Old Tannoy 609's Issue?

[Calman45]

Hi Guys,

I'm brand new to these parts and hope some kind soul can help me!!

Basically, I've lived in Western Canada since 2002 and "finally" had my Tannoy 609's shipped over to me by a kind friend.

On setting them up and giving 'em a sound test, one of the speakers sounds a tad faulty. It's giving a "ripped sound" on significant bass response, even at low volume levels.

On close inspection, if may be coming from the paper seal around the core on the front of the speaker, but I'm not positive without taking it apart.

I don't want to manipulate in the danger of making the problem worse.

Can anyone advise whatI should do? ... quick visit to a specialist repair outfit?

Kind Regards,
Cal

[Calman45]

... may sound silly, but would a light bead of glue be a consideration?

[EarlK]

Hi,

Sounds to me like you should contact Tannoy Canada to get some advice .


Here's their info ;

TC|Group Americas
335 Gage Ave.
Suite 1 – Kitchener
Ontario
N2M 5E1
Canada
T: 001 (519) 745-1158
F: 001 (519) 745-2364
E: info@tcgroup-americas.com


- It basically sounds like one of the foam surrounds ( I assume they're made of foam ) has deterioted & is giving way / either that or the woofer section has been overdriven ( while in your absence ) .
- If the latter is the case , then the voice coil may have been cooked, necessitating a full recone .

- Whatever the diagnosis, have a qualified reconer look at that one driver to give an assessment .
- Tannoy Canada should be able to direct you to a good reconer for your area .

>< cheers

[Sonusthree]

Could it be that the tweeter's horn has shifted in transit? As far as I remember, they're screwed on to the back of the larger magnet. It's been a long time since I've been inside my 611s.

[Calman45]

Hmm? ... sounds as serious as I expected really.

Here is a close up pic of the problem, as you can see, I have a green arrow pointing to the area where the outer paper appears to show a tiny white tear, which gives the paper vibration sound when you play any music with a fair volume. Hopefully this visual will help?



Cheers!

[EarlK]

Originally Posted by Calman45

Hmm? ... sounds as serious as I expected really.

Here is a close up pic of the problem, as you can see, I have a green arrow pointing to the area where the outer paper appears to show a tiny white tear, which gives the paper vibration sound when you play any music with a fair volume. Hopefully this visual will help?

- If your diagnosis is correct ( it most likely is, IME ) then the glue "bonding" between the spider and that plastic cone has started to fail/separate.
- Separation at this point will definately give you the type of sound that you describe. I've had it happen to a brand new JBL 2123h / fresh out of the box ( reconed under their warranty ) .
- Have a qualified reconer use the correct glue to rebond that joint .
- If you live in Calgary or Edmonton finding a reconer will not be a problem
( if the yellow pages don't list this as a bona-fide category then call the repair/rental department at Long & McQuades ( or any high traffic music store ) to get the name of their "go to" local reconer .

* Important Notes *

(i) Quit using the speaker in question until it's properly fixed .
- You risk damaging it to the point that a recone of the woofer section becomes inevitable .

(ii) The failure of this important joint might already have allowed the beginning of a voice-coil rub / between the coil and the top-plate of the magnet .
- A check of the alignment of the coil in the gap should be done by a qualified tech. You can test this yourself by putting a 30 hz tone through the woofer and listening for a dragging sound . Look online for free signal generatos to make this tone ( they are available ) .
- You can also put a multimeter on the coil and check that its' dcr is within spec. ( get this figure from the Cdn. representative ) . If the figure is noticably lower than spec / you've likely shorted out part of the coil by rubbing it against the gap ( top-plate ) .

(iii) Don't attempt to glue this joint yourself using any silicone based caulking style glue or compound // future fixes will be impossible since nothing adheres very well to silicone .

(iv) A local reconer ought to be able to reglue this joint for you ( after a bit of consultation with the Cdn Tannoy distributor .)
- The trick ( for them ) will be finding a glue that works equally well on plastic and fabric . I don't know if ( the cone/spider joint ) is also glued onto the metal center horn section / again, ask Tannoy .


>< cheers

[bossjohnc]

I felt compelled to register for this thread - although I'm aware it's pushing on a year old, apologies. If the OP is still having this issue, then perhaps I can offer my experience.

I've had a pair of 609 MKIIs since new, when I was much younger and could ill afford much more in the way of half decent kit. I always had this problem, kind of a clip - particularly present on mid bass. It tended to drop off on lower frequencies, but was very annoying.

I had the 8" DCs looked over by Lockwood Audio, a local Tannoy specialist (this guy was an absolute enthusiast, and looked after me). He gave the units a good going over and a thorough testing. Result: There was nothing wrong with them. He demonstrated this to me, putting loud mid bass frequencies through them using his kit. The sound was fine, no nasty fouling sound.

The problem was my kit... and the combination of underpowered amplification and the DC unit. Because normally there is nothing to foul in the centre of a speaker cone, if the bass distorts due to underpowered amplification then the distortion isn't always too obvious. With a DC unit however, bad amplification can lead to the 8" unit not moving 'true' over the treble rose unit, and colliding with it producing the noise you're experiencing.

It's also possible that it's a damaged unit, however. The best way to test this is to see if it drops off at lower frequencies (as these tend to require a little less amp power). If it drops off, then your amp is probably underpowered.

Now I have something half decent rigged up to them, I'm much happier.

It honestly took me years of frustration to figure this out - I hope this helps.

John.