I'll bet that it is possible to do two speakers in a two hour period, although not for this beginner. It took me over three hours to complete the process. Much of the time is spent waiting for glue to cure, so the actual labor time is more like an hour total.
First, I lay the speakers on their backs on the floor and removed the grills and screws. The thin rubber gasket between the speaker and the enclosure was pretty insistent on keeping the speaker in place, so I had to pry the speaker loose with a screwdriver.
Lifting the speaker gently from its home of twenty years, I removed the wires from the terminals on the speaker. My speakers have red stick-on dots next to where the red wire is connected, making it quite easy to remember how to reconnect when the job is done.
Setting the speakers on a towel on the table, I spent some time examining them. The surrounds were totally destroyed by time. Any parts of them that remained would disintegrate at my touch. In contrast, all other parts of the two speakers looked brand new. I was also pleased to note that the foam rubber in the enclosures looked and felt fine. (Gloating over the general condition of the speaker is not in the Stepp instructions.)
By now we're up to step 3 on the instruction sheet. Their step 2 didn't apply to me, since it involves the careful removal of a gasket from the front of the speaker. This is for speakers that mount to the back of the front of the enclosure, and our Advents mount on the front.
Step 3 involves removal of remaining traces of surround and glue from the basket, the metal bowl that composes the outside of the speaker. The instructions recommend using a utility knife and lots of caution. Any glue you can't remove, they recommend rubbing alcohol to dissolve it. I followed these instructions on my first speaker, and then tossed them on my second. I discovered while doing the first speaker that our surrounds are glued in place with a clear rubbery glue like a silicon sealer. Mine was still very springy though tough, and I was able to peel it from the basket of my second speaker without using a knife! It sometimes seemed to be slow going, but it was in actuality much faster than scraping with the knife and using alcohol to finish the first one. I used my thumbnail to scrape enough loose to grip, and then peeled it in the direction I was working. I once got over two inches of intact glue and surround off.
Step 5 is removing old surround from the back side of the cone. This was scary, but with the speaker face down on a towel on a flat surface, it turned out to be an easy task.
Step 6 is "Prepare for Assembly," which means to play with the new surrounds and the speakers to figure out how they go together. Our surrounds glue to the back of the cone, so we have to pass them over and around the cone to get them behind it. After we practice this a bit and remove the surrounds, we get into the hard stuff!
Gluing the surround to the cone is a step that concerned me, mostly because I had no experience with this glue, so I didn't know if it was one of those contact cements that become permanent on contact. Fortunately it is not! The glue instructions were not very clear to me, so I'll spend some time here talking about them.
The part that gave me the most grief was the glue. Instructions like "take care not to over-apply adhesive" give me the shakes. As it turned out, this caution caused me to be too gentle in applying glue in the last step, which is gluing the new surrounds to the metal frame. To me, what the instructions should say is something like this:
When applying the glue to the surround and cone during the first gluing step, spread the glue uniformly, but not so that any stacks up. A very thin "coating" but not a "heaping" is needed.
After letting the surround and cone sit for 5 minutes (to let the glue dry to a tacky-but-not-wet stage, we slip the surround over the cone again and center the cone in the surround. Then we gently pinch together the surround and cone all around the edge of the cone. Once they've been pressed together, we let them sit for 10 minutes to cure enough for further handling.
The next step introduces a fun activity they call "piston action." This involves pressing down gently but firmly on the cone and releasing it, allowing it to spring up. This is to be sure that the cone is centered so that the coil isn't dragging on the magnet. During the earlier steps and handling, I frequently heard the coil knock noisily into the magnet, and I was concerned that something was wrong. Now that the surround is glued to the coil, you won't hear any more of that! Bouncing the cone for this "piston action," was a treat for me, since it showed me that I was nearly done, and that everything was going well. It was also something I could do while the glue was curing to keep me from getting too bored.
One note about the "centering" process... I was very worried about this, and figured it was going to be a difficult and critical step. As it turns out, the speaker really wants the cone to be centered, or at least it seemed like it to me. Once you have a surround glued to the cone, the whole process of centering seemed to be almost "automatic." In other words, my fears were for naught.
When applying the glue to the metal frame (actually under the surround), you don't put glue on the underside of the surround, because you'll be putting enough glue on the metal for both. You'll be putting lots more glue on the metal than you did on the cone and surround in the previous step. The surround should be lightly pressed into the fresh glue on the metal to give it a coating. Don't forget the frequent "bouncing" of the cone to make sure it stays centered! After it cures (5 minutes) press the surround down against the metal, working out any bubbles. Go around and around, pressing the surround into the curve of the metal frame. As I did this, little amounts of glue would ooze out from the edge of the new surround, and I would wipe it off with a cotton swab.
I wound up setting my kitchen timer to 5 minutes over and over, each time coming in and smoothing the surround onto the basket. Each time I did this, the glue joint felt more solid and uniform, until I stopped after about four times.
When the surround has been glued to the basket we're done, except for the pain of waiting overnight to hear them!
Good as new? That's hard to tell. I'm thrilled with their sound, so maybe. Now if I can just get that scratch off the side of the left one.
Regards to all my new Advent owning friends!
-Les
It appears that Stepp Audio Technologies may have gone out of business. None of their phone numbers work, and their domain name has expired. In that case, may I recommend an alternate supplier, Parts Express. Their web site is http://www.partsexpress.com/, and a keyword search on their site for "Speaker Surround Kits" got me this search result.
They have (HAD?) a web site now (THEN?): Stepp Web Site, or you may contact Stepp Audio Technologies at 828-697-9001, or 800-747-3692 (BOTH DISCONNECTED).