So it turns out that having a second child can seriously hamper one’s attempts at starting a blog. Back at it now though so onwards and upwards…

I managed to drop one of the satellites from my trusty old JBL Creature speakers a few weeks ago. The driver was toast since the magnet had detached from the frame and come through the front of the speaker. I don’t like throwing things away so I looked around to see if I could get replacement parts.

JBL Creature II speakers
JBL Creature II speakers

There’s a few videos on youtube such as this one that show people fixing these speakers with small 5W units available on ebay. I found this driver on ebay and ordered a couple to try.

5W replacement driver from ebay
5W replacement driver from ebay

£8 and two weeks later the drivers arrived so time to break out the toolkit and soldering iron. Opening up the satellite’s case reveals the broken driver. It is not physically joined to the case; instead it sits in the molded opening in the front and is held in place by a black plastic stop that applies pressure to the back of the magnet which makes it easy to get out.

The original driver. Black plastic stop to the right.
The original driver. Black plastic stop to the right.

On the youtube videos showing fixes for these speakers, people usually used a hot glue gun to fix the replacement driver to the case. I wasn’t keen on this option and since the new drivers were a good fit diameter-wise for the existing hole, I decided to make a soft gasket instead and hold the driver in place with the original plastic stop. Some old IKEA FIXA self adhesive floor protectors proved to be ideal raw material for making a slim, soft gasket for the driver.

Cutting the gasket for the new driver out of an IKEA FIXA floor protector.
Cutting the gasket for the new driver out of an IKEA FIXA floor protector.

Gasket fitted.
Gasket fitted.

The new driver isn’t as deep as the original so another small piece of FIXA stuck to the back of the magnet made the spacing work and the new driver went back into the case.

New driver in place with FIXA as spacer.
New driver in place with FIXA as spacer.

A couple of solder joints later, it’s time to put the speaker back together.

Leads soldered.
Leads soldered.

The result looks quite smart and the new drivers have given a new lease of life to this set of speakers.

The satellite reassembled.
The satellite reassembled.