ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Many B&O BeoLab 8000 owners are aware that the early 8000 models have damping foam that perishes, falls apart and gets sticky to the PCB and components.
I have such a pair now and want to clean all the foam dirt out and replace it with proper material. So I can use some suggestions:
See picture of the new foam (white) attached.
Hope to hear your advice!
I can recommend buying basotect in two different thicknesses, it worked perfectly for me.
Thanks for your advise Beosince98.
Do you know the exact thickness of the thin parts en the thick parts?
KolfMAKER: Thanks for your advise Beosince98. Do you know the exact thickness of the thin parts en the thick parts?
Unfortunately I do not rememberer. I guess I ordered one sheet with 1cm thickness and one with 3-4cm thickness.
Thnx.By the way, is Basotect the same damping material as what B&O is using?
KolfMAKER: Thnx.By the way, is Basotect the same damping material as what B&O is using?
I am not sure if it is the material they use, but it looks/feels the same and seems to be high quality foam for exactly this application.
I found the foam material that seems to be the right fit.
It is called Basotect from BASF, based on Melamine. The characteristics make it absolutely suitable. And the structure and color of the material even look the same as the official foam kits from B&O. (Maybe it is the same)
Hi Gerard,
The original foam is terrible as soon as it started deforming.Please put the right amount of effort in cleaning it away. To my experience, it sits everywhere even where you don't see it at first hand. It is important to get it away from all components, and yes that is a lot of nasty work to do. Also check all the copper traces on the PCB. I have seen copper traces 'eaten away' and disturbing for instance the Auto Standby switching.
Here's a picture of the foam set in all the pieces (original B&O).
And here is a picture where you see all pieces in the right place in the speaker casing.
So the 'round' piece goes around the bottom side of the bas reflex pipe. The middle piece is waste, is not used.
Yes, I did the cleaning myself. Not a task I like to do (understatement ;-)
For the cleaning I would recommend not to use chemicals. I never do with vintage audio equipment. I always look for eco/biological cleaning products.The BeoLab 8000 (and other) speakers are made from aluminum and anodized. Anodizing creates a layer that makes them shine like chrome. But this layer can be very sensitive to chemicals. When it is damaged or gone because of treatment with the wrong materials, there is no way back (or you should anodize them again which is quite expensive).
So for the outside I mostly use an eco-friendly degreaser from a spray bottle. Read the label to make sure there are no chemicals added!
For the inside I use the same principle; no added chemicals. But the story is different because you have to get the sticky foam out. And it is very sticky. Here's what I do:
Again, it is a lot of work. But it is do-able. Anyhow, not doing it with old BeoLabs that have this sticky foam, means high risk of a beautiful speaker that will get serious issues.
If you have PCB traces that are already eaten away, you will have to create a new trace. You can easily do that by using a wire. Normally you can see where the trace is supposed to be, so you solder the wire in such way that you reconnect the components that are in the PCB trace. I have had situations where the Auto Standby relais was malfunctioning because of this. Be aware that sometimes a PCB trace looks fine, but if you use a magnifying glass you can see that is partly 'eaten away'.Hope this helps you.
You are welcome.
Again, make sure the vinegar is a natural product without added chemicals.And another thing, just put it on a cloth to remove the sticky foam. And immediately after it dry the aluminum with another (dry) cloth.If you do not leave liquid, it will work.
PCB & dissolved traces: I have seen your thread, it is exactly what I did recreating the traces by wire.
Thank you for this description.
Does this problem belong to any BL8000? I own the Mk 1.5 as I remember (1995 or 1996) . . . .
Where can I order the new foam?
Are there any gaskets between the panels and the housing?
The trace(s) could be restored by soldering over the wholes, or not?
This problem does not belong to all BeoLabs 8000. B&O at some point changed the foam material they used. It is easy to recognize, as the good foam material is white and the old is dark brown. From experience I would say that a majority of BeoLab 8000 in 2nd hand oferings have the old foam. It might be that all Mark I have the old foam and Mark II has the new. But I am not sure.
The new type of foam can be ordered with B&O dealers. Sometimes you can find it on eBay. Though most offerings on eBay are $50 or more (excl. shipping) for only one set. I have bought with B&O dealers 2 sets for just €25. I think the article number is 3332084 00000001.
There is a gasket between the edges of the aluminum speaker casing, and the speaker panel unit and power supply/amplifier unit. This is thin and narrow double sided tape. Easy to find on aliexpress or banggood.
Yes, traces can be restored by soldering wires connecting the points of the original trace.
smuehli: Thank you for this description. Does this problem belong to any BL8000? I own the Mk 1.5 as I remember (1995 or 1996) . . . . Where can I order the new foam? Are there any gaskets between the panels and the housing? The trace(s) could be restored by soldering over the wholes, or not?
You can order from this Ebayseller in Germany/Berlin.
Make an priceoffer for the best price. I got a big discount
https://www.ebay.de/itm/154203121912
good luck
KolfMAKER:There is a gasket between the edges of the aluminum speaker casing, and the speaker panel unit and power supply/amplifier unit. This is thin and narrow double sided tape. Easy to find on aliexpress or banggood.
@Gerard
The type of tape you refer to is fine.The thickness of this tape is 1mm, which is thicker than the original tape used by B&O.
My suggestion would be to look for tape which is thinner, to a max. of 0,5mm.
You could use for instance use tape that is also used for repairing smartphones. It has the right material, strength and thickness for the BeoLab. And the thickness will be perfect.
For example: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/4001247888018.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.45e67ef2SuMEWj&algo_pvid=b7f3fce3-39b8-4c02-86c0-37ea26d607c9&algo_exp_id=b7f3fce3-39b8-4c02-86c0-37ea26d607c9-5&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000015455192446%22%7D
Last weekend one of my beloved Beolab 8000's failed (red/green light ok, but no sound). Trying to find some clues, I stumbled on this thread and I am very grateful for the clear and knowledgeable info in this topic.
Indeed the failed BL8000 suffered from "foam rot". I removed it and thoroughly cleaned the speaker (what a mess!) and found a trace on PCB01 had been eaten away by the stuff. After soldering in a bridge, the speaker sprung back to life. Hurray!
Next task will be to clean the other BL8000 before it gets affected as well.
Of course I need to put in new foam damping material and I saw that you purchased these from a dealer. As I believe you are also in the Netherlands, could you indicate which dealer you bought it from?
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Dear MartD,
Congratulations, that you have been able to resolve your issue with this information. That's great!It is definitely a good idea to also treat your other speaker. Better to prevent than to cure.
The new damping foam is a standard B&O article, which you can probably get from any B&O dealer. My suggestion would be to try a local B&O dealer, that might be most convenient for you and saving shipping cost.
If you have trouble finding a dealer with the replacement foam, let me know.
Many thanks for your advice.I have ordered the damping material through a dealer as you suggested.
Once both 8000's are fixed, I will check my pair of Beolab 6000's. According to the dealer, these seem to often suffer from damage to the rubber speaker surrounds. There is quite some info available on the web as well as repair kits. To be continued!
You're welcome MartD.
Yep, the rubber speaker surroundings of the BeoLab 6000 are almost always up te replacement after so many years. It has to do with the choice of material. I have replaced many in the meantime.
I can recommend the repair kits from AudioFriends (Dutch company). The kit for the BeoLab 6000 you can find here.An instruction for how to it is here.
Good luck!
Dear Smuehli, the problem does not belong to every BeoLab 8000. If you have a BeoLab 8000 set with white foam, this problem does not occur. B&O at some point changed the dampening foam, the white foam does not pulverise and start sticking to the PCB and electronics.
By the way, MK1.5 does not exist, there's only MK1 or MK2. If you share the serial number I can tell which one you have and what build year it has.
For the replacement foam, I advise to contact a local B&O dealership. That's the easiest and quickest way and prevents shipping cost.
For the gaskets you need certain double sided tape. If you scroll through this thread, you will find the info and links where to find it.
Both Beolabs 8000 have been cleaned, fixed and now have the new foam installed. They should be fine for another 20 years of service :-).
Fortunately, inspection of the Beolabs 6000 revealed that the speakers are still in perfect condition, no deterioration of the rubber rings.
All's well that ends well.
@MartD: well done!
@dragonvid
If you look at page 1 of this thread, you will see a picture that shows all different pieces placed in position.
I just ordered the original damping material set from the local B&O dealer, only 10€ per set. Sound quality has hugely improved! It’s a universal kit for all BL 8000 models