Trying to repair the DM5 — Pt.2

After 5 hours of hard work we were able to repair the Bowers&Wilkins. vintage DM5 speaker, only to a certain extend., but to our satisfaction. They now sound marvelous through a Sansui AU-G50-X amp which gives us 2x65W, way too much for the DM5 (which could be blown apart at 30W) but if you don’t crank up the volume too high, it’s OK.

The b&w woofer of this speaker model is not for sale anymore. Probably it still is on ebay or so, but that would be too expensive.

We replaced the faulty screw, which was very difficult to do without causing damage. We cleaned up the interior, removing dust, corrosion, pushing back dampening wool. The bass/midtone driver is strongly attached to the wooden case now, but there still is a “flapping” noise when the volume is high. Seems to come from the base of the driver. But now you barely notice it. The other speaker is OK, so the amp is not to be blamed.

Anyway it sounds good enough: deep bass, clean mids, sparkling highs, everything in good harmony (which has long been the trademark of B&W). And, in all truth, it sounds as good as say the now very popular Sonos Play:5 which sells at about $550…

Photos: DM5 with DM4 in background, replaced screw.