Wrinkles in Diaphragm normal?

Hi,

I found some wrinkles on the diaphragm along the spars on my replacement ESL panels. I contacted ML and they said that is normal and won't affect sonics. Anyone noticed wrinkles in their panels?

Yes, its normal, only cosmetic look...not a problem with the sound. If you do not want the wrinkles, you can try to tight again the diaphragm with some heat. You must be careful with the head dryer, you could melt the diaphragm, and that its a problem, not the wrinkles. Happy listening!

There were sizable wrinkles in the upper corners of a pair of EM's I purchased new 4-5 years ago. I have not noticed any issues with them sound poorly.

only wrinkles I see is when I look in the mirror ........

I'm working on a cure for that Dave. A couple more glasses of wine a bit more food and they seem to just fill themselves in.

Poor QC in my opinion.

How much do these replacement panels cost?

Gordon Gray said:

Poor QC in my opinion.

How much do these replacement panels cost?

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$1,401 a pair for the Electromotions

Brad225 said:

I'm working on a cure for that Dave. A couple more glasses of wine a bit more food and they seem to just fill themselves in.

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OK Brad........ so I had a second Manhattan before dinner, ate a extra helping of zucchini and the damn things are still there !

ElectroNoob said:

$1,401 a pair for the Electromotions

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That's a bit ridiculous just for panels. That's pretty close to dealer cost for a whole pair of EM-ESLs and more than I paid for my pair as a demo from a dealer.

I wish ML would revisit this pricing strategy. I realize they want to sell new speakers but they really need to take better care of their loyal customers.

Imagine if ARC or CJ charged you 60% of the cost of an item to get it repaired, they would lose half their customer base.

$1,400 for replacement panels and wrinkles are acceptable.

Absolutely absurd. Shame on ML.

Gordon Gray said:

$1,400 for replacement panels and wrinkles are acceptable.

Absolutely absurd. Shame on ML.

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agreed, given the modern jigs upon which they are assembled ........

I have wrinkles in both of my summits in the upper and lower corners so far I've not noticed any distortion!

Just on the lower corners of my Summits, more like a wave than a wrinkle, no sound issues that I can hear in that critical area. I don't recall seeing any on my 1989 1st run Sequels tho...I agree, QC may be slipping as of late.

I wonder if the new Mylar and coatings were not adhering to the 2 sided tape as it was expected?

Could the new Mylar be stretched tighter than before?

I was told by ML that the 2 sided tape has been changed for replacement panels.

All of this other than what ML told me is just random thoughts.

stuwee said:

...I agree, QC may be slipping as of late.

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I had the panels replaced twice!! on my Vistas when I bought them due to this issue. The replaced panels had the same issue, so I made the dealer change them again.

I simply wasn't going to accept this sort of QC issue in a brand new pair of high-end speakers.

Sure, you may not be able to hear anything wrong, but it is both a visual and a sonic fault that is quite simply incongruent with high-end audio equipment.

And all this after they've put the panel prices up to what??????

Do you think I should insist that they send me a new pair?

ElectroNoob said:

Do you think I should insist that they send me a new pair?

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I would be sending them back. Yes.

Well... yes... if these are brand new.... I wouldn't want that either...... Think of it this way..... if you were going to have to sell them tomorrow.... would someone buy them with panels that had wrinkles in them.... I would not.......

Right, a wrinkle is physical proof that there is no tension in that spot.

twich54 said:

OK Brad........ so I had a second Manhattan before dinner, ate a extra helping of zucchini and the damn things are still there !

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Apparently you are not using a lobster creams sauce on that Zucchini.