If anyone's interested, I had to send away for another midrange. I was getting some distortion and I originally thought it was due to an underpowered IGC amplifier. When I finally got off my lazy *** to investigate the issue, I discovered that it was the midrange in the left channel speaker that was at fault.
I sent away for another one from Parts Express, but I'm wondering how that could have happened. I took the speaker apart and I didn't notice any problems-- although I'm not sure what to look for.
When it plays, the midrange sounds like garbled distortion, although you can still hear the sounds somewhat. I'm wondering if I could have blown the speaker through mishandling it or if it could be a factory defect.
Anyone else ever had a similar problem? Any ideas why this went wrong?
Kofi
I sent away for another one from Parts Express, but I'm wondering how that could have happened. I took the speaker apart and I didn't notice any problems-- although I'm not sure what to look for.
When it plays, the midrange sounds like garbled distortion, although you can still hear the sounds somewhat. I'm wondering if I could have blown the speaker through mishandling it or if it could be a factory defect.
Anyone else ever had a similar problem? Any ideas why this went wrong?
Kofi
Kofi Annan said:
If the cone doesn't have a tear in it and the surround is intact then my guess is a damaged motor. The speaker may have been dropped and landed on the motor casing. No visible damage but now there is damage which may cause rubbing or jamming of the moving parts inside the motor casing.
It could also be something as "simple" as a bad lead with poor contact either at the terminal connection or at the motor.
In either case get a new one.
Sherman
That would make sense since I didn't notice any other problems.
Yep, that's what I thought. Got one on the way from Parts Express.
Oh well, I guess I can't be too disappointed. These speakers actually sound great even with the distortion, but its driving me nuts so its gotta go.
Thanks for the advice.
Kofi
Hi,
follow Ingvar's advice and check the problem isn't in the crossover.
You'd also probably benifit in reducing the (physical) size of the crossover. Make the connection wires shorter(better yet, solder the component leads together where possible).
Good luck with the new speakers.
Regards,
Tiago
Perhaps it's time to add audio diy to your Curriculum Vitae and ask for some research funding 
follow Ingvar's advice and check the problem isn't in the crossover.
You'd also probably benifit in reducing the (physical) size of the crossover. Make the connection wires shorter(better yet, solder the component leads together where possible).
Good luck with the new speakers.
Regards,
Tiago
Perhaps it's time to add audio diy to your Curriculum Vitae and ask for some research funding
Thanks for the advice! I already checked the crossover and its fine. The speaker is distorting when I use it in my other stereo, so I feel prety confident that its the problem.
Yeah, I realize that I should have built the crossover more compact, but its really in the speaker good now, so I hesitiate to remove it. I sealed it in the speaker, so it woud be a real motherfather to get out. Just stupid on my part.
I'll let you know what happens when I get the new midrange in.
Kofi
Yeah, I realize that I should have built the crossover more compact, but its really in the speaker good now, so I hesitiate to remove it. I sealed it in the speaker, so it woud be a real motherfather to get out. Just stupid on my part.
I'll let you know what happens when I get the new midrange in.
Kofi
Rattle
Hey-- the bass in my speakers is causing rattle and distortion on certin bass frequencies. Not bad, but enough to drive you crazy once you hear it.
Multiple Chioce Question--
Do I need:
(a) more stuffing?
(b) less stuffing?
(c) better isolation from the hardwood floor?
(d) a new hobby?
(e) other (please explain)
_______________________________________________
Kofi
Hey-- the bass in my speakers is causing rattle and distortion on certin bass frequencies. Not bad, but enough to drive you crazy once you hear it.
Multiple Chioce Question--
Do I need:
(a) more stuffing?
(b) less stuffing?
(c) better isolation from the hardwood floor?
(d) a new hobby?
(e) other (please explain)
_______________________________________________
Kofi
Does the "rattle" come from driver? If so check cabinet for leaks, mating surfaces between drivers and cabinet are often hard to keep airtight. Use selfadhesive rubber/foam or silicone windowsealers.
If rattling comes from something else excited by wibrations, try isolating speakers from floor and see what happens.
If rattling comes from something else excited by wibrations, try isolating speakers from floor and see what happens.
OK-- I'm utterly frustrated now. I have been listening to music all night and the right channel tweeter has decided to start emitting a horrible crackling distortion, but only during certain passages in the music.
I can consistently recreate this distortion by simply playing the sam musical passage, so its not random nor do I think its a bad connection. I will take the amplifier out of the mix tomorrow and try it with an old amp to see if I get the same results.
Mind you, this happens regardless of the volume. Moreover, when I switch the channels, the distortion does not go away entirely, which leads me to believe that either the tweeters are not all they're cracked up to be or that my Gainclone is screwed in the highs. I have never had completely clean highs before with the amp, but I always thought it was the speakers.
If I take the amp out of the mix and the highs clean up, I may try to get bigger power supplies for the GC. I'm working now with an 18-0-18VAC transformer (160VA), and that ain't much power, so it may not be pushing the tweeters the way its supposed to.
Any comments? Does this make sense or am I just grasping at straws to try and find a way not to take the whole damn thing apart again?
Kofi
I can consistently recreate this distortion by simply playing the sam musical passage, so its not random nor do I think its a bad connection. I will take the amplifier out of the mix tomorrow and try it with an old amp to see if I get the same results.
Mind you, this happens regardless of the volume. Moreover, when I switch the channels, the distortion does not go away entirely, which leads me to believe that either the tweeters are not all they're cracked up to be or that my Gainclone is screwed in the highs. I have never had completely clean highs before with the amp, but I always thought it was the speakers.
If I take the amp out of the mix and the highs clean up, I may try to get bigger power supplies for the GC. I'm working now with an 18-0-18VAC transformer (160VA), and that ain't much power, so it may not be pushing the tweeters the way its supposed to.
Any comments? Does this make sense or am I just grasping at straws to try and find a way not to take the whole damn thing apart again?
Kofi
Kofi Annan said:
i would check the XO wiring if i were u. yes youd have to get the XO out. one way could be the woofe hole if it is big enough. or maybe u can de solder the parts thru the woofer hole and re- build the XO on a smaller board.
sorry about the bad news but welcome to teh frustrations of DIY!
Seems a bit unlikely that so many of Your drivers would be faulty and problems looks like staying in the same speaker while switching amp channels- rebuild filters. Beware that polypropylene caps are very sensitive to prolonged heat so look for "swellings" on those, in series production of electronics we seldom let polyprops or polycarb capacitors pass through wave soldering, and as smd devices they are virtually nonexistent as they would not survive reflow oven.
I may actually start crying.
Everything else sounds great except for those two speakers. I think that the midrange is actually the problem in the left channel as I have tested that speaker extensively and it sucks no matter where I use it (in crossover, outside crossover, in another amp).
The tweeter in the right channel is the one I'm worried about. That may actually be a problem with the crossover, in which case I will need to burn the speaker cabinets to the ground to get it out.
I will go through some testing tonight. I really hope that the speakers just had a rough ride and got damaged or that there's a loose connection somewhere, but you know that I'm in for the long haul here, right?
...must...kill...
Kofi
Everything else sounds great except for those two speakers. I think that the midrange is actually the problem in the left channel as I have tested that speaker extensively and it sucks no matter where I use it (in crossover, outside crossover, in another amp).
The tweeter in the right channel is the one I'm worried about. That may actually be a problem with the crossover, in which case I will need to burn the speaker cabinets to the ground to get it out.
I will go through some testing tonight. I really hope that the speakers just had a rough ride and got damaged or that there's a loose connection somewhere, but you know that I'm in for the long haul here, right?
...must...kill...
Kofi
Had an interesting night.
When I went home, I tried to reproduce the distortion with the musical passage that was causing the distortion before, but the distortion was almost entirely unnoticeable. I was pretty puzzled by this.
By coincidence, I had also received vinyl record / stylus cleaning solutions and brushes in the mail yesterday (thanks, Garage-A-Records!), so I cleaned the records I was playing using the Discwasher brush and solution and I also cleaned the stylus using the Discwasher brush and stylus solution (is there really a difference between the two cleaning solutions?).
The difference was pretty remarkable-- not night and day, but a real improvement in the sound and a loss of a lot of the crackles and pops and more of the music. I also noticed that my speaker ground was barely touching the binding post, so I reconnected that as well.
I played music at full blast last night and not a hint of distortion from the right channel tweeter.
I can't imagine that the type of distortion I was hearing confined to one channel was due to a dirty stylus or record, but I guess its possible. I think its more likely that the speaker ground may have been affecting the highs, but even that seems unlikely since the groud is usually an "on-off" situation.
Anyway, I fixed the obvious screw up (ground) and I did some cleaning and now everything sounds fine except for my left channel midrange, which will arrive today from Parts Express. Once I install the working (hopefully) midrange I should be in business.
By the way, I have not cleaned my records in a long, long time. OK, I have never cleaned my records. This was due in large part to the fact that I have never had even a decent amplifier before (and also due to immeasurable laziness). However, I spent some time cleaning my favorite records last night and you know what? They sound better! Amazing!
Another theory I have is that maybe there was some static due to dust in the grooves that caused the distortion on the playback. My fear, however, is that I am dealing with the dreaded intermittent problem.
Any thoughts on why this cleared up? Also, my acne has really cleared up as well. Do you think there's a connection?
Kofi
When I went home, I tried to reproduce the distortion with the musical passage that was causing the distortion before, but the distortion was almost entirely unnoticeable. I was pretty puzzled by this.
By coincidence, I had also received vinyl record / stylus cleaning solutions and brushes in the mail yesterday (thanks, Garage-A-Records!), so I cleaned the records I was playing using the Discwasher brush and solution and I also cleaned the stylus using the Discwasher brush and stylus solution (is there really a difference between the two cleaning solutions?).
The difference was pretty remarkable-- not night and day, but a real improvement in the sound and a loss of a lot of the crackles and pops and more of the music. I also noticed that my speaker ground was barely touching the binding post, so I reconnected that as well.
I played music at full blast last night and not a hint of distortion from the right channel tweeter.
I can't imagine that the type of distortion I was hearing confined to one channel was due to a dirty stylus or record, but I guess its possible. I think its more likely that the speaker ground may have been affecting the highs, but even that seems unlikely since the groud is usually an "on-off" situation.
Anyway, I fixed the obvious screw up (ground) and I did some cleaning and now everything sounds fine except for my left channel midrange, which will arrive today from Parts Express. Once I install the working (hopefully) midrange I should be in business.
By the way, I have not cleaned my records in a long, long time. OK, I have never cleaned my records. This was due in large part to the fact that I have never had even a decent amplifier before (and also due to immeasurable laziness). However, I spent some time cleaning my favorite records last night and you know what? They sound better! Amazing!
Another theory I have is that maybe there was some static due to dust in the grooves that caused the distortion on the playback. My fear, however, is that I am dealing with the dreaded intermittent problem.
Any thoughts on why this cleared up? Also, my acne has really cleared up as well. Do you think there's a connection?
Kofi
Nice when solutions appear out of the blue.
As the distortion was pretty much confined to one channel it seems it was the loudspeaker ground. A loose conection would gladly react to structural wibration hence the unconstant behaviour. The cleaning of stylys and records was sort of a bonus then but also obviously was worthwile
As the distortion was pretty much confined to one channel it seems it was the loudspeaker ground. A loose conection would gladly react to structural wibration hence the unconstant behaviour. The cleaning of stylys and records was sort of a bonus then but also obviously was worthwile
Would that be the original walnut box with a retractable plastic "handle" with enlarging mirror on one side and circular camel hair brush on the other?
Still got mine- a gift from Ed Lief (longtime agent for AR, Pickering and Discwasher in Sweden) mid 70´s. He gave me a lecture on the excelence of camel hair for this purpose, mind You- not any camel hair, finest breed, think diet also played a part, only brand dates. He might have been pulling my leg but it was a good story and the brush is just fine, (This was just before Ken Kessler started the matchbox trick).
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