Help with Advent Maestro replacement foam surrounds

[Norman Nicolai]

Does anyone have any experience changing the foam surrounds on Advent Maestro speakers? I’ve taken on this project and it’s a bit more involved than I thought.

For one thing, there is a large plastic ring on the rim of the speaker that is glued in place. (See photos) Removing the ring has been really difficult to accomplish without breaking it.

There is also a two piece foam gasket that covers almost the entire front of the speaker cabinet, with a black layer of foam glued on top of a brown layer of foam. I think that the foam helps provide an airtight seal when the speaker is screwed in place. 

Any advice on how best to go about this, especially for removing the plastic ring, would be appreciated.

 

[RoyC]

Norman,

I have worked on a number of these. The foam on the baffle is usually in the process of decomposing, making a mess of things. If it is too nasty/gooey I recommend scraping it off around the woofer hole and replacing it with conventional gasket material. I've known a few people who have scraped it off the entire baffle!

The plastic ring can be pried off by twisting and lifting with a strong flat edge between it and the basket edge, under the interior of the ring. Once you get it started, it becomes easier to insert the tool and lift.

Boston Acoustics 10 inch foam is the best replacement for this woofer. Let me know if you need any.

Roy

[Norman Nicolai]

Thanks for the reply, Roy!

This project has become more and more involved than I originally thought it would be…

Since there is very little, both online and in this forum, about Advent Maestros, when I’m finished I may post some more photos showing how to work on these. It might help avoid the surprises I encountered for the next unfortunate dabbler.

I gravitated towards using a flat-head screwdriver to remove the plastic ring a couple of days ago. As you indicated, it gets easier once you get started. The replacement foam that I purchased for 10” Advents doesn’t really seem to fit. I can probably make it work, but the results would be sub-optimal. I will PM you about the Boston Acoustics foam.

The baffle foam is in the process of deteriorating due to the age of the speakers. Like you suggested, I will probably remove it from around the woofer hole and use mortite to create a seal.

I haven’t had a chance to remove the insulating foam from the speaker cabinet yet to look at the crossovers? I haven’t seen any schematics online and if the crossover capacitors need replacing I was thinking of substituting film caps for the existing ones. Any thoughts?

Thanks again,

Norm

[RoyC]

On 3/30/2023 at 12:08 PM, Norman Nicolai said:

I haven’t had a chance to remove the insulating foam from the speaker cabinet yet to look at the crossovers? I haven’t seen any schematics online and if the crossover capacitors need replacing I was thinking of substituting film caps for the existing ones. Any thoughts?

Thanks again,

Norm

The crossover of this model, as well as the others of the Jensen era Advents, is attached to the terminal cup, which is relatively easy to access by removing its screws from the rear of the cabinet. The caps are usually in good shape.

Roy

[Norman Nicolai]

Just wanted to follow up on my Advent Maestro re-foaming project.

If anyone else is considering taking on this particular project, I would just give two pieces of advice.

1. When you go to remove the woofer from the cabinet, make sure you run a razor or a sharp blade around the rim of the woofer before removing it. On the first speaker I just removed the screws and attempted to pull the woofer out. Unfortunately, a layer of black foam that sits on the front of the cabinet came with the speaker. (See photo) When I removed the second woofer, I ran a razor blade around the outside rim of the woofer which severed the connection between the foam and the speaker. The woofer came out cleanly without dragging any foam with it and it remained intact, still attached to the cabinet front.

2. Removing the black plastic ring is not as difficult as it might seem when you first attempt it. As RoyC indicated in his post, and as I eventually figured out, just insert a flat head screwdriver between the ring and the speaker bevel. Gently pry the ring off by twisting the screwdriver, and it will slowly come off. The plastic ring is more durable than it looks, as long as you are not hasty and apply too much force. Once the ring is off, you will quickly realize that cleaning the speaker frame and the plastic rim of the old adhesive will be the most time consuming and difficult part of the project.

Special thanks to RoyC for his guidance and assistance with this project!

After the repair was finished, I spent some time listening to the Maestros. It’s not a bad speaker, although it seems to be considerably brighter than the OLA’s I own. I prefer my OLA’s, but the owner of the Maestro’s prefers his speaker. To each, his own.

 

[RoyC]

Happy to be of assistance, Norman...

Nice re-foam job!

Roy

[Doug G.]

Is the foam covering the baffle closed cell or open? I assume closed but you never know.

Doug

[Norman Nicolai]

I wasn’t aware of the difference between open cell and closed cell foam before your question, Doug G. I looked it up online and based on the appearance of the foam and it’s properties, I would say open cell foam. If you look at my photos, you can see that there are actually 2 layers of foam. There is a thin layer of black colored foam overlaying a thicker layer of brown foam. The thin layer of black foam fell apart and stuck to the woofer assembly, visible in the first photo. I had to make a razor cut around the woofer, basically separating the foam from the woofer assembly for the 2nd speaker.