Replacing z-2300 satellites

[danyt]

(warning: I don't know anything about speakers)

Hey guys,

I dropped my z-2300 satellites and they don't work very well anymore. I am past warranty. I was wondering if there was a place to buy new satellites. The sub is working fine, so I don't wanna give up yet. I checked ebay, and there are satellites for other systems:

http://search.ebay.com/logitech-sate...dsreturnedZ300

Will they work? If they don't use an RCA cable like the z-2300 satellites do, would cutting a RCA cable and connecting it to them work?

What about... these: Great deal on bookshelf (Canada)



Please excuse my ignorance, and thanks in advance!

[danyt]

Also, here is a pic of the back of the satellite.
http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs321&d=07455&f=DSC05520.jpg
The impedance seems to matter from what I read... but I still need some help figuring this out. Recommendations please!

[geminni]

How do they work? Is there any sound or not? Is it distorted?

Maybe the problem is just in speaker wire.

[danyt]

Yes, the sound is distorted and sometimes it stops completely. I will check out the wire inside and see how it effects the sound.

I also think I want to replace the satellites anyway, because they are of poor quality. Like I said before I don't know much about speakers but this system is definitely lacking in midrange, it could use better satellites!

[danyt]

Ok, on closer inspection:

One of the satellites is fine. The other gets really distorted when I turn up the volume. The connections on this satellite look fine to me, but here's a picture:

[Nordic]

I notice someone soldered it up the wrong way around...

[danyt]

Haha, wierd... what would switching the wires do?

[sdclc126]

Switching the wires will reverse the phase but won't do anything about the distortion (the other driver may be wired the same way anyway).

I suspect you may have a damaged motor in the driver, which is at least impractical and likely impossible to repair. Have you considered replacing them? There are many affordable small wide range drivers availalbe (Parts Express, Madisound) that may fit into your sat enclosures and will most likely improve the sound significantly. Some possible candidates are reviewed here:

http://www.zaphaudio.com/smalltest/

You might also consider building your own mini satellites - relatively simple compared to "full blown" speakers - you could hand cut wood pieces for a small cabinet, for instance, and use a 3" - 4" wide range driver, and perhaps a mini tweeter with a single capacitor as a crossover, to make a sweet little 2-way with some decent sound.

Zaph's Hi Vi B3S single driver design will give you excellent sound quality when combined with a subwoofer, but you will need to build the crossover to get the best out of it - so it's more cost and work...

But ya never know - you may really enjoy creating something on your own and get bitten by the DIY bug!

In which case we will cordially welcome you to the asylum...

[danyt]

I'd be very interested in making my own satellites, I really enjoy this sort of thing. I have no idea what a crossover is, though... I was hoping that I could connect the two wires and be done :P The HiVi B3S look like a good option.

Thanks for your very helpful post! I will try to figure out this crossover thing now...

[sdclc126]

Very briefly, the crossover, also known as a filter, separates the audio frequency signal so the lower frequencies will go to the woofer (bass/mid driver), and the higher frequencies will go to the tweeter (high frequency driver!).

Crossovers can do other things, as does Zaph's filter for the B3S - there is no "crossover" because there is only one driver - in this case it is a true filter.

Do some reading and research and come on back with thoughts, questions, etc. Just remember as a newbie you want to keep things simple - this satellite "project", especially if it is single driver, is a good way to get started in this hobby.