How to get grill off Paradigm PDR-10? (1 Viewer)

[flycaster]

Have a 10 year old PDR-10 that has a rumble in it. The rumble appears to be coming from the speaker itself. I would like to examine the speaker, but the grill is firmly attached to the box and I can't get to it. BTW, it is noted that the grill isn't attached normally; ie, not by attachment clips.

 

[Robert_J]

Probably glued. Gently pry it off is my only suggestion. I make no guarantee that it will come off in one piece. Yes, the rumble would come from the speaker itself since that is the only part of the sub that makes a sound. Describe it. When does it make this rumble? Once you get to the driver, you can easily test a few things to see if the driver is failing.

Moderator Note: Please read this entire thread before trying this suggestion.

 

[flycaster]

The rumbling sound is barely heard when the sub's level is very low. However, as one increases the level, the rumbling sound increases...

 

[Robert_J]

At 10 years old, you may have foam rot of the surround. That can be repaired in less than an hour for less than $20.

 

[schan1269]

Making "another" grill will cost you $10 in fabric and $2 in glue. And a decent pair of scissors if you don't have any that won't shred grill fabric. Cut the grill if you have to. Removing the driver(that would be the woofer) takes 5 minutes, if you go slow. Or once you remove the grill, you might find out the driver goes in from the inside... There HAS TO BE A REASON they used an amp that big. IF this thing "isn't working"...take the thing apart.

 

[Robert_J]

http://bestofaudio.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=102&products_id=9263 Looks like they have 4 grill guides holding the grill on. Should pop right off. Looking at the larger picture, the driver may be installed from the back side. You may need to remove the plate amp.

 

[schan1269]

http://bestofaudio.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=102&products_id=9263 Looks like they have 4 grill guides holding the grill on. Should pop right off. Looking at the larger picture, the driver may be installed from the back side. You may need to remove the plate amp.

His other "My PDR-10 is dead" thread actually has pictures of this subwoofer. The grill is different "now" vs "10 years ago"...

 

[schan1269]

So you don't have to look for the "other dead thread"...I remember what it looks like...and lookey here... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paradigm-PDR-10-Powered-Subwoofer-/190781706910?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item2c6b79d29e

 

[Robert_J]

Looks like the old Sony sub grills that were held on with some hot glue. There's a 50/50 chance of breaking it when you pry it off. Just glue it back together. Once it is off, post a picture of the driver. To quickly check it, gently press the cone (not the dust cap) in and listen for scraping. It should move smoothly.

 

[schan1269]

I still think it would be wiser to remove the amp and see if it screws in from the inside. It would take all of 1 minute with a power screwdriver to take the amp out. 3 minutes with a "you gotta twist it yourself"...

 

[Robert_J]

Some people have a fear of disassembling things. I got over that fear in 6th grade when I tore down a 4 stroke Honda motor from a 3-wheeler. I did screw up putting it back together since I didn't have any service manual. If it's already screwed up, how much worse can you make it is my motto.

 

[flycaster]

Schan and RJ: My version of the PDR-10 is pretty old and most definitely, the grill glued on. I've removed the amp plate and most definitely the speaker can't be gotten to with the plate off. I will simply cut the grill clothe out and see if I can then work with the driver. Thanks for your continued help.

 

[flycaster]

OK, got the grill off. Took a knife and ran it around the grill's edge and then pried the grill off. The speaker was attached to the grill faceplate. Rumble sound was probably due to the disintegration of rubber/foam that attached the cone to the speaker. Is this worth a DIY? How?

 

[schan1269]

If you can remove the driver...go ahead and take it out. You can buy 10" "surrounds" on Ebay/Amazon all day for $10-$20. You "could" leave the driver in it and redo the surround...it is just easier if you have access to both sides... Most "electronics fix it shops" will do a re-surrounding for $30-$50. And yes...I'd spend the money DIY first. If you screw it up...no big deal..throw up a white flag and wimper into a "fix it shop"...trust me, they've seen "re-surroundings gone wrong"...

 

[Robert_J]

First you need to find a surround kit. Look at Ebay item 330372015297. Read the description about measuring. Read it again. From there, you will pick the right kit. Yyou need to clean the old foam away. I just rub most of it off with my finger. Do it in the garage because it can get messy. Vacuum the stuff off the floor and vacuum the woofer clean. A little bit of sandpaper will remove the old foam as well. Once you get the kit in, we can go over step by step what needs to be done. There are also videos covering the steps also. I've refoamed 10 woofers ranging from 6.5" to 15".

 

[flycaster]

Yeah, I saw how to do it. Doesn't look hard at all. The problem is that the speaker is screwed into the box face plate, and in order to get to the speaker, I had to roughly remove the face plate. So my concern is that i think the box is compromised and will never again have a tight fitting.

 

[schan1269]

Add some glue to the rear of the (what do you call that part?) driver before you put it back in.

 

[Robert_J]

So my concern is that i think the box is compromised and will never again have a tight fitting.

That sub started life just like all others - as a 4x8 sheet of MDF. There is no problem that Titebond II or a closed cell foam gasket can't cure.

 

[flycaster]

Well, I might try to fix it (looks real easy to do), but probably not now as I am moving up to a 12" sub (Lava lsp-12). Thanks guys again for all your help. But, I'm not gone as i will most likely be back when I start having problems calibrating my new sub.

 

[flycaster]

Had a change of mind and successfully did my very first sub repair. A speaker repair shop near me charged $30, but cheapo me, anted up $15 for the foam surround and some glue, and I got the job done. I'm now checking out how well the sub functions in different locations and I'm assessing whether or not I will need a bigger sub. I have the RS meter and Avia, which I used the first time I set up the speakers. However, as I don't do this too often, I'm going to have to muddle through the process as I really have no expertise with this stuff, nor do I remember what I did. I have set my mains, center and surrounds to small. Bass effect is set to sub (could be set to both or just Main---Is this the right setting???). Hooked the sub via its LFE input to my Yamaha RXV-800. I believe that when I do this, the Yammy will automatically cross-over at 88hz??? Not sure on how to set bass: Normal or -10dB??? Also, not sure if I need to set sub (Paradigm PDR-10, 10 years old) cross-over to anything (can go from 50 to 150). Then again, with the way I have it set up, I think that the cross-over dial doesn't function??? Of course, any advice is seriously welcomed.