One of my Tweeters has "Gone Dark".

[Cafad]

One of the tweeters in a pair of floor standing speakers that I have (that were in use until I figured out why one sometimes, but not always, sounded louder than the other) seems to have gone quiet.  And I would like to ask some advice from those who know more than I about what I can do about it.

 

I've managed to separate the driver surround from the box (no mean feat, it was very well sealed to the front of the speaker) and it is soldered direct to the wires behind, which in turn are soldered to the little crossover board that sits behind it.  The wires that lead up from the binding posts at the back are also soldered to the binding posts.  So no easily removed push on connectors, that would be too easy.

 

I'm thinking I have to unsolder the tweeter and the crossover before I can figure out what the problem is but I'd like to know if there are any other options I can try.  

 

And if there aren't, (and I suspect there aren't, but I really hope there is) then what is my next step?  

 

Do I have to unsolder and then ship the tweeter and/or the crossover back to the manufacturer?  I have a multimeter and the will to use it, but I've never tried to troubleshoot a failed driver before so I'm at a bit of a loss.

 

I would welcome any advice on how to proceed.

 

[muon*]

Can I ask what speakers they are?

 

Once yuo have the tweeter disconnect you can measure it's resistance, the resistance will be a bit lower than the impedance, or if you have an LCR meter you can measure It's impedance. Then you will know if the tweeter is shot, if not it might be a failed/failing solder join on the crossover of a bad tweeter cap.

[Cafad]

They're Wilson Benesch A.C.T. floorstanders.  The Geometry series model.

 

I figured I'd have to disconnect the tweeter, was just hoping there might be an easier way, thanks Muon.

[Pegasus]

I suggest you have a phone chat with Nigel at Speakerbug.

He replaced the blown tweeters in Terry's (now Sue's) Vienna Acoustics floor-standers.

He can also replace any damaged crossover components.

Edited July 8, 2024 by Pegasus
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[muon*]

Second the above, Nigel would be good.

[Full Range]

I third Nigel is the go to man for this issue 

[Cafad]

I was thinking about contacting Nigel, with so many suggestions backing that thought up I guess I'd better go ahead and do it.  I'll call him tomorrow.  Thanks everybody.

[VanArn]

The Australian distributor is Nirvana Sound just in case that you need a replacement tweeter.           www.nirvanasound.com                            

 To test where the problem lies (if a continuity test indicates that the tweeter's DC resistance is OK), swap the tweeters from one enclosure to the other. If the suspect tweeter now works properly, the fault could be with wiring, the crossover network or a protection devise such as a fuse.

[Cafad]

I had a talk to Nigel from Speakerbug and, under his advisement, I de-soldered the tweeter and tested it via multimeter and AA battery.  It seems to be an open circuit which most likely means the voice coil is broken.  Fortunately spare voice coils for Scanspeak tweeters are available so I've ordered one.

 

And now I wait for it to arrive.

[georgehifi]

On 08/07/2024 at 7:05 PM, Cafad said:

They're Wilson Benesch A.C.T. floorstanders.  The Geometry series model.

 

4 hours ago, Cafad said:

Fortunately spare voice coils for Scanspeak tweeters are available so I've ordered one.

 

Make sure there's no "ferrofluid" on the old ones voice coil, if so you'll have to top up the same amount that's on it back into the magnetic gap, and use the exact same fluid that Scan used originally.

 

Cheers George

 

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2024 by georgehifi

[Cafad]

And now I'm looking up ferrofluid.  This is why people take speakers to others to repair isn't it?

[PKay]

5 minutes ago, Cafad said:

And now I'm looking up ferrofluid.  This is why people take speakers to others to repair isn't it?

It’s not too late. 

[Cafad]

1 minute ago, PKay said:

It’s not too late. 

You make an excellent point.  

 

But since I started this exercise I'll see how far I can get by myself.  I can always wimp out  make the carefully considered decision to hand the problem to someone else at a later date.

[georgehifi]

2 hours ago, Cafad said:

And now I'm looking up ferrofluid.  This is why people take speakers to others to repair isn't it?

If you trust them, some couldn't give a ****.

 

But you can always trust in your self.

 

Cheers George

[Cafad]

9 minutes ago, georgehifi said:

If you trust them, some couldn't give a ****.

 

But you can always trust in your self.

 

Cheers George

True.  But having a back up plan is always a good thing, even if only for peace of mind while making the attempt yourself.

[Cafad]

OK, I was a bit hesitant to do the job myself so I ended up taking the tweeter to Nigel from Speakerbug.  The job took him 10 minutes (and half of that was probably due to me distracting him since I was talking to him through the entire procedure), add in another 15 to solder in the tweeter and put it back in to the enclosure.  Then a quick function test, being performed concurrently with my typing this post, and we are all good.

 

Now I can put up a classifieds add.