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[Marsellus Fariss]

The deal is right. They where reconed by the owner with Radial kits. 5ish years old.

What do you guys think?

[Tim McCulloch]

The deal is right. They where reconed by the owner with Radial kits. 5ish years old.

What do you guys think?

If the current owner is an able reconer, I see nothing wrong.  Reconing essentially duplicates the original assembly process, so the only variable is the experience and talent of the person doing the work.

[Marsellus Fariss]

If the current owner is an able reconer, I see nothing wrong.  Reconing essentially duplicates the original assembly process, so the only variable is the experience and talent of the person doing the work.

I kinda figured that's the case. I've not reconed anything yet though I am familiar with the process. Some have told me there's nothing to it and some have said they only trust factory recones or those done by talented professional reconing businesses. I suppose if the seller hasn't had a failure on any of their reconed drivers that would be a good sign. And if they insist they are perform the same as the originals.

[Tim McCulloch]

I kinda figured that's the case. I've not reconed anything yet though I am familiar with the process. Some have told me there's nothing to it and some have said they only trust factory recones or those done by talented professional reconing businesses. I suppose if the seller hasn't had a failure on any of their reconed drivers that would be a good sign. And if they insist they are perform the same as the originals.

If you're getting more than a couple of units, it's a good idea to invest in a spare OEM woofer.  That way you can keep a wedge running while the blown speaker is re-coned.  Also, if you suspect a woofer is failing you have a fresh factory spare to compare with.

The reason for the suggestions regarding factory re-coning or using a specialist is repetition and experience.  They do them every day, and they're good at it.  That's not to say anyone else is bad; I'm reasonably sure you can find factory-quality re-coners in Florida.  Always provide or specify factory parts unless they simply aren't available.

Have fun, good luck.

Tim Mc

[John Livings]

Basic Instructions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxGswEB3O_Q

Regards,  John

[Ivan Beaver]

I kinda figured that's the case. I've not reconed anything yet though I am familiar with the process. Some have told me there's nothing to it and some have said they only trust factory recones or those done by talented professional reconing businesses. I suppose if the seller hasn't had a failure on any of their reconed drivers that would be a good sign. And if they insist they are perform the same as the originals.

Yeah the process is pretty simple, but I see botched recone jobs all the time.  It is the little things things that can make a difference.

Back when I was in that part of the business, I would get in woofers that had been reconed by 2 local recone shops that were know to "have the cheapest prices" and the work was a statement to that.

So to answer the OP question-there is no way of knowing how good the recone job is-without close examination, and even that may not be enough.

[Nathan DePaulo]

The deal is right. They where reconed by the owner with Radial kits. 5ish years old.

What do you guys think?

The fact that they are reconed would not upset me at all.  I've been kicking around the old Radian (not radial) Microwedges for a while.  I've had to have a couple reconed, but over all they're pretty strong speakers.  Just watch out for too much bass. Once reconed (properly, of course) they sound just like they did before.

One other thing I suggest to watch out for is crossover network.  I also have the dual 15, which uses the same coax driver as the microwedge.  After being abused for some time they had enough damage to the passive crossover network that I chose to replace it in two cabinets.  The new crossovers are built much more solidly than the ones from several years ago.  They cost about $100, so if you can personally vet the speakers you're buying look for black marks around the bottom of the capacitors and resistors.  If that's not an option, consider adjusting your offer accordingly.  If you're intending to biamp all the time, not a consideration.

[Marsellus Fariss]

Thanks for the good info Nathan.


Yea, Radian, not Radial... I posted that from my iPhone and that damn auto-correct gets me all the time if I'm now paying attention!  I'd edit it if I could.

I've read about the resistors burning up in the original crossover design and about a simple mod that can be done in the event of that that'll take care of that problem at least. Did you have problems with other components going besides the ceramic resistors? In any event $100 isn't that bad.

What's the issue with the LF drivers failing in those? Is it hyper-extension or thermal failure? I intend to run them passive at least at first with at least a 50hz high pass on them at all times but don't mind running that up to 65 or 70. Do they not behave well when fed a diet of kick and bass?

And one last question. How do they sound passive?

[Nathan DePaulo]

Did you have problems with other components going besides the ceramic resistors?

I had one that had a capacitor fall out, so I re-soldered it and it worked for a year longer, and in that time got worked hard enough that the resistors got so hot they turned black, melted the glue and the one of the other capacitors burst. That crossover stopped working.  The other top in this system (both of these were RPX 215) still
worked, but the crossover was also blackened around a couple of resistors and capacitors... so I replaced them both at the same time.  Those are the only crossovers I've had to replace and they were from older run speakers.  Come to think of it, none of my microwedges needed any crossover work.

What's the issue with the LF drivers failing in those? Is it hyper-extension or thermal failure? I intend to run them passive at least at first with at least a 50hz high pass on them at all times but don't mind running that up to 65 or 70. Do they not behave well when fed a diet of kick and bass?

I've got a lot of conjecture here, but little science.  They have a full sound, but are not "bassy." Some drummers don't like them much cause they don't have gobs of punch (and the awkward angle for them). 

One gig I had a bass player blow his amp so we just ran him direct to the mixer and he used a MW as his only bass monitor.  I didn't realize he had an active bass and was sandbagging when we switched over so by the end of the night he was hammering that poor monitor.  It made it through the end of the night and was functional.  however (about a year later) I have one MW that needs to be reconed and the 15" is shredded.  I don't know if it's the same one, but this monitor also got used by DJs for a monitor and depending who the tech was that night who knows how badly it was mistreated.

One recone out of 4 from already used monitors getting used the way I do, as long as I have, isn't bad.  If I were to pick a HPF for longevity I'd say 80, but I've been less kind when I thought I could get away with it.

And one last question. How do they sound passive?

  This is how I run mine and I think they sound great.  The passive crossover is very professional in the microwedge and I get compliments on the sound all the time.  I believe you can get better performance out of biamping, but you'd be hard pressed to get a much better sounding box period.

[Marsellus Fariss]

Great info thanks!

I'm not sure why these we're looking at have all had to be reconed but It looks like the venue does some B nationals fairly regularly and it's not a big place so I could see how they could get pretty beat up by the talent asking a lot from them. We've got a big stupid drum fill and the DJ's we have so far haven't been too rough on gear so I don't think we'll have the same problem.  When they need wedges I usually HP them anyway.

But anyway from the track record you've had with them I think they'll be a great wedge for us. 

[ProSoundWeb Community]