Ceramic ferrite magnets can break, as in the photo above, or the bonds to the steel plates can fail, generally jamming the voice coil in the gap. Some brands are more prone than others, and we see bond failures most often on cheap speakers, where factory QC is poor. On the other hand, ruptures within the ferrite itself occur in high grade speakers, where the maker specifies a premium grade magnet ring, containing more iron oxide (FeO2, the magnetic ingredient) displacing some of the ceramic binder, making them magnetically strong, but structurally weak.

We can open, clean, realign and rebond these magnets, using precision alignment tools and powerful structural adhesives. Ceramic magnets have a high permanence coefficient, so their magnetism is not damaged unless the bondline is too thick, or not perfectly aligned. We have a very high rate of success, and charge a flat rate of $48 for this service. In those mercifully rare instances where a magnet cannot be salvaged, we charge nothing for trying.

In some cases, we can extract a jammed voice coil without inflicting further damage, allowing us to reinstall the original cone, and voice coil, especially valuable in long-out-of-production loudspeakers. If your speaker suffers any magnet failure, please do not try to 'pull' the coil from the gap, as this will definitely destroy the coil.