I've got a budget job I'm doing for a friend of a friend and she has a couple pair of older Boston Acoustics that have disintigrated. Probably A40s and A80s? I don't have ready access to BA to replace them and I can't for the life of me think what I else I could use in that $250 to $350 a pair range. I have access to most of the usual distribution stuff as well as Triad but I can't think of anything in those lines that isn't either in-wall or a small bookshelf for $600+ a pair with no bass.
short of buying some speakers out of a white van at a street corner I kind of at a loss here. If it's not an in-wall or a dedicated theater I get confused.
Any ideas? or should I just look into Boston?

I had to replace some Boston woofers for a client's in walls a few months ago. You do not have to be a Boston dealer to order replacement woofers. 978-538-5000

A quick phone call with your charge card and those speakers are good for another 10+ years....

I've got a set of a-40's in my kitchen. Said it then, I'll say it now: A great cheap speaker.

PSB made great cheap speakers, too; don't know their current line up, so can only speculate they've continued the tradition.

If you want to replace those instead of repairing them, take a look at Polk Audio. The RTi6 is a good speaker for the price.

[Link: polkaudio.com]

Otherwise, I'd say replace those drivers, and use that budget somewhere else (better receiver, etc.)

Just my $.02 worth.

Fred Forlano
Higher Definition

It is A40's in the kitchen and replacement drivers may make the most sense. I do get nervous about doing that for a customer though. They are old enough and abused enough that just replacing the woofers may not be enough(six kids in the house). The other speakers are an old pair of Ohms that are completely wasted from being taken outside in the summers. PSB was my first thought and that's where I'll go if nothing else pops up.

Ted, compared to the other things you do, replacing the drivers is extremely low tech. You likely won't even need a soldering iron and the rest of the cabinet may outlive you.

We actually did a bunch of speaker repairs in my retail/repair past life. There are reconers out there for drivers you can't obtain and your woofers get a new lease on life. There's markup on the reconing and labor for the removal/reinstallation. Treat it as a profit center like everything else.

Can't tell you how many pairs of Advent (and Dahlquist, if you know these) woofers we've reconed over 30 years time! Still have one spare in stock.

why not have them "re coned" for a fraction of the price of replacing the componenets

Hello, testing, 1-2-3...


However, with smaller drivers and the markup needed to cover your time shipping and getting them back, reconing can't be done for a "fraction of the price", and in fact may be a push.

Reconing generally saves you money on larger drivers or name brand drivers like JBL, Altec, etc where new drivers may be very $$$.

I think the NHT bookshelfs have great bass for the size, and I think the SB-2's would fit in your range.

monitor audio bronze 1, low cost, decent sound, good value, lots of positve reviews, check out their site....spend a little more Usher 520's, well worth the slight price difference.

I'll second the NHTs. The SB2s great speakers and have pleased several of my customers.

I'll jump on the "just replace the A40's drivers" bandwagon. Very good sounding speaker, and the new drivers will not disintrigrate like the old ones. Should last another 20+ years.

Call Boston.

The speakers you have are great and they will provide replacements that will match the originals and also match the crossovers.

BA is an excellent company! I know..I was with them for more then 10 years. They are eager beavers when it comes to making customers happy.

Oh the sound of the older speakers.

None can be better than a pair of Boston A 40's or EPI 100's.

Paradigm Atom series, fairly small and fairly cheap with great sound. We constantly use these in retro jobs with kitchen cabinets. Just throw them on top and boom, great whole room sound with no fuss. Clients love not seeing them and they love the sound even more. They retail for 250cdn. So that is about a buck US right?