Sound Advice
By Don Lindich
Week 18, 2016
Q. I have a pair of Boston Acoustics A60 speakers that I have had for more years than I can remember. They are quite adequate for me, but the woofers’ rubber surrounds are disintegrating after all these years. Do you have any idea where I could get replacement rubber for the 6-inch woofers?
-Bill N.
A. Those A60s are great speakers and I am not surprised you are still satisfied with them. They are well worth preserving and you can do it very inexpensively. Please note that your speakers have foam surrounds, not rubber surrounds. Rubber surrounds do not usually rot in the same way that foam does, though the adhesive can come loose or the rubber itself can degrade over time.
Whenever I need parts for any of my own speaker restoration projects my first stop is The Speaker Exchange of Tampa, Florida. If you have some old speakers you want to repair or are trying to resurrect a thrift store find, Speaker Exchange can probably help you do it. Besides offering full-service repairs, they have a wide variety of parts for many makes and models of speakers. They sell a generic 6-inch refoaming kit for $10 that will work with your A60s. http://reconingspeakers.com
A company called Simply Speakers sells a kit on Amazon that is specially designed for classic Boston Acoustics speakers, including your A60s. It sells for $24.95 and is apparently making a lot of customers happy, given the rave reviews there.
I don’t know if you have refoamed speakers before, but there is a video on YouTube that will guide you through the process if you are a beginner. They use Boston Acoustics speakers similar to yours for the tutorial. http://tinyurl.com/bostonrefoam
My inbox is overflowing, sorry for the delays: If you have sent me a question in the past few weeks and have not received a reply yet, rest assured I am working to get caught up and you will be hearing from me soon. I’ve had a deluge of questions the past few weeks and besides the time involved to answer everyone, sometimes I have to do some research to come up with the best recommendations.
2016 electronics show report: Naim is a British high-end audio manufacturer known for premium products and premium sound. As well as making high-end audio components for the home they also make the high-end audio systems used in Bentley automobiles. Naim’s new Mu-so QB Compact Wireless Music System was unveiled at the show, and it belongs on the shopping list of anyone looking for a high-end single-piece audio system.
The Mu-so QB has the high-tech, high-quality feel and finish one might associate with a product like a Bentley. Removable grilles are available in various colors to match room décor. Removing the grilles reveals high quality drivers set in a solid, non-resonant structure that is obviously the product of thoughtful engineering and fine workmanship. The sound has garnered rave reviews and there are too many features and connectivity options to discuss in a single column. At $999 the Mu-so QB is not inexpensive, but it is actually lower priced than many other competitors in the luxury class. It is available online, from Apple and through select dealers. See it at naimaudio.com.