Home Cinema System - Broken Speakers Dilemma!!

[miln0039]

Hi all,

I recently purchased an Onkyo HTS3405 home cinema pack (AV receiver & speaker package) ...which I bought around 10 days ago and have been very impressed with in my new home. This weekend past I had a housewarming party which got a bit carried away and some drunken fool turned up the amp (which was amplifying a stereo signal from an iPod) to a silly level. As such, front left and front right speakers now crackle and rattle...particular noticeable on surround sound signals for voice (e.g. commentary on Sky Sports HD). This is annoying. I moved the rear left and rear right surround speakers to the front to see if they worked...and they did..so I know it's the individual speakers which are on their way out.

I feel too guilty to make a warranty claim as I know it's user inflicted, so I now have three option:

1) Try and find suitable components to fix the inside of the front left and front right speakers.

2) Replace front left and right speakers with some better ones as I've heard the Onkyo ones aren't amazing. I know the current speakers are 120W 6 Ohms rated. If I took this option and replaced them...what speakers would be good and would work with the AV receiver? Any recommendations without spending a fortune? I'd like to keep costs below £100 as I have just shelled out for a 46" telly and the surround sound!!

3) Replace the whole speaker package (sub plus 5 speakers) with something better from eBay and keep the Onkyo AV receiver as it is.

I'm tempted by option two...but I am unsure as to what would be the best solution so if somebody could make some recommendations which will be simple to just plug into the system (and maybe sound better... ) that would be most appreciated.

Thanks very much for reading and all suggestions are welcome

Cheers,
Alex

[jas xjr]

Many many years ago somebody blew the tweeters on my b&o speakers. It was an easy job to optain replacements . Cost was £40.
Obviously you would need to assess which component is faulty.

[mr_fibuli]

I'd take it straight back. If it is sold as a package then it's reasonable to expect that the speakers should be designed to handle the power from the amp.

[swiftpete]

I'd take it back for the reason stated above. The package is supposed to work together. Some boffin should've limited the output on the amp to minimise the chance of this happening.

[miln0039]

Thanks guys, I have disconnected the offending speakers and will take them down to Richer Sounds this evening to see what they can do about them.

In the mean time I have improvised with some Eltax speakers I'd forgotten I had brought with me to the new house. They're a lot bigger and floor standing rather than bookshelf but they've really beefed up the sound so I'm a lot happier than I was to begin with! Will still try and get the other two sorted out though as it would be handy to have replacements if the rears ever went wrong.

[HellDiver]

Don't tell them someone blew them up, just say you only got round to setting it up and they don't sound right.

[900T-R]

mr_fibuli said:

I'd take it straight back. If it is sold as a package then it's reasonable to expect that the speakers should be designed to handle the power from the amp.

Um, a clipping amplifier will destroy any speaker. The volume pot on an amplifier is not a throttle pedal in that when it's down to the metal, you've had what you've got (but no more).

What comes out of an amplifier is whatever the signal on the input is, but, er, amplified. The volume knob is there so you can 'scale' whatever input signal is there to the desired volume level, within the power output capability of the amplifier.
Most music programme material will overload the power amplifier section when not attenuated (volume pot at '10' or -0 dB); if that happens the 'overshoot' of the signal that is beyond the undistorted power output capability will be 'clipped' - which is the sort of distortion that can destroy tweeters in a split second, and midrange speakers within seconds.

Onkyo can't control how loud the input signal is (of course, they could make the input sensitivity so low that even the loudest possible input signal could be played through the power amplifier at max volume, but that would mean a lower signal-to-noise ratio and more distortion on 'normal' programme maretial, plus you might not be able to play a 'low' level recording loud enough) so they are not responsible if someone turns the volume up too high.

[Council Baby]

If it's Richer Sounds, they are brilliant with replacement, however you need to take the whole system back and they'll swap it all over usually.

[miln0039]

900T-R said:

Lots of stuff which I feared (but think I knew!) was the case...!!

Bugger. Oh well, at least I have a tenable solution in place at the moment which has actually improved the sound quality. I'm assuming the Onkyo one box system for which I paid £270 is more about the receiver than it is the speakers? (i.e. are they a bit st?)

@CouncilBaby...really..the whole system? That's a LOT of effort when it's all wired in very neatly

[Council Baby]

Yes, unfortunately, they usually straight swap if it's recently purchased. They won't take speakers out of boxes etc and just swap those.