Whats happened here ?

[J4CKO]

I have a modest home cinema setup, I rarely use it but decided to watch a file, it consists of an Onkyo 626 amp, Wharfedale cinema rears, the fronts I replaced with my ancient Tannoy 607's and the Wharfedale Sub is still in there.

I came to it today and it was really tinny, the sub was switched off, I turned it on and it sounded terrible, the bass drivers in the Tannoys will barely move if pushed.

My youngest has a penchant for rap music and has turned it pretty loud, we have been away a few days and I suspect it was getting cranked up, do you think he has killed all the speakers ?

Or is it the amp, am gutted as have had the Tannoys 20 odd years.

[chasingracecars]

I would first take the covers off the speakers and look for tears in the cones etc. check all the sound parameters on the amp too.

[J4CKO]

No tears, just wont move in or out, put the original fronts on and the amp is still working but the sub is barely producing any sound, rears seem ok.

My son is denying all knowledge, am asking the other two, speakers dont generally just die like that in threes ?

[ReaderScars]

If the bass drivers won't move then maybe the coils on the back of the cones have burned out - do they feel rough when you try to move them? Maybe they've melted inside the magnets or something due to excessive movement, heat etc. (ie, 48hr bassheadz party)

[ReaderScars]

Can you smell any burning anywhere in the amps or speaker enclosures etc?

Are there loads of fingerprints where the speakers have been handled, any marks etc (maybe they were taken out of the house for a mini rave!)

[J4CKO]

ReaderScars said:

If the bass drivers won't move then maybe the coils on the back of the cones have burned out - do they feel rough when you try to move them? Maybe they've melted inside the magnets or something due to excessive movement, heat etc. (ie, 48hr bassheadz party)

Yeah, the sub feels and sounds scratchy, the Tannoys bass driver is welded stuck, my middle son managed to kill one a while back, he borrowed them and tookt hem to a party (didnt ask me) and killed one, or someone did, I found a driver on Ebay for a tenner, fitted it and good to go, this time I will either need to bin them or find two more bass drivers.

Not sure how they would all get ruined in one go, youngest denies ever using it, this cant happen at normal, sensible listening volumes can it ?

[ReaderScars]

I can't see how coils would burn out under normal or non party volumes.

Maybe they've been connected to a more powerful amp than they're supposed to be and driven too hard for too long? Just a thought.

[anonymous-user]

My son plays mine as he worked out how to get Spotify from his phone. Told him I don't mind but if he breaks it he pays for it. Last week he denied destroying our microwave, apparently it just "stopped working". Not sure how I'd react if he took my stuff to a party!

Anyway, seems weird that the speakers and sub have stopped working. I'd suspect the amp so try the speakers with a different amp if you have one.

[J4CKO]

Speakers, Recommended amplifier power: 10-100W - 8 ohm nominal impedance

Amp Dynamic Power 240 W (3 Ω, Front)
210 W (4 Ω, Front)
120 W (8 Ω, Front

So, speakers were set on the amp to 8 ohms, suppose the amp output is potentially higher than the max rating, but never had an issue myself, my ears hurt before it gets that high.

[anonymous-user]

From what I've read, blown speakers will either sound scratchy/distorted because they cannot move freely as something has melted or they'll make no noise at all because the coil has blown. Is your sub passive or active? If it's the latter then it should have circuitry built in to protect it/switch it off if it overheats. Very unlikely though. If it's passive, I'd say again this points to the amp.

[J4CKO]

wormus said:

From what I've read, blown speakers will either sound scratchy/distorted because they cannot move freely as something has melted or they'll make no noise at all because the coil has blown. Is your sub passive or active? If it's the latter then it should have circuitry built in to protect it/switch it off if it overheats. Very unlikely though. If it's passive, I'd say again this points to the amp.

Sub is active, key thing is the cones dont move any more, had them since 1990 so used to how they behave, the cones used to move freely.

[ReaderScars]

I think you should issue an offspring-wide decree that unless the culprit steps forward there will be a blanket ban on wifi. I reckon you'll get to the bottom of the matter in about eleven seconds

[anonymous-user]

J4CKO said:

Sub is active, key thing is the cones dont move any more, had them since 1990 so used to how they behave, the cones used to move freely.

Gutted for you in that case. Looks like Father Christmas isn't coming to your house!

[telecat]

If you like the 600 series sound then my advice would be to move to the Dual Concentric version. The 609 is stand mounted but the 611's would be better are floor mounted and have a third driver. You may not need the sub woofer. Couple of pairs on ebay at the moment. Oh and the kids need to be told to buy their own HiFi!!!!!

[ReaderScars]

I think the kids need their own PA system for these parties they know nothing about

[anonymous-user]

Couple of weeks ago I picked up a pair of mid 90s Tannoy R2s in perfect condition for £100. Plenty of bargains out there.

[J4CKO]

telecat said:

If you like the 600 series sound then my advice would be to move to the Dual Concentric version. The 609 is stand mounted but the 611's would be better are floor mounted and have a third driver. You may not need the sub woofer. Couple of pairs on ebay at the moment. Oh and the kids need to be told to buy their own HiFi!!!!!

Yeah, I do, they have lived in many places and been replaced but have always gone back to them, there is a fairly cheap pair of 609s locally, might give those a ring, dont want to bin them, saved for ages to buy these, kind of sentimental and still sounded good.

The kids have destroyed stereo gear before, the eldest, when aged about ten set the amp to scare the crap out of the middle one when he turned the pc on, needless to say it damaged the amp, they then a few years later killed a Denon Surround Amp, was thinking we may be past that.

Kids always mess your stuff up !

[toohuge]

Sounds like the drivers have blown....

I used to work at Mission loudspeakers in their repair department - the number of blown speakers we received from parents was hilarious!

[hairyben]

A high powered amp alone wont kill speakers, in fact an underpowered one turned up beyond its ability can be more harmfull.

Speaker-killing sound levels wont go un-noticed, have you tried asking the neighbours if theyve been bothered much?

[J4CKO]

hairyben said:

A high powered amp alone wont kill speakers, in fact an underpowered one turned up beyond its ability can be more harmfull.

Speaker-killing sound levels wont go un-noticed, have you tried asking the neighbours if theyve been bothered much?

That is indeed my next avenue of investigation, youngest is still sticking to his story, eldest is implicating youngest but it is groundless as he wasnt there most of the weekend but has a theory that Teddy and Charlie were round, the white, posh, Private school boy cranking out some ghetto sounds in da hood, basically they listen to a looped beat with a man repeatedly shouting a racial slur, some anti police rhetoric, threats of voilence, some misogyny and a list of all his earthly goods ?


I digress, some Quad 12L2's on loan from a mate of mine whilst I source some driver units for the Tannoys, will probably wait it out and might just buy another pair anyway, cant bear to skip my old ones though.

Not my oldest bit of hi fi, have a seventies Sony amp that has lived in sheds, garages, lofts, living rooms etc, still keep on going no matter what, probably worth a thread for the oldest bits of hi fi actually !