After 16yrs, the foam surrounds on my much beloved Alon IVs gave up the ghost. I called Carl Marchisotto at his new company, Nola (Alon spelled backwards) to order relacement wooffers, which he had offered at Alon. He no longer offered replacements for older Alon products, but curtly suggested that I contact Bill at Millersound in Pennsylvania. I called Bill and sent the woofs off to him with an order for the full boat.
I recieved my repaired woofers in 5 days. I'd not been overly optimistic when Bill had promised that the speakers with the repaired woofs would be better than original. My pessimism was unfounded, to say the least.
What I ordered was -
1. Replaced foam surrounds with the uncoated cone, coated @$35ea
2. Damping of the chassis with Dynamat Extreme @ $15ea
3. Dynamic balancing of the cones @ $20ea
What I recieved back, after mounting the woofs in their enclosures was a better speaker than it ever was before. It -
1. Offered a more articulate bass through lower midrange (the 12" woof crosses at 350hz) which I assume is due to the dampened chassis and cone.
2. Played louder without congestion which I assume is due to the dampened chassis and balanced cones. (The cones had 3-5 little pieces of dynamat stuck on the cones in the oddest places).
3. No loss of low level detail which is what attracted me to the Alons in the first place. Not only do they sound great at mid to high SPLs, but they really shine for late night listening at low levels where they maintain their excellent tonality, resolution, imaging, soundstaging, and extension.
The rejuventated woofers have been in the Alons for a week and a half. They seemed to break in very quickly. I am a very happy camper.
Prior to posting this, I did a search on the Speaker Asylum. It seems that everyone (including manufacturers) have the same high regard for Bill at Millersound and his great repair work.
Yea, I know you can buy foam surround kits for $18-25 And you probably could have gotten the dynamat for $20. But frankly, I 'don't teach my grandmother to suck eggs'. I don't know how to replace surrounds, physical accuracy is always harder than one assumes, and I don't begrude experts their compensation. And besides, I think my rejuventated Alons are better than the originals.
Who could ask for anything more?
Very highly reccomended.
Contact -
Bill @ Millersound
Ph. (215) 412 - 7700
