iMac G3 Speakers Replacement (Summer 2001 700mhz)

[gdanie]

Hello,  I know this has been talked about to death on computer forums, but has anyone finally come up with a good and easy replacement for the iMac 700mhz speakers?  They rot, and honestly supply for new/refurbished ones have long dried up, long about 5 years ago, when they were no longer considered a "workable" desktop.  Well, I still use mine, but it peeves me that I am unable to find a working set of speakers anywhere.  Now, I am not a audiohead of any sort.  I am looking for something that can just "plug and play" into the original plug.  Has anyone found anything like this? Its hard to believe that the HK speakers that originally came with these computers dried out and wasted away so quickly, because otherwise they were great speakers.

 

[Garrett]

Why not just buy a pair of headphones and plug them into the headphone jack or buy some cheap computer speakers to replace them with? You just would have to plug them into the audio out jack and you'd be up and running.

 

[gdanie]

I have done this, actually.  I suppose the issue is more of one of aesthetics, than it is functionality.  I like the idea of having working sound in my unit.

 

[Byrd]

Donor parts iMac?  In my woods they go for < $20 these days.

 

[CompuNurd]

Not to hijack here, but aren't all of the G3 speakers going bad because of degrading plastics/glue? So in theory replacing them would be pointless? Maybe someone should make a new version of these speakers that fit the iMacs, so we can replace them and still have great sound!

 

[Garrett]

I have done this, actually.  I suppose the issue is more of one of aesthetics, than it is functionality.  I like the idea of having working sound in my unit.

Sorry if that was a dumb reply. But somebody should make parts for vintage Macs even "modern" enough like the iMac G3, because the Apple inventories are long gone for computers like the iMac G3 and there are not too many NOS parts out there.

 

[raoulduke]

http://www.welovemacs.com/imacspkrbndblu.html

Is that it? I don't know the model.

 

[gdanie]

Not to hijack here, but aren't all of the G3 speakers going bad because of degrading plastics/glue? So in theory replacing them would be pointless? Maybe someone should make a new version of these speakers that fit the iMacs, so we can replace them and still have great sound!

Right.  The problem is that the foam inside the HK speakers have rotted.  You can open up literally ANY iMac and find this problem.  It is extremely rare.  I have seen the insides of about 50 of these things and every single one of them was in a state of severe decay.

I am looking for something I can retrofit into the jack and fit inside the spots for speakers inside the case, really.

I agree with the poster above that it is time someone entered the market and began making new parts for vintage macs, like we have seen more often in the Amiga community.

 

[gdanie]

http://www.welovemacs.com/imacspkrbndblu.html

Is that it? I don't know the model.

Yes, that is it. 

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_se_700.html

The speakers male connectors just go into the female connectors on the wires in the case.  Then they are anchored in there on a plastic hook, basically.

 

[raoulduke]

Okay... so unless I'm missing something major, there is your solution.

 

[TheWhiteFalcon]

The Cube speakers have the same issue, which is why I don't actually use the speakers, just the amp.

 

[gdanie]

Okay... so unless I'm missing something major, there is your solution.

Right, I am just wondering if anyone here has installed new speakers into THEIR g3, and what they used !!!

I have heard of people doing this before, but never talked to anyone who actually did it.  I may just talk to someone who runs an audio shop to see what they recommend if no one has any ideas.

 

[matacao]

I have the same problem on one of my iMac but I have a lot of spare, so I've replaced them by original speakers.

 

[Schmoburger]

I found a place that retails high-bass speakers for model railway applications that are dimensionally and aesthetically basically a match to the iMac G3 enclosures... I was meaning to order a set and try my luck but got sidetracked then my PC died and I couldnt remember the suppliers name so it is only recently i found them again.

Will let you know how i go.

 

[gdanie]

I found a place that retails high-bass speakers for model railway applications that are dimensionally and aesthetically basically a match to the iMac G3 enclosures... I was meaning to order a set and try my luck but got sidetracked then my PC died and I couldnt remember the suppliers name so it is only recently i found them again.

Will let you know how i go.

Thank you.  Looking forward to hearing about this.

 

[RickNel]

Many people these days are throwing out those little stereo extension speakers that plugged into iPods and phones, replacing them with bluetooth units.  Many of those little enclosures have similar-sized speaker units to the G3 and the specs are standardised. I haven't yet needed to do this on any of my G3s, but if so I would go hunting variety stores and recylce places with a ruler, and pick up replacements for just a few dollars and wire them into the existing connector plugs.

I'll be interested to hear what prices new component stock suppliers would ask - probably more than the sale value of a complete working G3 iMac!

 

[gdanie]

Many people these days are throwing out those little stereo extension speakers that plugged into iPods and phones, replacing them with bluetooth units.  Many of those little enclosures have similar-sized speaker units to the G3 and the specs are standardised. I haven't yet needed to do this on any of my G3s, but if so I would go hunting variety stores and recylce places with a ruler, and pick up replacements for just a few dollars and wire them into the existing connector plugs.

I'll be interested to hear what prices new component stock suppliers would ask - probably more than the sale value of a complete working G3 iMac!

I'll look into this.  Im also looking forward to hearing from schmoburger on his find.  I have had to replace my speakers 3 times already.  Finally I got tired of opening the case to replace speakers with old stock which are just going to deteriorate and blow out like the last ones did.  So last time I opened the case and simply put nothing in the speakers place.  You hardly notice that they're not there.  But I still would like to get a nice set of internals in there.  I have some nice set of USB external Harmon Kardon speakers now.  I can crank the volume all the way up without issue.  But for aesthetic reasons, I still would like to find some kind of replacement.

 

[hagan]

About a year ago, I was given an iMac Indigo Summer 2001. In a matter of days of playing around with it, I became a hooked collector of old Macs.

One of the Indigo's speakers had a fully rotted-out speaker surround, and the other speaker was just starting to flake apart. I was able to take out the "eyeball" speaker holders, and outfit both with pretty close replacement speakers:

http://www.parts-exp...lProductDetails

They cost about $13 for a pair. Installation wasn't too difficult. After soldering on the wiring (I didn't wind up using the new lug connectors, since they weren't a perfect fit), I placed each new speaker inside its "eyeball". The mounting flanges on the replacement speaker aren't quite perfect, so I stabilized it by stuffing a piece of high-density foam between the back of the speaker magnet and the "forks" inside the "eyeball". Once the halves of the "eyeball" were screwed back together, the speaker was quite firmly mated to the front opening. And let me tell you, compared to speakers with missing or failing surrounds, they sound great in the iMac!

Given the cost of the replacement speakers above, I wouldn't try to repair the surrounds on the original units. But, I understand if you prefer all repairs to be as authentic and as-original-as-possible, you'll reject my replacement suggestion. At least you now have an alternative if you give up trying to re-surround / re-cone the original speakers.

 

[Recaptcha]

On the Mac Rumors forum, we've created a complete thread about replacing the speakers in the iMac G3. The thread contains a video on how to do the replacement, as well as info on the exact replacement speaker, as well as personal experience and questions from users.

Here is the thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/replacing-imacg3-speakers-suffering-from-foam-rot.2156308/

Good luck!