Yes, those crumbling foam surrounds are a problem. I recently got repaired a pair of Advent/9 speakers that sound absolutely WONDERFUL (good highs, nice, well defined lows) when they work. They were affected by surround rot, but the cones/voice coils were OK (even though the repair person recommended reconing, I said no because I read that it ruins the sound, as the Advent drivers are of a special design), so it was a fairly straightforward repair.

The set I was going to get is no longer available, so I'll just back-burner this for now. As I will eventually get a pair, I'm not giving up.

Thanks!

c