Dynaudio Contour failure.

[Ducataudio]

Hi,

I have this speaker that has a problem with high frequencies that go on and off randomly. It feels like as if there's a blanket in front of the speaker, then it goes away then it comes back...

One thing I know is that if I turn the volume know it all comes back to normal, but I have to crank it up.

Can I fix that myself?
Anyone in the LA area who can fix it?


Cheers, J.

 

[andy2]

My guess would a loose connection somewhere either in the xover or the connection to the tweeter. You probably have to open up and take a look at the xover.

 

[Ducataudio]

I have to add that the speaker fell about a year ago and sustain some cosmetic damages. Now I'm pretty sure something inside must have cracked as well. Anyway how do I check anything in there?!

 

[Foxx510]

Can you get the crossover out? You really need to check for a cracked solder joint, on the other side of the board.

 

[Ducataudio]

ok so after close hearing it's the tweeter that goes on and off.

I can have it back on when cracking up the volume.

Could it be a component on the Xover board or the tweeter itself?!

 

[Foxx510]

It could be the tweeter or the crossover. Can you run it with the crossover accessible? If so, wait till it cuts out then tap the crossover and see if it comes back on. Try gently pushing on parts in the crossover and see if the tweeter goes on and off.

 

[Ducataudio]

Tapped -gentle push pull- about everything in there and nothing changes.

Solders and stuff feel pretty strong

driver's still off.



Could it be a faulty components?

 

[phase_accurate]

Another quick one is to try the tweeter of the second box then you are at least sure if it is the tweeter or the crossover.

Regards

Charles

 

[Foxx510]

Yep the next step is to swap the tweeters, if you can, as it is possibly the tweeter itself that is the problem. If the problem moves to the other box you have found your problem.

 

[Ducataudio]

Can I do some measurement with a multimeter instead?
Then what value should I expect?

I can go to radioshack and grab one quickly.

Or can I connect the tweeters to each another instead of unsolder
everything?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Ducataudio]

ok that's it. I just remember I had an extra pair of old surround speaker, so i took one of the driver and connected it and boom it works.

That means my tweeter is at fault. Great.

Any possibility to dig into such driver?

It's a d28/2 Titan, made for the 1.3SE only if I recall correctly.

 

[Tristanc1]

Madisound still sells dynaudio drivers but only with the exchange of the part you are replacing. Looks like they have the d-28 for $150, not sure if it's the right one though...

http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?exact_match=yes&product=DY&cart_id=5520311.27078

It's near the bottom, good luck
Tristan

 

[andy2]

Could you open the tweeter and check for possible loose connection. Hope it's something as simple as that. Maybe a crack solder joint?

 

[Ducataudio]

Dynaudio usa says it's $275 to replace it.

I don't see anything cracked/loose on the voice coil plate.

Could it be a voice coil gone out of spec?!
And could that explain the fact that it works when cranking up the volume?

It's confusing because I haven't found anything broken in there!

Depressing.

 

[Ducataudio]

Madisound has a D-28/2 replacement coil for $47.50 but it doesn't specified if it's compatible with the D-28/2 Titan model.

Apparently they look the same.

Since it the contour 1.3SE is a special edition I'm wondering if the coil
is special as well.

 

[Foxx510]

It is possible for a skilled tech to repair voice coil failures such as that one, often the fine wire breaks before it starts wrapping around the former and can be resoldered. I've seen it done successfully before. Maybe find out if there is a speaker repairer near you and ask if it is something they can fix. The main thing is to treat that dissasembled tweeter very carefully, they are easily damaged.

 

[Ducataudio]

yeah well case closed for now. I've shipped the tweeter back to Dynaudio and will get a replacement in 2 weeks, at a cost of $275.

Now I'm still wondering if the fall almost 3 years ago impacted the tweeter at all, or if dynaudio tweeters are prone to failure in general.

Thanks!