Vista 8'' bass woofer replacement alternative?

[MortenWagner]

My Vista, serial no VISE 401, woofer died. The coil and cone came apart and one wire to the terminals broke at the connection point at the coil.
I can have it repaired, but I was wondering if any of you have had success with finding an alternative woofer?
My Danish importer says that ML says that they don't sell new woofers for this model anymore.
I have asked if I at least can get the electrical parameters, so I can search for an alternative, but have not heard back yet.
Any experiences with this situation?
Cheers
Morten

 

[amey01]

My Vista, serial no VISE 401, woofer died. The coil and cone came apart and one wire to the terminals broke at the connection point at the coil.
I can have it repaired, but I was wondering if any of you have had success with finding an alternative woofer?
My Danish importer says that ML says that they don't sell new woofers for this model anymore.
I have asked if I at least can get the electrical parameters, so I can search for an alternative, but have not heard back yet.
Any experiences with this situation?
Cheers
Morten

Your importer is wrong. See:

http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...e-for-MartinLogan-Products&highlight=lifetime

 

[MortenWagner]

Your importer is wrong. See:

http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...e-for-MartinLogan-Products&highlight=lifetime

Yeah, I read that. But that statement is 9 years old. And since ML answered the importer and suggested that I have the woofer repaired, you can say that ML honors "service and support" inasmuch as they reply to requests, and suggests to have the unit repaired.
I havent found anything on ML's website that promises endless availability of spare parts. Am I wrong?

 

[amey01]

Am I wrong?

Maybe not. But I'd put a direct call in to ML just to check. Maybe they can service/repair the woofer for you - I'd rather than than a third-party.

 

[ttocs]

I owned Vista speakers for 7 years. As a preemptive I wanted to make sure I could still get new panels in the future if I ever needed them. I called ML and they said absolutely, $2100 shipped (1-1/2 years ago) and the lead time wasn't bad either, don't remember how long that was, but the bottom line is that they could still make the panels. I find it difficult to accept that they wouldn't be able to make new woofers, or at least a couple of re-cone kits.

FWIW if one needs repair, you should do both so they match.

 

[JonFo]

Get the specs for the original woofer and buy two of the closest matches and replace both at ttocs suggests.

Since you are in Denmark, it should be easy to contact ScanSpeak and inquire which 22W Revelator model might be a suitable replacement https://www.scan-speak.dk/product-families/fam-revelator/

 

[MortenWagner]

Good suggestion, thanks.
Do you know positively that Scanspeak made the woofer for Vista?
I showed a picture of the woofer to a friend who also works in the Danish audio industry, and he could not recognize the design as a Scanspeak.

 

[JonFo]

Morten, no, the Vista driver was some cheap ($80) Chinese thing that burns out easily, lots of threads here of those drivers failing when pushed.

I'm suggesting that replacing with as close a match as possible from the Revelator line will be a substantial upgrade, and easy to source there in DK.

The info needed is in this thread: http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...Ideal-Replacement-plus-Crossover-Improvements

Rdc 4 ohms ±5%
BL 7.0tesla m ±10%
Sd 214 cm^2 ±5%
Vas 50liter to 80liter
Mms 28gm ± 5%

My guess is that this ScanSpeak is a close match: https://www.scan-speak.dk/product-families/fam-revelator/?single_prod_id=218
It has much better specs than the original ML woofer, that's for sure. It is nice and clean into the lower mid-range, which is necessary, as the Vista has a high crossover point.
But I'd speak to somone at ScanSpeak and double-check.

This post has instructions on disassembling the Vista to change the woofer. http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?17041-Rattle-in-Vista-woofer

 

[MortenWagner]

Morten, no, the Vista driver was some cheap ($80) Chinese thing that burns out easily, lots of threads here of those drivers failing when pushed.

I'm suggesting that replacing with as close a match as possible from the Revelator line will be a substantial upgrade, and easy to source there in DK.

The info needed is in this thread: http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...Ideal-Replacement-plus-Crossover-Improvements

My guess is that this ScanSpeak is a close match: https://www.scan-speak.dk/product-families/fam-revelator/?single_prod_id=218
It has much better specs than the original ML woofer, that's for sure. It is nice and clean into the lower mid-range, which is necessary, as the Vista has a high crossover point.
But I'd speak to somone at ScanSpeak and double-check.

This post has instructions on disassembling the Vista to change the woofer. http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?17041-Rattle-in-Vista-woofer

How cool are you. Thanks very much. I’ll skip my trip to the repair shop tomorrow and call Scanspeak instead. Excellent advice.

 

[ttocs]

Just out of curiosity I had already sent ML an email prior to the last few posts to find out about getting original Vista woofers. They said they are $111.26 plus shipping.

 

[MortenWagner]

Here is the reply from ML today, March 9., 2020:

“ Hello Morten,

Unfortunately I no longer have the Vista woofer available.

You can probably get this woofer rebuilt somewhere locally in Denmark. Do a search on "speaker -reconing" in google.

Sorry that I do not have better news for you.

All the Best,
Scott”

 

[ttocs]

Here is the reply from ML today, March 9., 2020:

“ Hello Morten,

Unfortunately I no longer have the Vista woofer available.

You can probably get this woofer rebuilt somewhere locally in Denmark. Do a search on "speaker -reconing" in google.

Sorry that I do not have better news for you.

All the Best,
Scott”

Well, something's not right somewhere. The email I received this morning is from Josh, Service Technician at ML. If interested you can PM me and I'll give you his direct phone number. Seems weird that they would have a price if the part is not available.

The request I made was through the Support page on ML's USA site. Once I selected Warrantee Service / Parts it allowed me to select speaker model etc.

Here's the support link: https://www.martinlogan.com/en/support/contact#support-menu

 

[MortenWagner]

It is done! Thanks for all the suggestions.
Here is the solution I choose - maybe it can benefit others who get in the same situation as me:
Scanspeak Revelator is out of my budget at approx. 400 USD/pcs.
Scanspeak's Danish distributor suggested this: Discovery 22W/4534G00 at 100 USD/pcs. A good friend of mine ran simulations and found that this unit needs a larger bass relex than the 30 liter in the Vista. Additionally, the round shape doesnt fit in the kabinet, as far as I could see, and I would have to cut the frame.
Instead I choose this, based on my friends simulations: SB Acoustics SB20PFC30-4. They are engineered in Denmark, and manufactured in Indonesia.I was lucky to buy a pair in Sweden at hifikit.se at as little as 60 USD/pcs.
They have the advantage that they are square with rounded corners, so I didn't need to cut the frame.
All units I have seen have bigger mounting holes than the original woofer. So I needed to mill 4 mm off the hole in the cabinet. Lots of dust, but doable.
Finally, the original speaker had 6 holes, where all other units have 7 or 8 holes. So, 8 new holes were drilled and screws mounted, using the torque limiter.
I changed both woofers, which was a good decision, apart from the principle that they should be the same: The membrane is detaching from the coil - see picture. This is the same problem I saw on the defective unit, which led to the electrical lead coming off and disconnecting.





PS: Oh, how it sounds? Wonderful!