Speaker grille re-fabric

[DEF4Runner]

Anyone out here ever 'refabric' home speaker grilles?

I have an old set of JBL L100t floor speakers I recently refoamed and cleaned up but the grille fabric is a mess after 30 years.

Has anyone ever done this or know where I can get it done? Is it a painful DIY project?

Thanks!

 

[Twisted Sid]

I would try https://www.parts-express.com
I've had good luck with them in the past

 

[fourwd1]

Done this myself over the decades, used to be you could go to the local Radio Shack and get the correct fabric. You can't just use anything, the wrong fabric can attenuate some frequencies, ie muffle low or high frequencies. You want something that at least claims to be invisible to the audio frequency range.

 

[Hepar]

I'll ask this local guy I know who does speaker repair. I bet he would know a good source. He's restored an old pair of KLH's and a set of Dahlqists for me.

 

[fourwd1]

I'll ask this local guy I know who does speaker repair. I bet he would know a good source. He's restored an old pair of KLH's and a set of Dahlqists for me.

That sounds like a good start.

 

[Hepar]

Talked to my speaker dude.

His suggestions:

1. acoustimac.com - for speaker fabric. Said it's a little expensive, but worth it.
2. Said there's a 3 yard minimum and you should only need about half that.
3. Thinks the original L100T speaker fabric colors came in black and dark grey
4. You can use contact cement, hot glue if you're careful, but don't use Elmer's.
5. Said if you have any other questions on him, to contact him directly and he'd be happy to try and help. (PM me if that's the case and I can pass on his contact info)

The guy is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to vintage speakers.

 

[Hepar]

Sorry, left out the link to the actual fabric. Here it is:

https://www.acoustimac.com/dmd-acoustic-fabric

 

[DEF4Runner]

Excellent! I wound up getting some fabric from Simply Speakers. My original fabric was dark gray but went with black this time. The fabric felt almost exactly like the original and is somewhat translucent. I'm sure it's not going to trap any of the frequencies.

The hardest part was getting the corners right.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[Hepar]

Excellent! I wound up getting some fabric from Simply Speakers. My original fabric was dark gray but went with black this time. The fabric felt almost exactly like the original and is somewhat translucent. I'm sure it's not going to trap any of the frequencies.

The hardest part was getting the corners right.

Thanks for all the replies!

Post some pics. Let’s see the finished project!