Hello all
I recently acquired some SL UIPX speakers. They sounded great for about an hour and then I noticed some distortion and ugly noises that wouldn’t go away. I switched power supplies and it stayed with the panel. So definitely a panel issue. It only distorts at certain midrange frequencies.
I removed the panel and then the speaker cloth and got a good look. Thankfully I don’t see a ripped membrane but I do see a lot of wrinkling in the Mylar but only from the back. I attached a photo from the back.
The weird thing is it seems to have two membranes. If you look at the layers i think they go like this starting from the front
1) Major vertical and horizontal structural pieces in around a 4” by 8” grid.
2) Finer grid of squares approx. 1” square
3)Wires running vertically that appear to be attached the the finer grid
4) Mylar with a black coating on
5) Clear Mylar
6) Wires running vertically that appear to be attached the the finer grid
7) Finer grid squares approx. 1” square
8) Major vertical and horizontal structural pieces
My questions are:
1) Is the above sequence correct? Are there two Mylar layers? It looks like two but could also be one
2) The front Mylar with the coating seems to be intact and wrinkle free. The back Mylar that is clear is wrinkled but I don’t see any rips at this point. Does it make sense to heat gun from the back to remove wrinkles and is this likely the cause of the issue?
3) While not necessarily safe, will it damage the speakers to run without speaker cloth for testing purposes?
Thanks
I recently acquired some SL UIPX speakers. They sounded great for about an hour and then I noticed some distortion and ugly noises that wouldn’t go away. I switched power supplies and it stayed with the panel. So definitely a panel issue. It only distorts at certain midrange frequencies.
I removed the panel and then the speaker cloth and got a good look. Thankfully I don’t see a ripped membrane but I do see a lot of wrinkling in the Mylar but only from the back. I attached a photo from the back.
The weird thing is it seems to have two membranes. If you look at the layers i think they go like this starting from the front
1) Major vertical and horizontal structural pieces in around a 4” by 8” grid.
2) Finer grid of squares approx. 1” square
3)Wires running vertically that appear to be attached the the finer grid
4) Mylar with a black coating on
5) Clear Mylar
6) Wires running vertically that appear to be attached the the finer grid
7) Finer grid squares approx. 1” square
8) Major vertical and horizontal structural pieces
My questions are:
1) Is the above sequence correct? Are there two Mylar layers? It looks like two but could also be one
2) The front Mylar with the coating seems to be intact and wrinkle free. The back Mylar that is clear is wrinkled but I don’t see any rips at this point. Does it make sense to heat gun from the back to remove wrinkles and is this likely the cause of the issue?
3) While not necessarily safe, will it damage the speakers to run without speaker cloth for testing purposes?
Thanks
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I recall at least one SoundLab model that did use double diaphragms to allow for deeper bass extension, but I think that was just their short lived subwoofer model. Given how expensive these are to buy and repair, goofing up can be a mistake not worth risking. I'd advise looking for more specialized knowledge at the SoundLab Owner's Group (https://www.soundlabowners.com/ ) and/or preferably writing SL themselves for advice. They were pretty good about it when I needed help for an old pair of A-2s years ago.