I need a pair of passive speakers and BeoVox 1 doesn't fit. A pair of CX's would be perfect, but is it safe to buy a pair? They're after all 15-20 years old.

Will they sooner or later get foam rot etc.? Can I hear or see if this has happen or about to start?

Pull the front upper and lower frets off and you will soon see if they are rotten. Either completely disintegrated or just sticky.

Of the 10 or 12 pairs that Beo4life have had recently they have all had foam rot. I have replaced some with new but it is hardly financially worthwhile, others have either gone in the skip or I have given them to the refoaming brigade.

If they've got foam rot, then I would hardly pay anything for them at all unless the cabinets and grilles are in mint condition. From a personal viewpoint, they're worth the £80 the drivers will cost you overall.

I would maybe pay £20 max for a 'knackered' pair, costing £100 overall once you add in the drivers. I've got a set of CX100 drivers sat beside me right now waiting to be fitted...

But will they all get foam rot sooner or later, or is it safe to buy a pair without foam rot?

They will all get foam rot, sooner or later. It's safe to say that all CX50's and CX100's that haven't already had drivers repaired or replaced will have foam rot now.

Martin

Where can I get new drivers for a pair of CX100 and which drivers should I buy? I cannot get the spare parts from my dealer if I want to do the work myself. So could you please advise on a supplier and a driver type number? Cheers, Jean-Sebastien

The only drivers that will work are the originals. Your dealer will be able to get order them for you. If not, go to a different dealer.

Some B&O dealers won't sell parts. I can't buy anything from my local dealer either, they won't even answer my mails. 

Martin

Hi there,

Indeed B&O dealers will not easily sell you spare parts. It's how they make most of their money,doing  the repair and charge you not only for the spare parts but also for the work.....  Off course at B&O type of rates....

Anyways, I have succesfully restored plenty of these now, and refoaming the original drivers is not all that difficult.

I have tried (unsuccessfully) to find matching drivers but the specs seem not that easy to match.

After trying a pair of refoamed speakers and a pair with new (B&O installed) drivers, the difference is quite minimal. Given the price of the refoaming (bit of glue and the new foam rings)  I really don't see the need to install new drivers if it can be avoided.

Updating the crossover is a more important issue imo and will make a difference. Also something not that difficult to do.

 Given the choice of cx50's and cx100's go for the 100's, they are worth the extra bit of money. However, I live in a rather small appartement and my surround system (av7000 ....) is hooked up with 5 cx50's (all reconditioned by me.) and they sound really great with a small sub (under the coach...nobody even knows it's there.). It easily outperformed the bose system I had before. Great clear and warm sound and less metalic than the bose.... They are used every day for 5 to 6 hours (I work from home anyways...) with complete satisfaction.

Regards,

Cooldude

 

Imho going for 'the best' option is buying a nice pair with foam rot and get new original drivers, not the cheapest option but your CX's will be as good as new and last another 15 years and you know there hasn't been 'fiddled' with.

Off course it's best to replace them with new drivers, I agree. But I think you have to consider costs involved;

The problem I have is that : 1) My B&O dealer does not want to sell me the drivers unless he does the job of installation as well. 2) the drivers themselves were quoted quite a bit more than the 25 euro you mention (over 80$+tx/pc for the part(driver) itself)..... let alone the price for the work charged for replacement. Just not worth it for me to spend over 350$ to have a pair of cx100's updated...

But this could be a north american thing and pricing for a repairs in europe might be totally different.

I have put my refoamed ones next to a pair with new (B&O installed) original drivers and they sound pretty close. Very hard to tell them apart. both use exactly the same crossover so the audible difference is only created by the drivers themselves.

Off course I have to agree refoaming is a job that requires some knowledge. But for the person who wants to give it a go, there are plenty of  sites with good info on the web. I have refoamed well over 100 speakers now (50+ B&O) so I would say that I can do a decent job of it.

 

 

Hi all!

Considering the cost of either a restored pair or a unrestored pair plus the restoration cost plus the cost for a BeoLink Passive it will be cheaper (and maybe better sounding) with a used BeoLab 2000.

It's what a suspected. Pitty, I wanted the CX's but not at that much money.

Thanx for the help!

I got mine from ebay in perfect condition (don't know if updated at all), for 100 Euro + shipping.

So if you keep on looking there might be a bargain out there.

The ebay listing wasn't too good, I e-mailed for photos.

Ralf

OK, so it's time to update your signature?

Driver were £25 each in the U.K. when I priced some up about 2-3 months ago. Just refoamed my first set, and it was quite easy to do. They sound just as good IMO as if I had fitted new Drivers. Just in the middle of repainting the cabinets at the moment. This would of been easier if I had not refitted the Drivers first, but who likes the easy option anyway.

 

 

Craig

Hi Daniel,

www.radioogtveksperten.dk sell "new" drivers for DKK 350 each if you hand over your old ones:

http://radioogtveksperten.dk/tilbehoer-44/modul-66/hoejttalerenheder-67/

I have delt with him a few times, and I am very satisfied.

Regards,

Erik

Daniel:

OK, so it's time to update your signature?

Done!

Ralf

Hi everyone,

No promises at this stage, but I'm in the process of trying to get a replacement mid/bass driver made for the CX50/100 that has a rubber cone surround.  I've struggled to get the full spec of the original speakers out of anyone at B&O, but I think I have enough data to work with now.

It could take a few months before this becomes a reality, not least of the problems being the need for a custom sized spider, due to the small cabinet entry hole and compact size of the grilles.  I will, of course, keep you all updated on my progress, if this is of interest to anyone on Beoworld?

As a CX "addict", I've replaced and refoamed too many drivers in the past to want to keep repeating the process, so I'm keen to find a "once and for all" solution even just for my own use.  However, I suspect that manufacturing economies of scale will mean that I need to order a large quantity and sell the rest....

Best regards,

Steve.

CX speakers are worth every penny if you are stuck for space, refoaming them is easy peasy compared to most other drivers. Comparison with replacement drivers is not exactly a controlled science as new drivers will need a fair few playing hours to "run in" and may well sound just the same as refoamed ones in a few months time in any case.

Chris.

Does anyone know the spare part number of the CX100 drivers? I will try to convince my dealer to order some for me. Thanks!

It used to be 8480174 but it has changed a couple of years ago. This is the part number for the bass driver only, the mid range is 8480173 but these are no longer available and B&O tend to just supply the bass driver nowadays to replace all 4.

 

Chris.

Chris, thanks a lot. I assume this is for one driver (not a pair). Any idea about the new spare part number? Cheers, Jean-Sebastien

Actually, why not try refoaming myself? Jandyt made an excellent thread in the workbench about refoaming a pair of S120, this is inspiring. So could anyone recommend a refoam kit for a pair of CX100? Chris, if I am not mistaken you may know a good one? Cheers, Jean-Sebastien

hi there

i have just refoamed the 4 from a pair of cx100's got the rings by return of post from good hifi of amsterdam(i think!) do a search on ebay they have various prices advertised for the same ring a bit tedious to scan 'em all but you could save several euro think i paid about 12€inc post about 10 weeks ago!

hope this helps!

salut

tony s

Agreed! good hi fi in the Netherlands sell the best fitting surrounds I've found for these.

 

Chris.