Woofer buzzing on N.E.A.R 50 me

[Childof70s]

Hello all,

I am new to the community and thought I'd run a question past the experts.

I have an old set of N.E.A.R 50 me floor standing speakers, which I love.

However, to my dismay, I recently experienced an annoying buzzing coming from the woofer of one of the speakers. After much troubleshooting, I concluded that the source of the problem was the driver itself (as opposed to anything associated with the amp channel or speaker crossover circuitry).

Furthermore, I have discovered that I can rectify the problem (at least temporarily) by manually exercising the cone a bit (i.e. physically pushing the cone in a quarter in or so a few times).

It's as if the old gal needs a bit of stretching before she's ready to produce!

Has anyone ever experienced anything similar? Am I headed for eventual total failure or will my remedy keep her happy for the foreseeable future?

 

[jinjuku]

Sounds like you have a voice coil coming loose. I am not sure if there is much you can do to resuscitate the driver(s) in question. Others here may know more.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello all,

I am new to the community and thought I'd run a question past the experts.

I have an old set of N.E.A.R 50 me floor standing speakers, which I love.

However, to my dismay, I recently experienced an annoying buzzing coming from the woofer of one of the speakers. After much troubleshooting, I concluded that the source of the problem was the driver itself (as opposed to anything associated with the amp channel or speaker crossover circuitry).

Furthermore, I have discovered that I can rectify the problem (at least temporarily) by manually exercising the cone a bit (i.e. physically pushing the cone in a quarter in or so a few times).

It's as if the old gal needs a bit of stretching before she's ready to produce!

Has anyone ever experienced anything similar? Am I headed for eventual total failure or will my remedy keep her happy for the foreseeable future?

Your speaker has suspension sag. When you push on the cone you temporarily recenter the voice coil.

The speaker driver needs reconing. I have never heard of that speaker, and have no idea if parts are available. I would get ready to buy a new set of speakers.

 

[colin.p]

Sounds like a driver issue all right. I found an old review on a similar problem http://www.audioreview.com/cat/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/near/50me/PRD_120232_1594crx.aspx

Maybe someone could fix them for you.

Colin

 

[TLS Guy]

Sounds like a driver issue all right. I found an old review on a similar problem http://www.audioreview.com/cat/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/near/50me/PRD_120232_1594crx.aspx

Maybe someone could fix them for you.

Colin

It seems the drivers are metal. Metal drivers from that era and before, were notorious for bonding failures.

Since there was a company buy out and the end of speaker manufacture so long ago, I can bet there will be no parts and repair will not be possible.

Since these problems seem prevalent in these drivers I would not put money into these speakers.

 

[Childof70s]

thanks all

Thank you all for the responses.

It would appear that I might be SOL in terms of a long-term fix, although I do have a contact from one of the old guard at N.E.A.R that is now at another company so I might exploit that to see if any old drivers are available.

In the meantime, I'll continue with my cone exercise routine.

 

[6L6X4]

One other possibility is that one of the leads from the voice coil is failing. It might be possible to solder it depending upon where it has failed.

You'll have to take the driver out and VERY gently wiggle the leads to see if the leads are making an intermittent connection. If they are, someone with excellent soldering skills may be able to flow solder into the failure point.

 

[TLS Guy]

One other possibility is that one of the leads from the voice coil is failing. It might be possible to solder it depending upon where it has failed.

You'll have to take the driver out and VERY gently wiggle the leads to see if the leads are making an intermittent connection. If they are, someone with excellent soldering skills may be able to flow solder into the failure point.

I doubt that. These drivers we have found are known for bonding separation issues. Also they have a strange design with no rear spider. This makes them prone to VC centering issues.

These drivers are German. Ted Jordan at that date was a consultant in design, to some German manufacturers. Ted has always designed metal cone speakers. He has also designed speakers with no rear suspension. I'm seeing Ted's hand here. Unfortunately he has never had the resources, since leaving Goodmans fifty years ago to really make his designs reliable.

I personally helped Leslie Watts get the JW module, Ted's first metal cone design, to an acceptable reliability standard.

 

[6L6X4]

Lead failure is worth checking into because it may be possible to fix.

 

[sparky77]

Seems more likely that the voice coil has been overheated and is starting to unravel, exercising the cone just kinda pushes the strands back into place while they're cooled down. Once they warm up, they expand and start rubbing again. Re-coning might still be a possibility if you think the speakers are worth it.

 

[Childof70s]

This probably makes no sense whatsoever, but I think I'm going to experiment a bit with the orientation of the driver to see if that makes a difference. In other words, I'll rotate it with respect to its current orientation to see if the change in gravity vector has any effect on this problem.

What do I have to lose?

 

[TLS Guy]

This probably makes no sense whatsoever, but I think I'm going to experiment a bit with the orientation of the driver to see if that makes a difference. In other words, I'll rotate it with respect to its current orientation to see if the change in gravity vector has any effect on this problem.

What do I have to lose?

It does make sense and it is the only thing that might get you by for a while. This problem is so prevalent with those speakers it seems, I would not put money in them, as you might have the same problem next week.

If this fix does not work it will be time to speaker shop.

 

[Eugene65]

i just blew a woofer in my 50meII today. Any luck tracking down a replacement for yours? Do you think the 8 inch driver in the NEAR A8 will work? I contacted bogen to see how much they want for the driver. regards,
Eugene