Is this likely to be purely cosmetic or will it mean the mounting is loose and affect performance? They are in my ‘office’ system which is not subject to the most demanding listening, I’d be hard-pressed to say they were ‘off’.
I have had them basically from new, and never changed the tweeters. They are 1994 vintage, and I guess the plastic has just dried and cracked.
Do you know if they’ve been over or unevenly torqued? Has anyone attempted to re-tighten them in the past? If not, then i’d say they have gone brittle with age and will likely need replacing. Are you able to source another pair?
As I said, I have had from new and never touched the tweeters or screws. The crack is close to the screw in the photo above which I know suggests the screw torque but actually it is more a complete circumference about half way from the screws to the centre aperture. See below, very fine but almost looks like the centre is slightly depressed?? This is the other side to the photo above.
I bought a ‘spare’ pair of tweeters from my SL2s when they were about to go out of manufacture. I think I’ll keep those for that purpose. I am not sure if I’ll invest in new ones for these SBLs. They really don’t owe me anything after these years in various system iterations.
Oh yes, that is such a shame. My guess here is possibly old age or that various temperature changes may have had some sort of a warping effect on them, who knows?
Of course one way round would be to get hold of some old knackered Credos with half decent drive units and do a refurb job.
This is bad - you need to replace them. On one photo it looks as someone has tried to get a screwdriver in the gap. Are you sure that the screws are untouched.
Nevertheless- get a new one. Make it quick as the 2008 version is not made by scanspeak anymore.
SBL will be fine again soon!
As I said I have had them from new and nobody has tried to unscrew them or attacked them with a screwdriver!
This is just age. I cannot recall when I last looked at them closely; probably about ten years ago when I bought some new grilles.
I’ll look into the options to replace the tweeters. It might just tempt me to look for something new, although having had only Naim speakers in my two systems (SBL/Credo/nSat/SL2) for over 30 years that is a bit scary!
@BruceW
Your photo above at 1 o’clock position looks like someone was in the gap with a screwdriver. That’s what I have referred to.
First: do not ever sell the SBL - or only to me
Second: look for a replacement driver pair rather than an old credo.
Third: if you are fine with SBL in your room, do not look for a new speaker.
I do Not know if you have followed my thread. I went from SBL (which I used for 34 years) to kudos 606. kudos is wonderful but it is still a hard ride with „sbl turkey“
I had a close look and you are right! The wood at the edge of the tweeter has a definite mark as if it has been levered out. I don’t recall swapping the tweeters but I must have done at some point. It must have been ages ago, I have no recollection whatsoever.
I bought the SL2s in 2016 and I’m sure I never touched the SBLs after that.
Ok - you are using the sl2 - lucky you!
Keep it that way and keep the SBL in storage - and get a spare set of tweeters.
By the way - is your 552 non dr?
The SBL live in my second system, running off an Atom and old olive 250. I just couldn’t part with them when I got the SL2s and I might demo some alternatives but somehow suspect I’ll end up back where I started!
One possibility is that they have been subjected to strong sunlight on and off for some time. Things can get very hot indeed if so placed and the resulting expansion/contaction could very well cause the effect observed. When I had my IBL’s it made the velcro peel off from the front baffles!
The crack looks to have been caused by the levering attempt when you look at where it is in relation to the damage to the wood. Something odd if you say you didn’t do it, anyone else had hands on them?
I did similar damage to my first speakers, mission 700s, before discovering you could use a slightly skewed screw in its hole to pull the driver off its seal.
This doesn’t look good, I suspect a hairline crack will have minimal impact on the tweeter baffle response… but I would be concerned at what has caused it. Has the tweeter surround become warped? If so that will affect performance and the tweeter should be replaced… but remember to match with the other speaker.
No, think I must have done the swap, presumably pre 2016. Nobody else has owned them. However I must surely have seen or noticed the cracking then. I think it is more recent. Maybe I did overtighten?
Anyway it clearly isnt fixable. I will have a think about what to do next.
@BruceW are your SBLs MK2s ? if so its worth exploring a tweeter replacement.
Ive a pair of MK1 SBLs with MK2 drivers in use in a second setup but if my SL2 main drivers die the SBLs would be a donor!
