Fisher ST-830 speakers

[gakbio1]

Hello,
The paper is torn on one of the 4 inch mid range component speakers...does anyone know where I could get a replacement? It has Fisher SB80543-4CXD, S10H17 Korea, 9B22 on the back of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanx Gary

 

[soundguruman]

Pretty much any 4 inch generic mid driver will work, ordered from a speaker supply store.
Trying to find the original will be very time consuming and expensive. Just change the mid driver in both speakers to match.

 

[dablr12]

Hello,
The paper is torn on one of the 4 inch mid range component speakers...does anyone know where I could get a replacement? It has Fisher SB80543-4CXD, S10H17 Korea, 9B22 on the back of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanx Gary

Gary, I am also looking for an appropriate 41/2" mid-range replacement speaker for my yet to be identified 4 way acoustic suspension circa 1977/78 Fisher ST speaker series (unfortunately all of the model numbers have faded away). In fact, I am not even 100% positive it is a ST series, except, that I distinctly remember there was a five year warranty on all parts, of which I ended up using quite a bit. These speakers and a Fisher Studio Standard RS1058 was my first brand new stereo. I was a teenager and being prone to vary loud music (Has anything really changed?) this accounted for the 5 mid-range, and 1 tweeter failure.
Moving on. I was recently working on the cross-over switch and found one speaker starting to pull away from the edge-to-basket area, and the other speaker was torn when the speaker slipped and I put my finger through the cone. NICE !!! I pretty much came to the conclusion soundguruman suggested. I soon learned there are issues with speaker replacement (Acoustic Suspension vs Base Reflex. Here are some links that define the difference).

1) http://stereos.about.com/od/glossaryoftermsa/g/acousticsusp.htm

2) http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/archives/1981.html

3) http://diyaudiocorner.tripod.com/dilemma.htm

The short story is;
1) What type of speaker enclosure do you have. Acoustic Suspension or Base Reflex (Ported Box)
2) It is strongly advised to match the enclosure design to the corresponding speaker design (ex. Base Reflex/Ported Box Design with a speaker that is engineered for exactly that - a Base Reflex/Ported Design enclosure - and yes there is a difference between a speaker designed for an Acoustic Suspension vs. a Ported enclosure);
3) It is very important to know & match the ohm rating of the speaker, otherwise you risk having the volume being louder or quieter than the rest of the speaker array.
http://www.soundinstitute.com/article_detail.cfm/ID/99
4) It is good to match the speaker wattage capability as close as possible; 5) Try to keep the speaker cone materials the same as the original, paper to paper, foam surround to foam surround, polypropylene to polypropylene etc. because each one of these materials have there own signature sound and changing that would change the over all tone.
I recently had my 15" woofers professionally re-coned, which only cost me $56 each. This was not only an economical way to go, but, I did not have to deal with any of the above issues. If I can not find NOS (new old stock) Fisher /Foster replacement speakers, then I will be pursuing a re-cone of my existing 4 1/2" mid-range. The only reason why I am not pursuing this path is I have not been successful in locating a shop that can re-cone a solid or closed basket yet.
I found this sight for re-coning. Know idea of there rep.

http://www.parts-express.com/speaker-replacement/index.cfm?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=G_Speaker_Terms_Exact&utm_group=Replacement_Speakers_Exact&utm_term=replacement%20loudspeakers&9gtype=search&9gkw=replacement%20loudspeakers&9gad=7958020153.1

Wikipedia; GE purchased Fisher, then sold Fisher to Sanyo. Sanyo outsourced there parts and manuals to PacParts. You may be able to do a search with your model here
http://www.pacparts.com/library/default.cfm?mode=auto&mfg=Fisher

 

[anwaypasible]

sometimes changing the cone material and surround has nothing to do with the final result.

the voice coil and magnet can be combined with the different cone and surround to produce the same audio output.
heavier cones = more power from the magnet to push the heavier cone
stiffer surround = more power from the magnet to push on the stiffer surround

if you believe there is a difference from paper to plastic, it really isnt the material.
probably the dispersion pattern, since paper can flex quite a bit differently than a hard plastic.

if you want to keep the speakers and make them sound the same, you should be trying to find a new cone that is the same weight.
that means removing the cone and weighing it on a scale.
some trouble you might run into though (especially at high volume) is if the stock speaker was pushed to the side at high output because the cone wasnt perfectly shaped.
it could be a millimeter.. could be a centimeter.. and it could be too small for your eyes to notice.

nobody should expect a new voice coil and magnet to sound exactly the same unless it is the same brand name and model number.
going by cone weight with the original voice coil and magnet is the closest you are going to get, unless the recone person knows there is a tugging of the voice coil at high excursion.
and even then, they might not get the offset perfect like it was before.
usually they have a tool that will allow them to place the cone down, with dials to adjust the offset angle.. or an actual cutting disc to cut the cone the same shape as the old one.
they might try all of this to get it 'stock' .. but when you get it home, you might hear that it sounds different.
it could be as troubling as 'well you speaker was 0.61 millimeters different than the stock number'

going back and forth like that with shipping costs is STUPID.
maybe they get it right the second time.. but once you get it back, if you care about those speakers.. shouldnt it be time that you store them away somewhere safe?
not asking you to move on, just stop using them before they are totally broken :lol:
copper doesnt usually go bad, i know this already.. but if there is some type of electro-liquid on the copper.. maybe it has already dried up some and you dont realize it.

it isnt my choice, but i do have the option to say something.
if i cared that much about speakers because i want them to simply be there with me.. maybe i would use them as a piece of furniture.
i suppose some people simply enjoy the way they sound and want to continue using them.
and to that i say, do you want to keep them as an antique (with all of your memories associated with the speakers) and when you want a reminder of all those memories, are you going to break out the speakers and listen to them while they work.. or are you gonna break them again and there wont be any way to replace something .. so when you try to listen to them in the future, they dont work?

wouldnt i be in trouble if there was some electro-liquid on the voice coils that only dries up if you DONT use the speakers?
i really dont have that knowledge and wouldnt want to make things any worse.
just throwing out the idea of future use = breaking them again.

paper does deteriorate with age.
so getting new cones isnt really out of the ordinary.
but
if you weigh the old cone, doesnt that mean there is already some weight missing?