I have recently acquired 2 pairs of S45.2.  They sound very good at the end of a CDX/BG4004/BC4000 set up (at least, they sound better than my Beosystem2500/Beloab 2500s) but the cabinets need some serious TLC.  I guess I should also replace the capacitors (everyone on this site suggests it, so I will go with the flow here).  However, my technical skills are very low ( I am feeling ridiculously self satisfied having sorted the lift/lower device on my BG 1700 - a simple fix, I know, but I'm chuffed to bits - thanks Andy for your advice).

Tim Jarman's book has a section on refurbishing cabinet work, so having armed myself with steel wool,  sandpaper, Danish oil etc I took the covers off my rosewood pair witn a view to removing as much of the innards as I could (speakers, damping material, crossover etc) prior to attacking them with white spirit.

All 3 Speaker unitss all look fine, but as soon as I unscrewed them, I realised that in order to remove all the electrics and units, I would have to break the soldered connections either to the units themselves or at the crossover board.  (This may seem glaringly obvious to most of you, but I assumed there would be some other from of connection that was easily disassembled.)

If I'm right - in that there is no way to remove everything prior to working on the cabinet other than to break soldered connections - should I do this at the speaker end or at the crossover board?  I will almost certainly be contacting Dillen for a capacitor kit (whatever that is!) so I suppose that this may determine what I should do.

Any advice gratefully received.

Cleve

Cleve,

Yes, or should I say no, there are no other ways than to desolder the drivers leads.
Actually, I like to cut the leads 2mm from the solder tags on the drivers, leaving a
bit of the insulation for lead color reference, making it much easier when putting
it back together.
You will have to solder the leads back afterwards, not a huge problem since you will
also have to solder a bit when replacing the capacitors.
Cut out the old capacitors, again leaving a tiny piece of the original lead for reference when mounting
the new caps. Do one cap at a time and you can't go wrong.
The capacitor kit comes with a component location chart (board photo with notes) to further guide you.
If you fixed the lift/lower problem on your Beogram, I'm sure you can do a
Beovox recap as well, as long as you have a soldering iron and the skills to use it.

Sandpaper sounds quite drastic and should only be used if you are facing heavy scratches.
The veneer is very thin and in most cases, a gentle brush with wire wool dipped in teak-oil (along the lines
of the grain) will do.
This works for teak and palisander(rosewood) finishes.
Oak finishes will not like oil. They normally respond well to a good cleaning (white spirit) or
a good colorless wax if very dry.

Martin

Dillen:

Actually, I like to cut the leads 2mm from the solder tags on the drivers, leaving a
bit of the insulation for lead color reference, making it much easier when putting
it back together.

 

An excellent tip, something I have also done when stripping down speakers. Especially on CX100's where the top and bottom drivers are different.

Craig

Martin/Craig

Thanks guys very much - I feel less stupid now. 

My Teak pair only need some minor cosmetic work - no sandpaper I promise you.  The Rosewood pair have one very badly scratched area which will need some careful sanding.  I'l be very careful not to go through the veneer.  

Martin, I will PM you for a capacitor kit in the next day or two.

It makes soldering a little awkward,but you can access the capacitors without dismantling by turning the crossover up on it's end!

Simon

Yes, it's definitely possible to replace the capacitors the way Simon shows here. It's only a few
components in each cabinet.

However, if your cabinet restoration involves working with wire wool, I recommend you dismount the drivers
altogether.
Debris in the form of little iron particles will seek towards the drivers magnets as if they were paid to do so
and it can be very tricky to clean off again.

Martin

Dillen:

However, if your cabinet restoration involves working with wire wool, I recommend you dismount the drivers
altogether.
Debris in the form of little iron particles will seek towards the drivers magnets as if they were paid to do so
and it can be very tricky to clean off again.

That's what one pair need, I'm afraid. 

However, if I replace the capacitors on my second pair I'll certainly follow your advice Simon, as these won't need the steel wool treatment.

I need to replace the speaker cover material.  Any ideas on a best match with the original B&O type?  It seems very elastic rather like lycra. 

Cleve

Most proper speaker cloth is quite stretchy - Maplins sell some in black which is a bit heavier grade than the original B&O stuff but will be fine on the S45-2's.

Use the origianl cloth as a template and don't be tempted into cutting the new stuff slightly smaller as it will make getting the corners right quite difficult. For glue just use Evostick or Bostik and treat as normal glue - IE just apply to the plastic frame and stick the cloth to it straight away.

Chris.

Medogsfat:

Use the origianl cloth as a template and don't be tempted into cutting the new stuff slightly smaller as it will make getting the corners right quite difficult. For glue just use Evostick or Bostik and treat as normal glue - IE just apply to the plastic frame and stick the cloth to it straight away.

 

Thanks Chris, that is really helpful. 

Cleve

Medogsfat:

 

 For glue just use Evostick or Bostik and treat as normal glue - IE just apply to the plastic frame and stick the cloth to it straight away.

 

Chris.

Also found that glue guns work a treat, used mine several times to do CX's. As every pair I have had seems to have peeling cloth on the covers.

Craig

How much working time does a glue gun give Craig? I haven't used one myself and would imagine it would be great for resticking cloth which has lifted but not sure how practicable it would be starting from fresh. I'd be interested to know if it allowed time for repostioning before it sets hard.

Chris.

Medogsfat:

How much working time does a glue gun give Craig? I haven't used one myself and would imagine it would be great for resticking cloth which has lifted but not sure how practicable it would be starting from fresh. I'd be interested to know if it allowed time for repostioning before it sets hard.

 

Chris.

It's not too bad all, even starting from fresh. When I did some white CX100's, I had to use new material. As the corners had worn right through. If you do make a mistake though. It peels of with no residue.

Craig