Layne Audio's US-made woofers to replace factory Advent woofers

[Guest russwollman]

Have any of you Advent fans tried this woofer?

The fellow at Layne is pretty knowledgeable about his stuff but I wanted to check in here even though the bug has bit me. I also know he can be very hard to reach. But I succeeded a few times and he was always helpful and obliging, and the goods came promptly following my request.

I know the factory woofers are quite good, though I don't consider them sacred.

website: http://www.speakersupply.com/Advent.htm

Excerpt:

"Large Advent" woofers: Our new and improved Large Advent woofers are now available. Cost is $80 each which includes the adapter plate and mounting hardware. The new woofers have the same overall tonal characteristics as the originals, but with a much improved magnet system for better efficiency, higher power handling, and cleaner low bass reproduction. This woofer is also an upgrade for the Legacy and Maestro cabinets, just omit the adapter plate and take $5 off the price. These are top quality woofers, custom built for us here in the USA.

[dynaco_dan]

>Have any of you Advent fans tried this woofer?

>

>The fellow at Layne is pretty knowledgeable about his stuff

>but I wanted to check in here even though the bug has bit me.

>I also know he can be very hard to reach. But I succeeded a

>few times and he was always helpful and obliging, and the

>goods came promptly following my request.

>

>I know the factory woofers are quite good, though I don't

>consider them sacred.

>

>website: http://www.speakersupply.com/Advent.htm

>

>Excerpt:

>

>"Large Advent" woofers: Our new and improved Large Advent

>woofers are now available. Cost is $80 each which includes the

>adapter plate and mounting hardware. The new woofers have the

>same overall tonal characteristics as the originals, but with

>a much improved magnet system for better efficiency, higher

>power handling, and cleaner low bass reproduction. This woofer

>is also an upgrade for the Legacy and Maestro cabinets, just

>omit the adapter plate and take $5 off the price. These are

>top quality woofers, custom built for us here in the USA.

Hi there;

I would go find a used pair on ebay, before I would buy new ones.

You might pick up a pair of used OEM woofers for $50.00.

Even if the surrounds are needing replacement, you are quite capable of re-foaming them yourself.

If this task is too daunting for you, buy new ones.

Options, aren't we lucky to have several options today.

Good luck and keep us updated as to your progress.

[Guest russwollman]

Thanks, Vern.

The speakers do not need new woofers. I refoamed them myself and they work fine, no voice coil rubbing or any audible problems.

If Layne's woofer is that much better, they might be worth the cost, but I wanted some assessment from anyone who's got them in place.

You know the how the improvement bug bites!

[dynaco_dan]

>Thanks, Vern.

>

>The speakers do not need new woofers. I refoamed them myself

>and they work fine, no voice coil rubbing or any audible

>problems.

>

>If Layne's woofer is that much better, they might be worth the

>cost, but I wanted some assessment from anyone who's got them

>in place.

>

>You know the how the improvement bug bites!

Hi Russ;

I would appreciate a rubber surround for the woofer, over the foam.

Europeans apparently won't accept foam surrounds.

The weak link of the original Advents were their tweeter, I am only talking of power handling capabilities.

There does seem to be a lot of interest in Double Advents today. MMMM

When you did your re-foaming, did you cut out the dust dome for shims?

I'm happy you were successful re-foaming yours.

[Guest russwollman]

Hi Vern.

I did not cut & replace the dustcaps. Replacing the foam suspension was easy—the cone tended to center itself, and I was careful and alert in the process, so no problems arose.

I have never blown a speaker, so I don't think fusing is necessary in my case, though of course it may be wise for some users. I did replace the tweeters with the newer style Advent tweeter ($52 each) from Layne Audio. They are superior to the original orange ones. Even though I have a slight hearing loss in the high freq's, I can easily hear the increased smoothness of the new tweeters. And I replaced the xover caps, too, though I stuck with the original electrical values.

That said, Advents are fine speakers and the double system is a powerhouse. But there is still no substitute for live music. To hear a live symphony orchestra perform some great music is still a huge treat. Listening room acoustics, too, have a very important role in delivering the sound to your ears, so some speaker improvements could be a waste of effort. But I am not well-heeled enought to build myself a personal concert hall!