Speaker cone crease? (photo inside)

[Danny BallsofDoom]

Well, I decided to buy a quad of Celestion V30's used... and to my surprise there seems to be wrinkles or creases on the cones. 3 of the speakers have these types of creasing. So how bad is this? I haven't installed them yet btw. Well here's a photo of the crease:

 

[ericsabbath]

that's quite common
won't affect tone

 

[Danny BallsofDoom]

that's quite common
won't affect tone

What about durability?

 

[Scumback Speakers]

that's quite common...won't affect tone

I have to disagree. That crease is not common at all, and it will affect the longevity since it's actually the start of a crack in the cone.

 

[Danny BallsofDoom]

Well that sucks to hear... so basically the speakers are worthless? I'm afraid to install them now.

 

[ericsabbath]

don't know about durability, but I had at least seven v30's, for example, some with creases, some flawless
they all sounded the same (played separately in the same 1x12)
had other speakers like this too
they all still working just as fine after a few years, and they were all old speakers already
I can't tell how long they will be fine, though
I have some boutique speaker in my 1960 cab that I accidently damaged by piercing the cone outter border, probably with a screwdriver
still sounding the same as its non-damaged pair for 3 years
maybe my eardrums are more damaged than the cones

 

[lessthan12]

nothing to worry about at first but if you're going to be playing all out all the time those creases will eventually turns to tears. A crease or tear in the speaker doesn't mean the speaker is crap either. If you want to prevent them from tearing just bring them to someone who repairs speakers and they can reinforce that area. Or you could wait and see what happens. They could always be repaired afterwards. Judging by your pic, If it were me they would already be installed and playing at full tilt They don't look to bad

 

[Scumback Speakers]

Well that sucks to hear... so basically the speakers are worthless? I'm afraid to install them now.

I've got 45 year old Celestions that don't have creases like that. I can tell you that I've seen that before. Usually it was caused by the previous owner using a fuzz box set really high/strong. That induces a square wave that settles into a pattern on the speaker, and can cause that crease.

Eventually the cone paper weakens and it tears. You can strengthen it by putting speaker dope on the backside, but it's only a band aid to the real problem.

They could last for years, but to get them to that point, they weren't taken care of properly (IMO) and that means they've been weakened for longevity and tone.

I would contact the seller, let him know what you've found. I'm sure he already knows, unless his eyesight is poor. Find out if he'll take them back if they don't sound good. If he says no, you're pretty much stuck with them.

This is just one of the many reasons I don't buy used speakers unseen or unheard any more. I've been burned way more times than the next 10 forum members combined on speakers, so I'm not blowing smoke here, just trying to make you aware of what you might be facing.

Unless the seller said "I abused the crap out of these, $200 as is, no refunds or returns." I'd see about returning them. V30's can be found new for $110 each, IIRC, from Avatar Speakers.

 

[Danny BallsofDoom]

I installed the v30's today and they sound really good. I cranked up the 5150 and did a some hevey palm mutes with long decays and nothing farted. So, I'm gonna hope for the best for now... maybe get some of that speaker dope I've been hearing about. The crap news is that I had to repair the baffle on my cab. I guess Peavey thought it was a good idea to use particle board as a base! The fucker broke right off when I barley bumped it.