Any bright ideas on pulling out dented centre cap on 104.2 B110 please?

[gramps23]

Hello people,

Recently I fulfilled one of my teenage dreams, and bought a pair of KEF 104/2's on ebay with a load of other kit. Now I've sold the other bits on, the KEF's have cost me about £160, so not a bad deal! I know that these days their sound isn't regarded as being exactly flawless, but I thought I'd find out for myself nonetheless.

They needed a bit of work, usual job of replacing the inner foam suspension rings of the 8" drivers inside the cabs, but otherwise they're in great condition, apart from one of the B110 mid centre caps being pushed in quite badly.

Last night I got round to trying to suck it out with my trusty Henry, but it was having none of it, even on full power.. Seems like the cardboard that those little caps are made of is pretty stout stuff...

Anyone got any other tactics that my work?

Much appreciated,

Gramps.

 

[andyjm]

Gramps,

If the old vacuum cleaner trick didn't work, I would leave well alone. The chances of distorting the voicecoil increase the more you fiddle with the centre cap. Apart from not looking great, a dented cap is unlikely to impact the sound. Put the covers back on and forget about it.

 

[bigfish786]

I saw a video on Youtube where a guy used a strip of Duct Tape to pop it back out. just push the strip onto the dome and pull. could be worth a try.

or you could try the last tip on this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o15ISAHOSkQ

 

[gramps23]

Thanks Andy,

Thanks for the advise about distorting the voicecoils - hadn't considered that.

On the looks front, the trouble is I really like the look of the speakers sans grilles - they're just boring bloody great black monoliths otherwise, like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey!

On a very positive note, I've just spoken to KEF, and they've pointed me towards Wembley Loudspeakers, who will put a new centre cap in for me.

 

[gramps23]

I saw a video on Youtube where a guy used a strip of Duct Tape to pop it back out. just push the strip onto the dome and pull. could be worth a try.

or you could try the last tip on this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o15ISAHOSkQ

Brilliant, thanks for that, will give the last one a go before taking the panel to Wembley - seems like a much more cost effective option! I tried duct tape already and that had no chance unfortunately.

 

[SpursGator]

I had this exact situation a few months ago. The duct tape solution didn't work at first, but I found if I got it stuck on, and left it for a few hours, it was stuck on well enough to work if I gave it a sharp little tub. I then CAREFULLY peeled it off.

During the (long) time that it looked like I wasn't going to be able to get it, I did some listening tests, comparing the dented dust cap with its undented mate. I could not detect the slightest difference in sound. Dust caps contribute nothing to the sound although they can occasionally interfere, especially in the upper midrange/lower treble if the point of crossover is a bit high. On an 8" woofer that dust cap does nothing, good, bad, or otherwise.

Believe me, I am as OCD as it gets and every second my dust cap was pushed in, I was never quite right psychologically. But I probably need help. If you can make yourself do it, leave it alone. Your speakers will sound the same.

 

[gramps23]

I had this exact situation a few months ago. The duct tape solution didn't work at first, but I found if I got it stuck on, and left it for a few hours, it was stuck on well enough to work if I gave it a sharp little tub. I then CAREFULLY peeled it off.

During the (long) time that it looked like I wasn't going to be able to get it, I did some listening tests, comparing the dented dust cap with its undented mate. I could not detect the slightest difference in sound. Dust caps contribute nothing to the sound although they can occasionally interfere, especially in the upper midrange/lower treble if the point of crossover is a bit high. On an 8" woofer that dust cap does nothing, good, bad, or otherwise.

Believe me, I am as OCD as it gets and every second my dust cap was pushed in, I was never quite right psychologically. But I probably need help. If you can make yourself do it, leave it alone. Your speakers will sound the same.

Thanks for that.

I'd decided against the Wembley fix, as it wasn't going to look the same, so looking for another solution.

Leaving the duct tape on makes a lot of sense, as it's always a real pain to get off once it's been on for a while.

I've got them apart in the workshop now, doing the inner suspension rings (which disintegrated ethe first time I fired them up...), so will have a go this afternoon.

Warm regards,

G.

 

[proffski]

I had this exact situation a few months ago. The duct tape solution didn't work at first, but I found if I got it stuck on, and left it for a few hours, it was stuck on well enough to work if I gave it a sharp little tub. I then CAREFULLY peeled it off.

During the (long) time that it looked like I wasn't going to be able to get it, I did some listening tests, comparing the dented dust cap with its undented mate. I could not detect the slightest difference in sound. Dust caps contribute nothing to the sound although they can occasionally interfere, especially in the upper midrange/lower treble if the point of crossover is a bit high. On an 8" woofer that dust cap does nothing, good, bad, or otherwise.

Believe me, I am as OCD as it gets and every second my dust cap was pushed in, I was never quite right psychologically. But I probably need help. If you can make yourself do it, leave it alone. Your speakers will sound the same.

Thanks for that.

I'd decided against the Wembley fix, as it wasn't going to look the same, so looking for another solution.

Leaving the duct tape on makes a lot of sense, as it's always a real pain to get off once it's been on for a while.

I've got them apart in the workshop now, doing the inner suspension rings (which disintegrated ethe first time I fired them up...), so will have a go this afternoon.Warm regards,G.

Good luck, we still have a pair of the limited edition ones in the family and they still sound just glorious. No sign of the foam disintegrating so far, keeping fingers crossed! Please keep us informed on your progress.

 

[Al ears]

Hello people,

Recently I fulfilled one of my teenage dreams, and bought a pair of KEF 104/2's on ebay with a load of other kit. Now I've sold the other bits on, the KEF's have cost me about £160, so not a bad deal! I know that these days their sound isn't regarded as being exactly flawless, but I thought I'd find out for myself nonetheless.

They needed a bit of work, usual job of replacing the inner foam suspension rings of the 8" drivers inside the cabs, but otherwise they're in great condition, apart from one of the B110 mid centre caps being pushed in quite badly.

Last night I got round to trying to suck it out with my trusty Henry, but it was having none of it, even on full power.. Seems like the cardboard that those little caps are made of is pretty stout stuff...

Anyone got any other tactics that my work?

Much appreciated,

Gramps.

If you absolutely must pull them out then utilise superglue / matchstick / scalpel, although I really would not advise it unless you are competent and have skills of a surgeon.