Sub Just Died (I think) -- Please Help!

[JP99]

Hey all --

You guys were very helpful back a few years ago, giving me info that led to me buying a "The Speaker Company" subwoofer, just before they went out of business.

It's a T100-110 --- the glossy, piano looking sub they offered.

Anyway -- I noticed today that I was getting no boom from my sub. I checked connections, settings, etc... came up empty. Then I really cranked the volume on the sub itself, and the receiver's settings to max, and get a very mild output from it (I'm testing with the receiver's level calibration tone, so I have a steady output going to it).

I compared this to my 10+ year old Phillips HTiB sub that had been in my garage ever since getting this TSC sub. The Phillips is much stronger... so it seems the problem doesn't lie in the receiver, or the Digital Coax cable going to the sub.

I pulled the fuse in the sub, and that seems fine.

My only two theories are the amp is dead, and maybe that low output I'm getting is just un-powered signal direct from the reciever... or maybe the power cord is damaged. But I imagine if the power cord was damaged, I'd get no sound at all from it.

One last point of info -- My 1.5 year old boy is constantly climbing the sub and trying to get behind it (where the connections and power cable are)... so I wonder if he managed to damage an input somehow. Also --- the little bugger shut off the damn power-strip a few times, turning all the electronics off cold... so I wonder if that damaged the sub.

I'm unable to pinpoint the exact day/time the sub died, because I often leave the sub powered waaay down to avoid waking the kids.

Any help or opinions on what the trouble could be would be very welcome!

Thanks in advance!

 

[bikdav]

If you jiggle the input that you said might be damaged and get a loud hum or some other type of noise, chances are that you found the problem. Continue searching all possibilities that you can think of though.

 

[theJman]

You guys were very helpful back a few years ago, giving me info that led to me buying a "The Speaker Company" subwoofer, just before they went out of business.

Do I detect a note of sarcasm?

More than likely it's the amp itself, based upon your description. However, given your situation -- that your son may have damaged the connector -- try the suggestion from above about wiggling the cable to see if it makes any difference. If the sound goes on and off then the connector might indeed be broken. No change suggests it's the amp, which unfortunately is more than likely what you'll encounter.

 

[Nuance AH]

Did you bring the Phillips subwoofer inside from the Garage and hook it up to your receiver when you made the comparison? If so, that rules out the receive and any input/output voltage problems from it, no? If you haven't yet brought over the Phillips sub, do so and see if it works. If it does the problem isn't the cabling or the receiver but the subwoofer amp itself.

Edit: I see the Phillip's is a HTiB subwoofer, so I am hoping it has the normal inputs and outputs on it and doesn't connect with speaker wire or something like that.

 

[JP99]

Do I detect a note of sarcasm?

More than likely it's the amp itself, based upon your description. However, given your situation -- that your son may have damaged the connector -- try the suggestion from above about wiggling the cable to see if it makes any difference. If the sound goes on and off then the connector might indeed be broken. No change suggests it's the amp, which unfortunately is more than likely what you'll encounter.

No, no sarcasm. It was widely assumed and discussed here that TSC was going out of business. The sub has been very solid (for the price of $110, iirc).

I don't get any change in sound from wiggling the connection -- just some hum as I plug in/unplugg the digital RCA.

Did you bring the Phillips subwoofer inside from the Garage and hook it up to your receiver when you made the comparison? If so, that rules out the receive and any input/output voltage problems from it, no? If you haven't yet brought over the Phillips sub, do so and see if it works. If it does the problem isn't the cabling or the receiver but the subwoofer amp itself.

Edit: I see the Phillip's is a HTiB subwoofer, so I am hoping it has the normal inputs and outputs on it and doesn't connect with speaker wire or something like that.

I did mention this --- I used the Phillips to test, with the same digital RCA cable*, and it was much louder then the TSC sub. The Phillips sounded fully alive, the TSC sounds like it was shot thru the lung and on it's last breath.

* The only small difference being that the TSC has two RCA inputs, so I have the digital RCA hooked to a Y-adapter for the TSC, and the Phillips just has the one input. I tried taking off the Y-adapter on the TSC sub, but got the same response.

If it is indeed the amp -- do you guys have any suggestions on where to buy a replacement?

 

[theJman]

If it is indeed the amp -- do you guys have any suggestions on where to buy a replacement?

Parts Express is probably the best place to go for something like that. Madisound has some as well.

 

[Impelled]

Hook the sub back up approximately how it was and set some music playing with a good bass beat.
Now go behind the sub and fiddle with the controls.
See if there is a sudden change in amplitude while you fiddle.

Its possible your son damaged a potentiometer (volume/phase control) or a switch.
I have an old sub with a damaged pot (on the cutoff frequency) that has to be guided into position with multiple attempts to get right, otherwise it allows all frequencies through.


Do the same with the power lead, see if it gives a thump ever.

 

[JP99]

I was going to try Impelled's test later tonight... but something odd happened today.

Both kids had been napping for over an hour... I was playing a video game... when all of a sudden, the TSC sub kicked in (I left it plugged in so I could test it asap). It had 'sounded' completely off, then all of a sudden I was getting all the rumblings and boom of the ship (Mass Effect 2).

Does that sound like the amp is dying? Or more of the pot/switch possibility?

Like I mentioned above, nobody had even been near the thing for at least an hour (more like all day --- but the rug rats were specifically tucked away in bed for at least an hour) when it decided to come alive again.... It's been on since then, about 3 hours.

 

[Impelled]

It does look like a bad connection or maybe a short on the signal path.
Perhaps one that has a partial sensitivity to heat, that might explain why it suddenly started working - if room temp changed.

It might not be in a pot or switch though (still quite likely), it could be a fuse, a connector, a damaged wire, a loose wire, a badly made or cracked PCB ...


If you have connected the sub with a single channel of coax, check the wire again.
It may have been sheer fortune or a certain position that is bad, when it worked for one and not the other, when you tested.

If you are using dual coax in, its very unlikely both would have a bad connection at the same time, so ignore the above.

 

[JP99]

It does look like a bad connection or maybe a short on the signal path.
Perhaps one that has a partial sensitivity to heat, that might explain why it suddenly started working - if room temp changed.

It might not be in a pot or switch though (still quite likely), it could be a fuse, a connector, a damaged wire, a loose wire, a badly made or cracked PCB ...


If you have connected the sub with a single channel of coax, check the wire again.
It may have been sheer fortune or a certain position that is bad, when it worked for one and not the other, when you tested.

If you are using dual coax in, its very unlikely both would have a bad connection at the same time, so ignore the above.

I may not have mentioned --- I did use a different Coax cable as part of my testing with the Philips. Still didn't get sound out of the TSC sub at that point.

(well, technically, some level of sound has always been there, but just barely a whisper that you have to put your ear next to the woofer to hear)

I think I'll employ a little bit of "If it aint broke, don't fix it" for the moment and see how long this sucker will stay alive for.

Thanks for the help ---- I'll report back if (more like: when) it dies again soon.

 

[theJman]

I don't see how it could be a cable or connection issue. Were it either of those the sound wouldn't have mysteriously just come back on all by itself while you were watching TV. I still think you have a problem with the amp.

 

[Impelled]

I may not have mentioned --- I did use a different Coax cable as part of my testing with the Philips. Still didn't get sound out of the TSC sub at that point.

(well, technically, some level of sound has always been there, but just barely a whisper that you have to put your ear next to the woofer to hear)

I think I'll employ a little bit of "If it aint broke, don't fix it" for the moment and see how long this sucker will stay alive for.

Thanks for the help ---- I'll report back if (more like: when) it dies again soon.

Hehe, understood.
Good luck

 

[timoteo]

I wouldnt recommend just leaving the sub alone & riding on the coat tail of fortune. Yes it may be working now but if you havent narrowed down the issue, then when it does crap out later you will be at the same spot you were at just recently.

You should do your best to figure out what the problem is now. If you find out that its a simple fix then you can nip it in the bud early. But if you leave it alone, just because it's working right now, it MAY evolve into a larger problem, possibly to the point of a worse problem

By process of elimination you might be able to locate the exact source. So dont give up now just because its working, start checking all possible culprits....

 

[miniSQ]

Could be a cracked solder joint on the board.

 

[JP99]

I wouldnt recommend just leaving the sub alone & riding on the coat tail of fortune. Yes it may be working now but if you havent narrowed down the issue, then when it does crap out later you will be at the same spot you were at just recently.

You should do your best to figure out what the problem is now. If you find out that its a simple fix then you can nip it in the bud early. But if you leave it alone, just because it's working right now, it MAY evolve into a larger problem, possibly to the point of a worse problem

By process of elimination you might be able to locate the exact source. So dont give up now just because its working, start checking all possible culprits....

I hear you, I do... but the cost of replacing an amp is almost half of the cost of the entire sub... The only cheap option it seems would be if the power cord is somehow comprised, but I tried wiggling that around during testing and it made no difference.

I've never soldered anything (electronics-wise)... so I would have to purchase the equipment and take a chance at making a mistake. So I may just try to replace the TSC with a new budget sub... and then try tinkering with the TSC once the back-up has arrived (that way if I destroy the TSC via testing/fixing, at least I won't be without a sub... then if I do manage to fix it, I can have a dual-sub setup.. possibly the very first dual sub-$150 sub-woofer setup ever ).