I also picked up a pair (dec 2012) of these at a thrift store (any chance you   
   re-gifted tham and I found yours?) I purchased because the cabinets (boxes)   
   were very heavy and appeared well made.  Mine also had bad surrounds on the   
   woofers.   
      
   I have previously had very good results with just "throwing" a new woofer from   
   parts express or "Electronix" into the cabinets of various brands of old   
   speakers. The speaker's crossover as well as cabinet normally set the limits   
   for the woofers, and as    
   long as the new woofer has a range that exceeds the crossover point (most do)   
   it should work pretty well.  Also consider what you really expect from a   
   thrift shop speaker, but I have usually been very happy with the performance   
   of most, and have found    
   that several basically unknown brands actually made excellent speakers. A   
   properly designed cabinet damps as well as enhances the woofer. It is my   
   opinion that the performance of the woofer is much more dependant on the   
   cabinet than the driver.  The    
   midrange and tweeter drivers are actually more difficult to replace with a   
   generic unit than the woofer, and care should be taken if replacing the Mid or   
   tw.     
      
   Buy a woofer rated between 4 and 10 ohms, 8 will likely be perfect. Don't pay   
   too much for it, for the model 123 speakers, keep it under $30 each for the   
   woofers, I think you will like the results.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)