 for a part that probably costs 1/100th of that to build. If the place mentioned here in LA cant do it try http://abrownsoun.com/ Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhadamanthus Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 There is no way I'm going to spend $1,400 on them. It would be more like $2,000 by the time I shipped those things out there and back anyway. I am now on a mission to find the correct driver for it. I should be able to get one for less then $50.00 including shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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