Have I mildly blown my speakers?

[admin_exported]

Hi guys, Since yesterday Im pretty sure im getting sounds through my av40 monitors that werent there before...Im not sure If im paranoid or not though and its driving me crazy.

http://www.myspace.com/zuband

For example if you listen to the last song on this myspace player called OSTIA on that intro bass riff Im pretty sure I never used to get a light fuzzy fizzle noise during the long notes? Can someone please listen to it on their PC and tell me whether they are there or not?

..and if they arent is there anything I can do or is it possible somthing other than the speakers being slightly blown that could cause it??

cheers!

 

[plastic penguin]

DavidGander:

Hi guys, Since yesterday Im pretty sure im getting sounds through my av40 monitors that werent there before...Im not sure If im paranoid or not though and its driving me crazy.

http://www.myspace.com/zuband

For example if you listen to the last song on this myspace player called OSTIA on that intro bass riff Im pretty sure I never used to get a light fuzzy fizzle noise during the long notes? Can someone please listen to it on their PC and tell me whether they are there or not?

..and if they arent is there anything I can do or is it possible somthing other than the speakers being slightly blown that could cause it??

cheers!

Just listened to it on my headphones and I can't hear anything untoward - if you have of caused any damage you would either hear a little rattle or slight distortion.

Have you done anything that may of given you the impression of damage?

 

[up the music]

There seems to be something that could possibly be described as a 'light fuzzy fizzle' to the sound. It's not out of place though and I'm not sure it's what you mean. It's a sort of buzziness distortion.

Sorry if that's a bit inconclusive. Try to find something with a cleaner sound to start with and see if you can't figure it out.

Ususally it's pretty obvious if you've stressed a driver. As you describe it as a fizzle, I take it it's something higher in the frequency range.

Did this noise start after a loud session? Are both speakers equally affected? Is there something else rattling like stands or windows or furniture? Do you need to go loud to create this effect?

 

[Anonymous]

Well yesterday I listend to a sunn O))) cd which consists of a fair bit of prolonged feedback & distortion..which I possibly turned up maybe a bit too loud. Also I noticed that due to the weather yesterday they had got really hot as Id had them on all day in yersterdays temperatures..could this cause damage?

Im pretty sure the light fuzzing distortion isnt supposed to be there, is there anything I can try to be certain or rule anything else out?

 

[Anonymous]

Well smooth bass seems to be no problem..I cant hear the fizzle, but on the song above theres the very distorted bassline and then on my speakers a fizzle or fast crackling that is following the bass....Im pretty sure it wasnt there before, but as I say I cant hear it on say a clean well produced bass line....only on songs with frequencies similar to that of the first bassline in the song above.

 

[up the music]

Both temperature and over driving could cause issues. Usually something fairly obvious though.

Yesterday was hot. I think my amp thermalled. At least there was a click, the music stopped and the protection light were on. I turned the fans up full and all's well.

Read through the paperwork for your monitors to see whether there is any thermal shut down or limiting to prevent damage. If there is and it didn't kick in there's a good chance that overheating hasn't caused a problem.

 

[up the music]

Turn the monitors off. If you gently push the bass cone back can you feel any rubbing against the magnet/coil assembly? It should move in and spring out freely. Any rubbing that occurs is problematic.

 

[Anonymous]

hmm it mentions over temperature, on/off transient protection?

 

[Anonymous]

I cant touch the cones im afraid as theres mesh on both of them

 

[Anonymous]

sorry to keep adding but Ive had a listen and im pretty certain the extra fuzz noise is emitting from the tweeters rather than the bigger cones...I can hear the lows of the bass line through them and then the highs AND the annoying fuzziness through the tweeters.

 

[up the music]

I get the feeling you may have fried the tweeters or crossovers a little. They aren't designed for high volume with a 20W amp and 90dBW sensitivity. Further listening will tell but you sound like they're not behaving as they used to. The good news is at least they're relatively inexpensive.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your help.

I guess my next question is can anyone recommend some active monitors to replace them? Maybe something that isnt as sensitive (I didnt even have these particularly loud to fry them) and a higher wattage and would compliment my modest setup?

I bought the av40s because Id heard a lot of good things about them so I would really like a worthy replacement that couled possibly be a step up...I have a budget of 100 pounds and maybe slightly over?

thanks

 

[SteveR750]

Why don't you take them to a dealer and ask them to check them out, most would do that for free as as will take about 2 minutes. It might save you £100. Normaly a "blown" tweeter is silent, as usually the voice coils are melted due to excesive high frequency voltage from the distortion caused by an over-driven amp. Also, It would seem unlikely that you could damage a bass driver with a 20w amp.

 

[Anonymous]

well-I-never

turns out being a sunn fan is dangerous afterall...