PSB tweeter replacement

[riceboy]

Hi everyone. One of my tweeters for my 400i PSB speakers is blown out. I was wondering where a good place would be to try and find a replacement tweeter. I honestly never did try and find a replacement tweeter before so this is new territory for me.

I sent an email to PSB in hopes of purchasing one from them if they have one, which seems unlikely after doing some research on the net. I put a WTB ad in audiokarma as well. It seems that a website called Madisound Speaker Components | Assisting speaker builders for more than 25 years. used to sell the replacement, but they don't offer it anymore. I will try and call my local authorized PSB dealer to see if they do have a spare one or if they could help me out as well. I saw that I missed two auctions on Ebay in March that was selling the PSB 400i driver.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated . Thanks in advance.

[derekbmn]

You are on the right track. You may want to call Madisound and see if they have a retrofit for that particular Vifa tweeter. I know that some of the new production Seas are a pretty easy fit.(and possibly a upgrade)

Ebay is also a good bet. Searching "Vifa" or "Vifa tweeter" usually yields the most results.

I was in the same situation as you when searching for a tweeter replacement for my old Stratus Minis, which also utilized a "Classic Line" Vifa tweeter. Some quickly popped up and for a pretty decent Buy it Now price.

[Guest sacd lover]

Contact PSB .... they had replacement drivers for my old 500i a couple years ago.

Hi everyone. One of my tweeters for my 400i PSB speakers is blown out. I was wondering where a good place would be to try and find a replacement tweeter. I honestly never did try and find a replacement tweeter before so this is new territory for me.

I sent an email to PSB in hopes of purchasing one from them if they have one, which seems unlikely after doing some research on the net. I put a WTB ad in audiokarma as well. It seems that a website called Madisound Speaker Components | Assisting speaker builders for more than 25 years. used to sell the replacement, but they don't offer it anymore. I will try and call my local authorized PSB dealer to see if they do have a spare one or if they could help me out as well. I saw that I missed two auctions on Ebay in March that was selling the PSB 400i driver.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated . Thanks in advance.

[Pars]

If it is the voicecoil that is blown, many Vifa tweeters have user replaceable voicecoils; Madisound carries many of them and that may still be available.

[riceboy]

Thanks guys for your help .

@derekbmn - Great suggestion. I'll be sure to call Madisound tomorrow and see if they have a retrofit for my speaker.

Thanks Earl. I only emailed PSB but I have give them a call tomorrow as well.

@Pars - Sorry for this noob question, but how will I know if the voicecoil is just blown only?

[Pars]

Thanks guys for your help .

@derekbmn - Great suggestion. I'll be sure to call Madisound tomorrow and see if they have a retrofit for my speaker.

Thanks Earl. I only emailed PSB but I have give them a call tomorrow as well.

@Pars - Sorry for this noob question, but how will I know if the voicecoil is just blown only?

Its pretty much the only thing that could go, unless it was so abused that the cone or dome is farked. What Vifa tweeter does this use?

[riceboy]

@Pars - The tweeter it uses is either the D20TD-18-06 or the D20TD-05-06. Looks like Madisoundis sold out of both. They do have another one that could be a replacement but it is only a 3 screw design and my tweeter has 4 screws. If I went with the 3 screw replacement tweeter they recommended I cover the four screws with wood putty and then drill 3 new holes. I would probably have to do it to both speakers to get the tweeters matching. Not sure if I want to do that as I'm not really good with projects like this. Do you guys think it will be pretty easy to do or should I just wait for one to pop up?

I called PSB but the person that handles the parts for the U.S. left early for the day and won't return till tomorrow. I left my contact info and will try to call again tomorrow.

Also it seems that Madisound doesn't have any Vifa replacement voicecoils for over a year. Thanks agian for all your help. I'll keep this updated.

[luvdunhill]

Its pretty much the only thing that could go

assuming it wasn't the crossover that went out

does "blown" mean it doesn't work, or "blown" mean it's distorting.

[Pars]

Marc is of course correct. If it is the crossover, then a replacement tweeter isn't going to help you. Funny, I can't find the voicecoils on Madisound anymore. They used to carry a bunch of them (I bought one within the last year IIRC).

[riceboy]

assuming it wasn't the crossover that went out

does "blown" mean it doesn't work, or "blown" mean it's distorting.

To troubleshoot I swapped the tweeters between the two speakers and found that the tweeter that wasn't working didn't have anything coming out of it and the one that was working was now working in the speaker that had the defective tweeter in it. It seems that the crossover would be okay in this situation as the trouble followed the bad tweeter with it not working. Also, the tweeter that isn't working doesn't have any sound coming out of it, no distortion, buzzing, etc. It just doesn't work Does this verify that the tweeter is the issue? I'm guessing it does. Thanks Marc

Marc is of course correct. If it is the crossover, then a replacement tweeter isn't going to help you. Funny, I can't find the voicecoils on Madisound anymore. They used to carry a bunch of them (I bought one within the last year IIRC).

Yeah, Madisound did let me know that they haven't had replacement voicecoils for over a year.

[riceboy]

i'd say that either either the tweeter is the issue or you have a small tropical beetle living in your brain.

It might be the beetle

Thanks Reks. Now to hunt for the tweeter and the beetle

[Hopstretch]

i suggest a large set of tweezers.

[riceboy]

Just contacted PSB and the replacement driver is going to be $112 shipped. That was a bunch more than I expected to pay so I'm going to try and look for one online first. Thanks for everyone's help

[derekbmn]

Yeah.... that's a bit high. Give it some time and i'm positive some will pop up on Ebay. I'll keep an eye out for you.

[riceboy]

Yeah.... that's a bit high. Give it some time and i'm positive some will pop up on Ebay. I'll keep an eye out for you.

Thanks derekbmn . I really appreciate it.

[riceboy]

Just found a PSB replacement tweeter that is an official PSB part on Ebay . Been searching everyday and one finally showed up. Thanks to everyone for their help and suggestions.

[cjet68]

I have the same exact problem with my PSB 400. Have been searching and searching for a tweeter but no luck. You grabbed the one off Ebay before I could. Let me know if you find any others, I would appreciate the help! Chris

[riceboy]

If I do see one I'll let you know. Good luck on your search.

[riceboy]

I have the same exact problem with my PSB 400. Have been searching and searching for a tweeter but no luck. You grabbed the one off Ebay before I could. Let me know if you find any others, I would appreciate the help! Chris

Found one here:

PSB 40011/50011 Tweeter 400/400i/500/500i/600 NIB - eBay (item 300316124116 end time May-25-09 18:28:48 PDT)

Good luck

[url=http://cgi.ebay.com/PSB-40011-50011-Tweeter-400-400i-500-500i-600-NIB_W0QQitemZ300316124116QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSpeakers_Subwoofers?hash=item45ec3c63d4&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50]