Dead Speaker - repair possible?
Discussion
You don't describe the unit or fault very well - is it active or passive? Silent or distorted?
If it's passive it's likely to be just something like a broken wire or connector which can be fixed easily by you with a soldering iron. Unless it's a duff speaker coil which will show up as zero or infinite resistance on the connectors on the back of the cone itself.
If it's passive it's likely to be just something like a broken wire or connector which can be fixed easily by you with a soldering iron. Unless it's a duff speaker coil which will show up as zero or infinite resistance on the connectors on the back of the cone itself.
Ray Singh said:
I once was given a pair of B&W DM110s of which one was not working.
Took the driver out and had a look and the small connection from the coil to the speaker had broken.
Ten minutes with a soldering iorn and job jobbed.
Dont have them any more though.....
I'm expecting it will be something simple like that. Shorted or broken coils are very unlikely in comparison.Took the driver out and had a look and the small connection from the coil to the speaker had broken.
Ten minutes with a soldering iorn and job jobbed.
Dont have them any more though.....
An easy way to test:
Disconnect the speaker form the amp.
Get an 'AA' battery (any 1.5v battery will do!) - and connect two wires to the speaker, and briefly touch these wires to the battery.
You should hear a scratchy type of sound as the wires make contact.
If you get nothing - then the speaker (or something within the cabinet) is open circuit.
If you have a multimeter, and know how to use it - you can check the speaker on the ohms range as well - you should get something between 4 to 8 ohms.
The above tests are not conclusive - if the speaker is blown* it could measure close to ok, and even pass the battery test - but could sound distorted.
Disconnect the speaker form the amp.
Get an 'AA' battery (any 1.5v battery will do!) - and connect two wires to the speaker, and briefly touch these wires to the battery.
You should hear a scratchy type of sound as the wires make contact.
If you get nothing - then the speaker (or something within the cabinet) is open circuit.
If you have a multimeter, and know how to use it - you can check the speaker on the ohms range as well - you should get something between 4 to 8 ohms.
The above tests are not conclusive - if the speaker is blown* it could measure close to ok, and even pass the battery test - but could sound distorted.
- in speaker terms 'blown' has many definitions. It can be distorting, short circuit, open circuit or there could even be cone damage.
Interesting.
I opened up the speaker again and tried touching the wires from the amp to what I believe to be the driver and it worked (similar to the red part on the speaker picture below). Which would lead me to believe that it is a cable/wire problem. However, none seem loose and I can't access the very back of the casing where the wires end and it looks like a circuit board.

Are these normally removable?
I opened up the speaker again and tried touching the wires from the amp to what I believe to be the driver and it worked (similar to the red part on the speaker picture below). Which would lead me to believe that it is a cable/wire problem. However, none seem loose and I can't access the very back of the casing where the wires end and it looks like a circuit board.
Are these normally removable?
Sounds like it could be a dry joint then.
It's not unknown for the crossover inductors to work loose with vibration and go dry joint.
It could even be the soldering on the terminals themselves (where they terminate to the crossover PC board).
I also found a thread on an AV forum where a contributor said that the wires in his had come loose.
It's not unknown for the crossover inductors to work loose with vibration and go dry joint.
It could even be the soldering on the terminals themselves (where they terminate to the crossover PC board).
I also found a thread on an AV forum where a contributor said that the wires in his had come loose.
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