Tweeter not functioning...again

[caper26]

This happened to me once before...I have Energy Take FPS, and after some fairly heavy music playing, around -16 dB on my yamaha rx-v565 for about an hour or so, I turn it down for about an hour to quiet levels, then go to watch a movie and as I am standing up, I notice the lack of high freqs on th e left side. The tweeter isn't working... The last time this happened, it magically started working again the next day. Does anyone know what is going on here? Last time I pulled the XO out and everything is secured including the tweeter connections.

 

[TLS Guy]

This happened to me once before...I have Energy Take FPS, and after some fairly heavy music playing, around -16 dB on my yamaha rx-v565 for about an hour or so, I turn it down for about an hour to quiet levels, then go to watch a movie and as I am standing up, I notice the lack of high freqs on th e left side. The tweeter isn't working... The last time this happened, it magically started working again the next day. Does anyone know what is going on here? Last time I pulled the XO out and everything is secured including the tweeter connections.

Check the resistance to the tweeter VC. I bet the VC is cooked from over driving.

 

[caper26]

I don't have much experience with speaker innards. What is the VC? I have a meter, and I have a LOT of soldering experience. What would be the points to use for the meter check? Thanks.

 

[TLS Guy]

I don't have much experience with speaker innards. What is the VC? I have a meter, and I have a LOT of soldering experience. What would be the points to use for the meter check? Thanks.

Disconnect the tweeter from the crossover and check the resistance across the terminals of the tweeter. That will give you the voice coil resistance of the tweeter, which should be a little less than its rated impedance.

 

[caper26]

ok cool. I think I am going to be buying another one anyway for $100, but definitely going to be repairing this one too, as a backup. I didn't think -16 was THAT overdriven, doesn't happen very often...those speakers are rated 200 W RMS as well, and the receiver is 90W RMS...the master control volume goes to +16, which is quite the ways from -16...
Ahhh, VC = voice coil...was trying to figure that out, and should have known that, but being a comp eng, I was trying to think of some sort of voltage controller, lmao !

 

[TLS Guy]

ok cool. I think I am going to be buying another one anyway for $100, but definitely going to be repairing this one too, as a backup. I didn't think -16 was THAT overdriven, doesn't happen very often...those speakers are rated 200 W RMS as well, and the receiver is 90W RMS...the master control volume goes to +16, which is quite the ways from -16...
Ahhh, VC = voice coil...was trying to figure that out, and should have known that, but being a comp eng, I was trying to think of some sort of voltage controller, lmao !

Make sure it is the tweeter before you order a new one. It could be a dry joint or the series cap or caps on the high pass filter in the crossover.

 

[caper26]

yeah, I might as well resolder all the joints if the VC checks out ok (8 ohm-ish?). The problem is this: They are becoming harder to find, and if anything should happen down the road, then I will have spare parts/replacement...He also has 2 TWRs for $109 ea...wish I knew how they sounded compared to the FPS...

 

[caper26]

hmmmm, I have the tweeter out, and it is reading 0.8 ohms that doesn't sound good. Also, a guy at energy said I could connect the speakers wires directly to tweeter AY LOW VOLUME and check to see if sound comes out...

WEIRD: I just went to show my wife what was going on, and is measured 3.5 ohms!! wtf ?!?

EDIT #2: Yep, hooked it to speaker wire and now it works again...

Option 1: Put it back in and hope it stays working
Option 2: Buy another tweeter
Option 3: Buy another speaker. 1 left in stock for $100 + ship
Option 4: Buy both: tweeter to replace this one, and backup speaker in case anything happens to any of my existing 3 FPS since stock is depleting....

 

[Seth=L]

1st: The Energy satellites aren't capable of handling 200 watts RMS. I have an amplifier capable of delivering that amount of power and it would smoke the tweeter and shred the woofer in those satellites in mere seconds.

2nd: Tweeters can not handle much more than 10 - 25 RMS watts safely on their own. The crossover can help to protect the tweeter from excersion, however intense RMS output of even 50 watts could cause serious electrical strain on the tweeter and eventually failure.

3rd: The Energy rep is correct. Connecting positive and negative leads to the tweeter at a low volume can help you to determine whether the tweeter is faulty. It could be the voice coil, bad solder joint, or an element of the crossover. If you determine the tweeter is working in both hot and cold conditions you should be about 80% sure the tweeter is fully functional and without fault. Swapping a tweeter from another speaker could help you to determine if the problem is crossover related.

 

[caper26]

I was getting intermittent readings on the tweeter. I noticed the little metal tabs that poke out of the back of the tweeter seemed a little loose so I bent them up, thats when I got a good reading off it, so I think it may be a loose connection inside the tweeter itself...

I find it weird they would post specs like that if it isn't even close...I thought 200 was a little (ok a lot) up there!! [Spec Sheet]

 

[caper26]

got tweeter and speaker in the mail. Once the other one acts up again, it is going in the garbage...

 

[Seth=L]

I was getting intermittent readings on the tweeter. I noticed the little metal tabs that poke out of the back of the tweeter seemed a little loose so I bent them up, thats when I got a good reading off it, so I think it may be a loose connection inside the tweeter itself...

I find it weird they would post specs like that if it isn't even close...I thought 200 was a little (ok a lot) up there!! [Spec Sheet]

A recommended amplifier range only tells the user what the manufacturer views as a possibility for amplification. I doubt many people that hook these up to a 10 watt amplifier are going to be satisfied either.