Driver Repair and Reconing Service
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PR Audio maintains the most complete and professional speaker repair service in the Southern Illinois / Western Kentucky area. From pulling out a dented dust cap or replacing a blown tweeter, to crossover repair, reconing, or complete system repair or upgrade, our quality is high, prices are most reasonable, and our commitment to our customers is second to none.
Reconing:
PR Audio can recone most woofer brands and types, and some cone midranges. Resulting performance will be equal to or better than the original, in virtually all cases. Ultra-high temperature adhesive is used for the critical voice coil-to-cone-to-spider glue joint for all cone drivers. Plus, extra reliability measures can be added to drivers which did not originally possess such. These measures can include lead wire treatment (to reduce fatigue / breakage) and / or heavier lead wires, special parts’ attachment & assembly techniques, cone treatments, special edge treatments, voice coil venting, change of suspension type, extra hi-temp voice coils (when applicable), and so on. We can also refoam most woofers with rotted out foam surrounds, with correct new surrrounds.
Typical turnaround time for a single driver recone is 2-3 weeks, if all parts are in stock. Special order parts (usually at no extra charge), may add an extra week. If special parts must be made up by our suppliers, such as a “non-standard” voice coil, then turnaround can be over a month, and extra charges of $5-$30 (or more, in rare cases) may apply. However, this last applies to under 10% of all recones.
Replacement Drivers:
In some cases, replacing a driver makes more sense than reconing it. Replacement woofers, midranges, and tweeters are in stock, or available in a few days, in many sizes and types, as are some replacement diaphragms for horn midranges and tweeters. Additionally, many more diaphragms are available by special order, and custom woofers and midranges can be built for virtually any application. We also carry a large selection of crossover parts and many other speaker accessories.
Estimates:
Estimates on single drivers are $10-$20, and may be applied to the cost of the repair. Estimates on complete speaker systems are generally $20-$30, and also may be applied to the repair. Labor is $30 per hour–if you wish you may, for example, save some of this by pulling out the defective driver(s) from your speaker and bringing just the driver to PR Audio. However, you should be careful not to overlook other problems, such as damage to the crossover. In such a case, recurrent damage to a driver would not be warrantied.
On-Site Repair
“House call” service is available, contact us for price and appointment times. (Service calls are usually $30 in the Carbondale – Murphysboro, and Paducah – Kevil areas; a little more if you are further away: This includes the 1st 15 min. labor. Further labor is typically $30 per hour & covers minor supplies like solder, etc. We are a lot cheaper than the plumber!!!)
Ship To Us
Aug. 24, 2010: We are putting up a new page on how to ” Ship To Us “, here. We will leave a copy of the information below, temporarily.
If you wish, you may also ship your driver(s) to PR Audio via UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc. However, BE SURE to Contact Us* (and make sure we have replied!) to arrange the delivery time and take care of other details. The last thing we want to have happen is for you to ship us a valuable unit and have it arrive on just the rainy day we happen to be out (such as on an “off-premises” job) and UPS leaves it sitting outside our delivery entrance — which latter HAS been known to happen. 
*Using the contact form is the best bet, as messages from it can not be filtered as Spam, etc.
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Please ship only to our KY (main shop) address, not to our IL (office) address. (See below.)
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Please: Do not directly wrap drivers in foam or bubble pack. BE SURE that the cone or diaphragm and suspension (roll) is protected from damage and that the packing material cannot contact or push up against it. In many cases, if the roll or a tweeter dome is recessed, you can wrap good quality strong cardboard around a driver, as it’s 1st layer of protection. Then add cushioning around that. If you use packing peanuts or similar material, use a strong bag or other means to isolate the speaker from any loose packing material. (One of the most tedious jobs can be removing / cleaning packing peanuts, shredded paper, or foam fragments from a driver, and we WILL charge you for it.)
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Be sure to follow carrier packing guidelines:
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Please send us the tracking number for any packages you ship to us.
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Please Contact Us for further instructions if you wish to ship a speaker cabinet to us.
For more information on and instructions for / examples of the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of shipping loudspeakers, please see this page.
Upon completion of the repair of your speaker(s) it / they will be returned to you via UPS, FedEx, or USPS COD, or, at your choice, PR Audio will advise the customer of the repair and return shipping cost. The customer should then pay with secure funds if expedite shipment is desired. Personal checks are ok too, but must clear before shipment will be made. See more information about payments on our Ordering Information page. In some cases, an estimate can be given immediately, so a personal check sent with the driver would likely clear by the time shipment is possible. Note that in general, we ship every 3-4 business days, but under special or urgent circumstances, we will do our best to accommodate you.
Please contact us for further information, ship to address (again, please ship only to our KY shop!!!), etc. You may also FAX us at (270) 462-3568.
Rush Repair
IF all parts are in stock, rush repairs on individual items, such as a single 15″, are usually available at $5 extra / 1 week, or $20 / 48 hrs.
Warranty
Repairs are guaranteed against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year (be sure to retain your invoice!) This does not cover items we do not supply, abuse, acts of God, and the like. PR Audio does retain right to final determination in such cases. The customer may always request that a repaired item be tested in their presence before payment is made.
Technology:
PR Audio maintains two speaker testing labs with a large array of test gear, from low distortion audio frequency generators, Fluke (several) and other meters, amplifiers (up to 4000 watts), and other assorted gear, up to LinearX LMS and S&L Audio Woofer Tester Pro computer-based loudspeaker testing packages. We also have 35 years of experience in designing and building high quality home, pro sound, and car audio speaker systems, and over 20 years of driver design experience, for a wide range of customers and needs. We don’t know everything: no one can. We learn new things “audio” almost every day! But we invite you to explore our site fully to get at least a taste of our background, experience, and capabilities.
Brands of speakers for which we offer repair / upgrade services*:
Home Audio:
Acoustic Research ( AR )
ADS (Analog and Digital Systems)
Advent
Altec (home & some Pro)
Akai
Alesis
Allison / Allison Acoustics
American Acoustic Labs (AAL)
Avatar Speakers
Avid
Bang & Olufsen / B & O
BIC
Bose
Boston Acoustics
Braun (ADS Braun)
B&W
Cambridge
Celestion
Cerwin Vega
CTS (Starssond)
Dahlquist
DCM
Definitive Technology
Design Acoustics
Dual
Dynaco
Dynaudio
Electro-Voice
Emerson
Energy
EPI / Epicure
Fisher
Foster
Fostex
Fried (What a name for a speaker!)
Galaxy
Gemini
Genesis
Hafler
Harman Kardon
Heathkit
Infinity
JBL
Jensen
JVC
KEF
Kenwood
KLH
Klipsch
Koss
Labtec
Lanzar
Linear Phase
Linn
Magnat
Magnavox
Marantz
Martin-Logan (older woofers)
M.B. Quart
McIntosh
Meadowlark Audio
Merlin
MG
Mirage
Mitsubishi
M&K
M&M
Monitor Audio
Motorola
MTX
NEC
NHT / Now Hear This
Ohm / Ohm Acoustics
Onkyo
Optimus
Paradigm
Phase Linear
Phase Research
Phase Tech
Philips
Pioneer
Polk Audio
Polydax
PSB
Pyle
Pyramid
Radio Shack / Realistic
RCA
Rectilinear
Rogers
Roger’s Sound Lab
ROR
RTR
Sammi Sound
Samsung
Sansui
Sanyo
Scott / H.H. Scott
Sharp
Sherwood
Snell
Sonab
Sonance
Sony
Sound Advance
Soundcraftsman
Speakercraft
Speakerlab
Stanford Acoustics
Teac
Technics
Thiel
Thruster
Toshiba
Ultralinear
Ultimate
Utah
Vandersteen
Warfedale
Yamaha
Zenith
and many more…
Pro Sound:
Altec
Alesis
American Acoustic Labs (AAL)
Ampeg
Behringer
Bose
Celestion
Cerwin Vega
CTS (Starssond)
Dynaudio*
Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW)
Electro-Voice
Fender
Foster
Fostex
Galaxy
Gibson
Heathkit*
JBL
Jensen
JVC*
Klipsch
Koss*
McIntosh
MCM
MG
Mitsubishi*
M&K*
M&M*
Motorola
MTX
Onkyo*
Optimus*
P. Audio
Peavey
Philips*
Pioneer*
Polydax
Pyle / Pyle Pro
Pyramid
Radio Shack / Realistic*
RCF
Sammi Sound
Soundcraftsman
Speakerlab*
Stanford Acoustics
Utah
Warfedale
Yamaha
and many more…
*A few of these names are a bit “marginal” when it comes to “Pro Sound”, but we decided it was better to be too inclusive than not enough. Also, in a few cases we thought either certain speakers might, because of their characteristics, be sometimes used in “Pro” settings, or, we simply were not sure of everything a large (usually Japanese) manufacturer might have made in the past.
Car Audio:
Blues
Bose
Bostwick
Bumper
Cadence
Caltek
Credence (older units)
Crunch
Dual
Eminence
Impact
JBL
Jensen
JL (some older units)
Kicker (some)
Lanzar
Legacy
MTX
Orion
Pioneer
Polk
Pyle
Pyramid
Rockford-Fosgate / Punch
Soundstorm
Soundstream
and many more…
*Please note that not all models from all manufacturers are covered. Especially with cheaper speaker systems, sometimes the drivers are simply not accessible for repair. Unusual shape drivers such as the old KEF 13 x 9 woofers are also sometimes a challenge. However, if you have a good solid cabinet, usually we can come up with a solution to fit your budget and needs.
Also note that we are not and do not claim to be a “Factory Authorized Service Center” for any brand, except our own. Our prices are generally lower, even though Paul is not a “Speaker Technician”, he is a well respected Loudspeaker System and Driver Engineer. Now, if your speaker is under warranty, is a recent high dollar unit whose resale value might be affected by not having work done by a Factory Service Center, uses unusual technology (we do not repair electrostatic panels, for example), or we are simply not close enough to you, then you probably should go back to the manufacturer. But if those sort of factors do not apply, then you will find PR Audio to be a reasonable price, highly competent and capable alternative. Particularly in the case of the numerous brands that have gone out of business, or if you want an upgrade, or even if you just want a high quality repair at a fair price, we think you will be glad you found PR Audio.
Finally, not all repairs are practical for all budgets. Especially if a correct repair would require you to send us your speaker system for evaluation / repair, shipping costs may be considerable. Please Contact Us and we will try to assist in the best way possible.
More Information:
For more information, please click the links at the top of this page. For information on our other services, please click the appropriate links in the sidebar, or, contact us.