I think my iMac's speakers are sick...

[Carboy7]

...because it clicks really loud when I try to play the Indigo error sound at medium volume.   It visibly vibrates and clicks at about 5-6 clicks of the speaker volume key from muted. (G3 MODEL)

 

 

EDIT: And it also clicks in the startup bong.

Edited October 6, 2016 by Carboy7

[Carboy7]

Oh yeah, and when I did my speaker test to see how far the speaker would go before it clicked, I managed to somehow "vibrate the speaker inside the computer so much that it turned like 7 degrees to the right"

 

Something tells me that my $40 is going to be spent pretty fast, now that this fact has been learned.

[goncalo]

I guess the foam that support the center tweeters/magnets (?) is gone, turned to gooey mush.

 

I happened to all my slot-loading iMacs - I had one intact but as soon as I installed 10.4, the startup tune just blew the foam.

 

You can see more here:

https://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?/topic/20369-preserving-imac-g3-speakers-with-flexible-adhesive/

[CC_333]

Yeah, this is a problem.

 

A few years ago, someone was researching possible repair or replacement. Anyone figure that out?

 

In their day, those speakers were rather good (not quite as loud or bass-y as the eMac or Pro Speakers (which are surprisingly good sounding for something their size), but they're in the same ballpark I think).

 

c

[EvilCapitalist]

Back when they came out (and the foam was new) you could crank them up to the point of distortion and the worst you'd get was horribly clipped sound (usually about 75% and up).  Now though with the newest iMac G3s being 13 years old and the oldest being legally able to vote I wouldn't push them past 50% constantly.  Good computer speaker sets are far too cheap and plentiful to use the internal sound for anything other than basic alerts. 

 

I found out the hard way how easy it is to blow them.  I had a snow iMac I was using to listen to music and when a song with a decent amount of mids and bass came on I managed to blow both speakers even though they were only at about 60% volume.  The speakers aren't too terribly difficult to replace but whatever you'll find is all going to be similarly aged and it's not like people are making re-foaming kits for them.

[CC_333]

...it's not like people are making re-foaming kits for them.

Then it seems that someone should!

 

That someone, however, is not me. At least for the moment....

 

c

[techknight]

figure out what the diameter is, chances are there is a generic kit that may fit. Some midrange setups are that small. 

[Carboy7]

Until then... http://www.welovemacs.com/0760820r1.html

 

This gave me some ideas. Should I get new ones that are green, or clear? Nah, just kidding.

[EvilCapitalist]

Two things with that link, those are the same age as the ones you'd have so you really wouldn't be much better off, and two, they don't have any in stock.  We Love Macs is probably the worst offender for having hundreds of listings still up for things that have been sold out for years.

[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.