Repairing a GoodWill find sub

[GlassWolf]

So I dropped into a local thrift shop and picked up a JBL PowerBass PB10 10" home theater sub, and a Sunfire (Bob Carver) True Subwoofer Mk II 10" sub.
Neither one worked properly, so I took them apart to discover that an out of production part was defective in the JBL (can't replace it) so that one is trash. I'd ned to swap out the factory plate amp with a new amplifier, and frankly it's not worth the effort or cost.

The Sunfire however, just had a bunch of bad caps. I replaced those and bingo, works like a champ.
10" long throw sub, 10" radiator, 2700 watt amplifier. This thing can shake the entire house. It hits scary low and obnoxious loud. This thing rivals a lot of cars in regards to the amount of bass it puts out. I think I really like this little thing, for as small as it is.

This is the dead JBL


and the Sunfire...

[Bwcad1]

Very Nice!

[Chris from Washington]

Nice, I used to go to thrift shops all the time hoping to find good deals like that. Never got lucky though.

[GlassWolf]

actually that KEF reference 104/2 in the photo next to the Sunfire was also a thrift store find. Got a matched pair for $50. Spent about $200 restoring them, and now have a second set of $3600/pair 104/2s.. for $250. It's totally hit or miss with those places.. sometimes you find great stuff, other times, nothing but crap (more often than not.)

I also just picked up an Alpine CD player and CD changer at one. Not sure yet what I'm going to do with those, but they're in good shape, and work fine.

[GlassWolf]

the restored KEFs











had to repair the grilles, re-cover them as well
then replaced the floor spikes
re-capped the crossovers inside each one
rebuilt one of the midrange drivers with a cracked cone
re-foamed the inner and outer surrounds on all 4 8" woofers (2 each)
fixed some of the veneer work
replaced the damaged black/red plastic binding posts on the backs with gold plated ones
got em all cleaned up, and bingo.. work like new.

[Chris from Washington]

good grief, when I used to go. All I would ever find were 20 year old VCR's for $50!!