Question Fixing faulty woofer Wharfedale

[Belljul]

Hi. Hifi newbie here in need of help from someone skilled in internal speaker wiring/fix.

I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 540 (£30) which I am using to power a pair of wharfedale diamond 9.0 speakers.
One works fine, the other only the tweeter works. They look mint and the guy I bought them from "swore".he didn't notice this fault.
I tried the faulty speaker in the other wiring and still the same problem.
I took off the woofer and took some photos of the inside. Any ideas? Is the capacitor swollen? Perhaps the cross over damaged as I can hear the treble through the tweeter.
Any help/guidance much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi. Hifi newbie here in need of help from someone skilled in internal speaker wiring/fix.

I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 540 (£30) which I am using to power a pair of wharfedale diamond 9.0 speakers.
One works fine, the other only the tweeter works. They look mint and the guy I bought them from "swore".he didn't notice this fault.
I tried the faulty speaker in the other wiring and still the same problem.
I took off the woofer and took some photos of the inside. Any ideas? Is the capacitor swollen? Perhaps the cross over damaged as I can hear the treble through the tweeter.
Any help/guidance much appreciated.

Thanks!

To be honest it'll probably be cheaper to buy another set of Diamonds. If you replace one driver the other, no doubt, will be weakening, so there might be a audible difference between the two

It's like if your brakes on your car have worn on one side it's wise to change the other side.

The Diamonds are not in the first flush of youth.

 

[Belljul]

To be honest it'll probably be cheaper to buy another set of Diamonds. If you replace one driver the other, no doubt, will be weakening, so there might be a audible difference between the two

It's like if your brakes on your car have worn on one side it's wise to change the other side.

The Diamonds are not in the first flush of youth.

Thanks. I think you're right. I took it apart and can see that the tiny cable connecting to the back of the woofer had come loose and no amount of trying to stick it back in with a pair of tweezers worked... Urgh.
The first 2 photos are of the offending speaker showing the cable loose. The last photo is of the good speaker and strangely there is colour on the solder but not on the broken one. Wondering if this has been a fix it job gone wrong.
Such a shame to throw them out. Just as I was getting into hifi (better than my portable Bluetooth speaker!)

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks. I think you're right. I took it apart and can see that the tiny cable connecting to the back of the woofer had come loose and no amount of trying to stick it back in with a pair of tweezers worked... Urgh.
The first 2 photos are of the offending speaker showing the cable loose. The last photo is of the good speaker and strangely there is colour on the solder but not on the broken one. Wondering if this has been a fix it job gone wrong.
Such a shame to throw them out. Just as I was getting into hifi (better than my portable Bluetooth speaker!)

Totally understand what you are saying, but for me I wouldn't bother. If it was a 2k speaker I would say either them both sorted but for a £100 speaker new, it seems like a lot of faffing.

Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 (Black)

Shop for Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 Black Speaker Pair with Richer Sounds for a 6 Year Guarantee, expert advice and Lowest Prices Guaranteed

www.richersounds.com

 

[Belljul]

Thanks I think I agree. My mate.is a guitar technician so is going to have a try to fix them, more of a challenge than time well spent!!!

Made me test my spare Kef egg speakers. I have 4 set up A/B in a kitchen with a Chromecast audio streamer (were talking low fi here!) for wall to wall sound and a Cambridge audio azur 640a. Tried series and then parallel wiring but sound was awful.

Anyway. Popped the spare 5th Kef egg against the wharfedale in the front room and the trebles are way better (I love hearing the tst tst of the high hats) but obviously not matching the bass of the WD.

I'm going to get a sub anyway (I listen to a range of music from jazz to trance to 80/90s rock and music to read to).

So.... Do I keep the WD plus sub or go for 4 Kef quad wired A/B plus sub... Hmmmm... I can pick up 5.kef eggs for £50/60! Do I have to worry about what sub i pair that with?

Wife doesn't even know I've got another set up in the living room yet! (Took a while to get wife-approval of kitchen setup!)

Note I'm no hifi specialist. Just trying to get better than my Bluetooth speakers in the kitchen here... But I can see where this is leading in a few years time!

Thoughts?

(Now, how do I rip up the flooring to hide cable or drill through roof beams/cut chase.in wall plaster (think old coach house here) to wire it all up!! 🤣

 

[Fandango Andy]

My kitchen setup was easy. The kitchen is next to the living room. I drilled one hole through the wall and run speaker cable from the living room. As with a lot of Marantz amps it can run two sets of speakers. I actually have Diamond 9.0 on the kitchen.

Both my other systems have 20 to 25 year old speakers that are doing fine. Mission 701, owned from new, and Tannoy Mercury M1, purchased second hand about two years ago for £20.

 

[Belljul]

Yeh. Sounds good. Nothing better than slightly older hifi kit at rock bottom prices. Makes me not fear dipping my toe in the water as no real risk.

My kitchen is fairly large so amp drives both pairs of kef using A/B wiring (had to hide cables).

The living room set up is at other end of house hence second amp. Thinking about another A/B set up although tweaked the speakers settings of surround sound av amp and imho sounds better than simple stereo. Had to turn up dB in both L&R WD and turn down centre speaker Kef to balance it but sounds great... Just need rear speakers.to get that full sound effect...🤣👍🏻.

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks I think I agree. My mate.is a guitar technician so is going to have a try to fix them, more of a challenge than time well spent!!!

Made me test my spare Kef egg speakers. I have 4 set up A/B in a kitchen with a Chromecast audio streamer (were talking low fi here!) for wall to wall sound and a Cambridge audio azur 640a. Tried series and then parallel wiring but sound was awful.

Anyway. Popped the spare 5th Kef egg against the wharfedale in the front room and the trebles are way better (I love hearing the tst tst of the high hats) but obviously not matching the bass of the WD.

I'm going to get a sub anyway (I listen to a range of music from jazz to trance to 80/90s rock and music to read to).

So.... Do I keep the WD plus sub or go for 4 Kef quad wired A/B plus sub... Hmmmm... I can pick up 5.kef eggs for £50/60! Do I have to worry about what sub i pair that with?

Wife doesn't even know I've got another set up in the living room yet! (Took a while to get wife-approval of kitchen setup!)

Note I'm no hifi specialist. Just trying to get better than my Bluetooth speakers in the kitchen here... But I can see where this is leading in a few years time!

Thoughts?

(Now, how do I rip up the flooring to hide cable or drill through roof beams/cut chase.in wall plaster (think old coach house here) to wire it all up!! 🤣

Go with whatever your ears tell you.

Be careful how those cables are positioned. I used to work for a company who sold fire extinguishers, we used to carry out 'Fire risk assessments' and positioning them near external heaters/radiators or cheap cable tidies will cause more issues than it solves. Cables, if kept on for long periods can generate heat. I only have mine strewn out on the floor. It looks untidy but it's safe.

 

[Gray]

My mate.is a guitar technician so is going to have a try to fix them, more of a challenge than time well spent!!!

A challenge indeed, but good for your mate 👍
There might just be enough to solder to on the back of the cone - without the need to get access on the front side (which would get much more involved).
I hope he fixes it - nothing to lose by trying.

(And I'd be surprised if the previous owner didn't know about that problem).

 

[Belljul]

Yeh I figured that too. Not pleased. Here is the offending cable loosely connected and then pulled free once I figured out it wasn't connected hence the woofer not working...

 

[Belljul]

Go with whatever your ears tell you.

Be careful how those cables are positioned. I used to work for a company who sold fire extinguishers, we used to carry out 'Fire risk assessments' and positioning them near external heaters/radiators or cheap cable tidies will cause more issues than it solves. Cables, if kept on for long periods can generate heat. I only have mine strewn out on the floor. It looks untidy but it's safe.

Indeed... Go with yoru ears.... my other mate who is a hifi aficionado (and too much money imho to spend on hifi.... Diavolet,.in wall subs, roof speakers etc!) slags me off for buying my Cambridge audio AV amp and only using 2 stereo channels.. I get it, spending money on an amp with the capability of doing so much more than 2 channels may seem like a waste of money, but that doesn't mean it is bad quality if I only use the 2 channels I'm using, right? And the amp only cost me £30 so I've not really wasted money imho.

Secretly I like the idea of having an amazing sounding hifi for less than £100!

 

[Al ears]

Yeh I figured that too. Not pleased. Here is the offending cable loosely connected and then pulled free once I figured out it wasn't connected hence the woofer not working...

Note that replacement drive units are probably available from the manufacturer as I replaced both woofers in my brother's Diamond 9.1 only last year....

 

[Fandango Andy]

Indeed... Go with yoru ears.... my other mate who is a hifi aficionado (and too much money imho to spend on hifi.... Diavolet,.in wall subs, roof speakers etc!) slags me off for buying my Cambridge audio AV amp and only using 2 stereo channels.. I get it, spending money on an amp with the capability of doing so much more than 2 channels may seem like a waste of money, but that doesn't mean it is bad quality if I only use the 2 channels I'm using, right? And the amp only cost me £30 so I've not really wasted money imho.

Secretly I like the idea of having an amazing sounding hifi for less than £100!

Your friend would have a point if you had purchased the amp from new. A two channel for the same money would almost certainly sound better. But for £30 you can't complain. If you like how it sounds, thats all that matters. I have an old Sony TA-F246E in my bedroom that I paid £35 for ten years ago, it sounds great!

 

[plastic penguin]

Indeed... Go with yoru ears.... my other mate who is a hifi aficionado (and too much money imho to spend on hifi.... Diavolet,.in wall subs, roof speakers etc!) slags me off for buying my Cambridge audio AV amp and only using 2 stereo channels.. I get it, spending money on an amp with the capability of doing so much more than 2 channels may seem like a waste of money, but that doesn't mean it is bad quality if I only use the 2 channels I'm using, right? And the amp only cost me £30 so I've not really wasted money imho.

Secretly I like the idea of having an amazing sounding hifi for less than £100!

Nothing wrong with Cambridge AV amps. As long as you are making the most from the multi-channels, if it's only used occasionally then look at a dedicated 2-Channel amp.

 

[Belljul]

Note that replacement drive units are probably available from the manufacturer as I replaced both woofers in my brother's Diamond 9.1 only last year....

Thanks. Good to know. Assuming they weren't free under extended warranty? 🤣

 

[Belljul]

Now my wife has asked to replace the cheap lg dvd/5.1 system for the TV. Didn't realise but there's no arc hdmi into the dvd (it is old and cheap) and she can't stand having to switch on the dvd/5.1 and switch to optical out to hear good cinema done from the tv.. so.... I get to shop for a new surround sound system for the TV. 😍

 

[Fandango Andy]

Now my wife has asked to replace the cheap lg dvd/5.1 system for the TV. Didn't realise but there's no arc hdmi into the dvd (it is old and cheap) and she can't stand having to switch on the dvd/5.1 and switch to optical out to hear good cinema done from the tv.. so.... I get to shop for a new surround sound system for the TV. 😍

HDMI arc is a revelation. I have all my sources going through my amp then HDMI arc to the TV. Turn on the source I want to use and the amp and TV come on together.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks. Good to know. Assuming they weren't free under extended warranty? 🤣

No, not free

 

[Belljul]

HDMI arc is a revelation. I have all my sources going through my amp then HDMI arc to the TV. Turn on the source I want to use and the amp and TV come on together.

So with the new arc enabled lg 5.1 I'm picking up for £80 this weekend, it has multiple hdmi in the back (as does the TV). Does it matter if I plug the Chromecast TV dongle into the TV or the back of the lg 5.1? So long as there's a hdmi connecting the TV arc to dvd arc I'm all good right?

 

[Fandango Andy]

So with the new arc enabled lg 5.1 I'm picking up for £80 this weekend, it has multiple hdmi in the back (as does the TV). Does it matter if I plug the Chromecast TV dongle into the TV or the back of the lg 5.1? So long as there's a hdmi connecting the TV arc to dvd arc I'm all good right?

Yes, you should be. Mine all go through the amp as I only have one arc on the TV. Plugging into the TV means I have to select the source on the receiver, which gets annoying.

 

[plastic penguin]

Now my wife has asked to replace the cheap lg dvd/5.1 system for the TV. Didn't realise but there's no arc hdmi into the dvd (it is old and cheap) and she can't stand having to switch on the dvd/5.1 and switch to optical out to hear good cinema done from the tv.. so.... I get to shop for a new surround sound system for the TV. 😍

My Panasonic Bluray has RCA connectivity which is wired directly to the 2-channel amp. The sound quality is fabulous.

Not many new players have Audio RCA.