this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
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BudgetAudiophile

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This happened to the tweeter of one of my Theil speakers. I don't have an audio technician nearby, so I was hoping to do this repair myself.

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[–] j4k3 14 points 10 months ago

I'm not positive about the construction, but I think the centering alignment is probably important. You likely need some kind of 2 part specialty epoxy.

In my experience as a maker with lots of experience playing with finishes and epoxies (owned an auto body shop), this is a rabbit hole that will cost more than just replacing the driver.

When it comes to adhesives like this, cleaning and the proper tooth for the adhesive to grab onto, like the proper sandpaper grit finish, are critical and the primary factor. However a very close secondary factor is choosing an adhesive that bridges the expansion rates of the two joining materials with enough ductility to compensate for the differences. If one of the materials expands a whole lot more than the other across the temperature range the object experiences, the adhesive must compensate for this stress or fail. Most super glues are formulated to cure aggressively fast. This makes them brittle, or in other words they have very little ductility. I expect the ceramic of the magnet to have a very different expansion rate to the metal of the driver. I suspect this failed from a combination of bad initial prep of the metal driver base combined with temperature over time. I don't think you are likely to have success with a random super glue with unknown properties.

I am no expert in the engineering of audio drivers, but I hope this info is peripherally helpful. It is accurate to the best of my understanding.