I have 3 questions if someone could help me out please!
1. I have driven some 5" speakers full range, without subs, at loud volumes. The Za5, to be exact. Not knowing what it would do, and still not sure if it has done anything. Is there a method/way to confirm if all the drivers (ZA5 Woofers) are working as they are supposed to be working? I don't hear anything wrong in the sound, but I just wonder if there is a test to do? I have UMIK-1 if it matters.
2. I had some families over, one of the kids (dont even know who), decided to dent both the tweeters (they are metal - titanium tweeters by Vifa). So obviously they'd need replacement aswell, am I right to assume that? I have pulled the dents out using tape, but they are not perfect and still have some small dents here and there.
3. Same as question 1, is there a test or a way to check if my crossover parts are all working fine? I got them assembled from madisound, so I am not saying they are not correctly connected, I am just asking is there a way to check if each component is working as it should be?
1. I have driven some 5" speakers full range, without subs, at loud volumes. The Za5, to be exact. Not knowing what it would do, and still not sure if it has done anything. Is there a method/way to confirm if all the drivers (ZA5 Woofers) are working as they are supposed to be working? I don't hear anything wrong in the sound, but I just wonder if there is a test to do? I have UMIK-1 if it matters.
2. I had some families over, one of the kids (dont even know who), decided to dent both the tweeters (they are metal - titanium tweeters by Vifa). So obviously they'd need replacement aswell, am I right to assume that? I have pulled the dents out using tape, but they are not perfect and still have some small dents here and there.
3. Same as question 1, is there a test or a way to check if my crossover parts are all working fine? I got them assembled from madisound, so I am not saying they are not correctly connected, I am just asking is there a way to check if each component is working as it should be?
1. The obvious and simplest way to test if a speaker is working correctly is to listen to it. By your own admission it would appear the speakers are alright!
2. You have done the right thing by pulling the dents out. You are unlikely to hear any difference in the treble reproduction.
3. Same as in answer 1, the simplest way to test a crossover is to attach speakers and play some music. Newly acquired crossover components are extremely unlikely to be faulty unless a gross overload has occurred, but this would also show up on listening.
I think you may be worrying needlessly. I would simply be upset about the visual damage to the tweeters which always act as magnets to childrens' fingers!
2. You have done the right thing by pulling the dents out. You are unlikely to hear any difference in the treble reproduction.
3. Same as in answer 1, the simplest way to test a crossover is to attach speakers and play some music. Newly acquired crossover components are extremely unlikely to be faulty unless a gross overload has occurred, but this would also show up on listening.
I think you may be worrying needlessly. I would simply be upset about the visual damage to the tweeters which always act as magnets to childrens' fingers!
Thankyou for you response!
My listening is what worries me! I am a total noob as of right now, being new to the hobby. I dont trust my ears! That is the sole reason I ask, if there is a way to confirm all of this?
Glad to know my tweeters won't need replacement other than for cosmetic reasons!
Crossover resistors and inductors are likely to show damage connected with overheating. This should be obvious in their colour and smell. Electrolytic capacitors may show swelling around their vents. Woofer voice coils may rub/scrape when you (carefully) push the cone. The voice coil resistance might measure low with a meter.
Normally though, not much to go wrong.
Normally though, not much to go wrong.
The more fortunate participants in this hobby find inner contentment through concentrating on the music.
The less fortunate ones spend their time concentrating on the potential failings of their equipment!
Push the cone down very gently and evenly using two fingers, one on either side of the dustcap at the centre of the cone.
Using just one finger may, as AllenB says, push the cone off-centre and cause scraping to be heard when, in fact, the speaker is OK.
Another way to test would be to feed a continuous 50Hz tone into the speaker and listen for any scraping/buzzing noise.
Using just one finger may, as AllenB says, push the cone off-centre and cause scraping to be heard when, in fact, the speaker is OK.
Another way to test would be to feed a continuous 50Hz tone into the speaker and listen for any scraping/buzzing noise.
Both of you are absolutely correct!
When I pushed from the center of BOTH sides of the dust cap, it seemed to not make any such noise.
I was doing it with one hand only before.
Good tip!!!
Thankyou guys!
Lastly, I just want to know, why is the distortion rising after about 5k in both my distortion graphs?
When I pushed from the center of BOTH sides of the dust cap, it seemed to not make any such noise.
I was doing it with one hand only before.
Good tip!!!
Thankyou guys!
Lastly, I just want to know, why is the distortion rising after about 5k in both my distortion graphs?
To elicit an answer to that question may require you to supply information about your tweeter, crossover, crossover frequency & measuring equipment.
P.S. Do your speakers sound distorted above 5kHz?
The plots are fabulous. Leave the thread quick before you get some harebrained bad ideas.*
(Results at your chair may be different and that's what really matters. But if that is where you are starting from (near field, on-axis), you are way ahead of many of us.)
B.
* we have 14 grand-children and I would never be so daft as to leave a titanium cone exposed to the little monsters' fingers (OK, I did have a high-voltage direct-drive ESL around the house for a long time, but in that case, there would be no naughty child left to bawl out)
(Results at your chair may be different and that's what really matters. But if that is where you are starting from (near field, on-axis), you are way ahead of many of us.)
B.
* we have 14 grand-children and I would never be so daft as to leave a titanium cone exposed to the little monsters' fingers (OK, I did have a high-voltage direct-drive ESL around the house for a long time, but in that case, there would be no naughty child left to bawl out)
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Even if true and not an artifact of something or other or the mic or the dent indirectly, I tend to be casual about 15kHz and supersonic distortion products around 1%, as the plot shows.
Ask your dog if it can hear the difference.
B.
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That level is well above 1% and we don't even know if his plot is SPL accurate or what the measurement conditions were (unless I missed it). In the first of the two speakers distortion spikes to about 40% at 6 kHz.
If it doesn't bother you, then fine, but it is 99.99% unlikely since both don't show up at the same level and the profile and frequency anomalies look different. I would not personally be happy/comfortable with that and those tweeters aren't really that expensive so why not replace them.
Where did that "40%" figure come from?
C'mon now, in the zone that seems to have increased distortion, the results are mostly below 1% and are supersonic, eh. Except that if your piccolo player should have a harmonic sound falling in a tiny region around 7kHz, your dog might wonder who made that piccolo. But nobody else would notice or care.
If you are so picky about purity, you'll have to explain why you aren't using ESL speakers* and insisting everybody else do the same.
B.
* ahem, ahem
The results aren't supersonic. First of all, supersonic is related to speed, not sound.
Second, they aren't even ultrasonic. They have to be made up of of either second or third order distortion at that frequency otherwise you cannot capture them because distortion measuring programs don't measure distortion levels for products that would put the fundamental above 20 kHz. If it is second order (most likely) then it would be at 12 kHz for the biggest peak, which even for older people who have lost a lot of hearing, should still be audible.
Third, you do realize that 40 db down is 1% THD right? See attached picture. I was off slightly because I was eyeballing and guessing on what the total peak THD was there. It is actually 30%, not 40% at the peak.
Lastly, I don't see what ESL speakers have to do with anything here or what you are trying to infer. Why do you think they would have better "purity"? Have you ever actually seen a measurement of one?
Thankyou so much guys. I will be replacing my dented tweeters. It's now obvious to me they need to be replaced. I can even hear the difference abit now. Specially at higher volumes. And sadly, I was switching my tweeter from the center to my tower for audible difference, after being done when I was putting it back into the center, my screwdriver slipped and dented my center tweeter aswell LOL. So now I need 3 replacements.
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