From: shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com   
      
   On 4/12/2020 4:26 pm, Trevor wrote:   
   > On 4/12/2020 7:08 am, geoff wrote:   
   >> On 2/12/2020 5:39 pm, ~misfit~ wrote:   
   >>> Rubber surrounds can last 50 years. However if they're stored and not used   
   for a decade or so   
   >>> they'll go hard and brittle. Also UV light and/or excess heat will cause   
   similar degradation.   
   >>   
   >> The butyl on my B110s on LS3-5As after 'just' 40 years-ish.   
   >   
   > My B139's and B110's are still fine after 45 years. Hope they last a bit   
   longer. :-)   
      
   The (butyl?) rubber surrounds on my Wharfedale Denton 2s 8" woofers are still   
   supple. However the   
   (brown) glue has gone brittle and come away from the aluminium chassis. They   
   never sounded great to   
   start with so I've not got around to fixing them but must do something with   
   them soon, they're   
   taking up space and gathering dust.   
      
   I had some contemporary large 3-way floorstanding Wharfedales (the name of   
   which escapes me right   
   now) with a 13" woofer. They'd been in storage for a decade when I bought them   
   (deceased estate)   
   and the surrounds were rock hard. I tried everything I could think of to   
   soften them again   
   including gentle heat, silicone oil and playing them at moderate volume for   
   hours. None of that   
   helped so I started 'massaging' them and they started to slightly soften but   
   ultimately shattered.   
      
   They were an on odd size so I couldn't get replacement surrounds. It was   
   suggested by a   
   'professional' driver restorer that I get 15" surrounds and cut them down and   
   join them but I   
   didn't fancy that.   
      
   Dovedale 3s! That's what they were called. I ended up selling the mid drivers   
   and 'purple fried   
   egg' tweeters and got my money back but was disappointed that I never got to   
   hear the speakers.   
   --   
   Shaun.   
      
   "Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy   
   little classification   
   in the DSM"   
   David Melville   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)