Problem with just one speaker?

[pilotgirl]

Hi there,

I'm brand new here, so please be gentle on me?

Last weekend, I installed a Denon AV 590 and an Energy Take 5 classic system in my lounge room.

All went well up until a few days ago, when I noticed that the left front speaker seemed quite fuzzy and muffled. The sound, both music and spoken, was noticeably softer than the the front right speaker and there was a bit of background hiss. I swapped the left and right speakers and the problem remained with the speaker. ie: the left one was fine and the right one was fuzzy.

I have checked all the connections to no avail.

I took the speaker back to the place purchased, and the guy there hooked it up - lo and behold, it sounded fine?!?!


Any ideas on what could be causing this mystery?

Thanks for any advice in advance

PS: I am really a pilot, so if you have any aviation questions, feel free to PM me!!

 

[jamie2112]

It sounds like you may have a bad channel on your AVR.If I am reading correctly you swapped speaker channels and the other speaker sounded fine.Meaning the speaker sounded ok coming out of the channel that was good but the left channel on the avr is bad.Sounds like a bad unit take it back if its not too late.....thats my opinion on it.Best of luck to you.

 

[pilotgirl]

All I did was unwire the back of the dodgy speaker and the good speaker and swap them, (not changing the channel) so I don't think it's the AV?

 

[AJinFLA]

When you returned from the dealer and put it back into your system, did it initially sound fine, like it did at the dealer, before starting to sound muffled again?

p.s. Dodgy? Are you down under or across the pond?

 

[pilotgirl]

No - it sounded just as bad as when I disconnected it and took it to him!

 

[AJinFLA]

Take one of your surrounds and hook it to that (L) front channel. If it sounds fine, it's the L front speaker that you took to the dealer that's bad. What sort of amplifier did they use at the dealer?

 

[yepimonfire]

if it is a bad speaker you may have not noticed the "badness" for lack of better words, at the dealer if you only had the problem speaker hooked up. reason is your more likely to notice a problem when its compared with the sound of the correctly functioning one.

 

[pilotgirl]

I'm not exactly sure what sort of amplifier they used at the store.

When I did take the right speaker (the good one) and wire it to the left channel, it was fine, so I'm pretty sure it is the left speaker.

I get what you're saying about the "badness" of the speaker being heard in isolation. That makes perfect sense. What I may do is take both the front speakers to the dealer and let him hook them up and see of there's a noticeable difference.

Does that sound like a plan?

PS: Thanks heaps for all your help so far. It's much appreciated

 

[yepimonfire]

sounds like a better idea, i'm willing to bet it's either an issue with the tweeter or the x-over.

 

[pilotgirl]

i'm willing to bet it's either an issue with the tweeter or the x-over.

Is that something can be rectified by adjusting the AVR? I've seen references to the x-over in the Denon manual..................which, I must say, has to be the most impossibly complex user manual I've ever come across and believe me, I've studied some pretty complicated aircraft technical manuals in my time!!

 

[yepimonfire]

that is an active x-over used to keep ultra low frequencies (100hz and below) out of speakers, and high frequencies out of subwoofers, each speaker has it's own passive x-over in it, which sends only high frequencies to the tweeter, and only mid and low frequencies to the woofer, the only way to fix the problem is to get a replacement speaker.

 

[AJinFLA]

I get what you're saying about the "badness" of the speaker being heard in isolation. That makes perfect sense.

Actually, no. If sounded "muffled with noticeable hiss", there is no way it "sounded fine!!" at the dealer, despite only one channel playing.

What I may do is take both the front speakers to the dealer and let him hook them up and see of there's a noticeable difference.
Does that sound like a plan?

What may be occurring is a faulty component(s) in the passive crossover, causing a load on your receivers modest amplifier that makes it unstable..and sound "muffled". The dealers amp may be robust enough to be stable into this faulty load, so it would "sound fine", even though the speaker was faulty.
Explain to them that you swapped different speakers into the "muffled" L channel and they sounded fine, eliminating the Denon/source components as the fault. At last resort, bring the Denon and 2 speakers and do the swap in front of them.

cheers,

AJ

 

[adwilk]

!

Actually, no. If sounded "muffled with noticeable hiss", there is no way it "sounded fine!!" at the dealer, despite only one channel playing.


What may be occurring is a faulty component(s) in the passive crossover, causing a load on your receivers modest amplifier that makes it unstable..and sound "muffled". The dealers amp may be robust enough to be stable into this faulty load, so it would "sound fine", even though the speaker was faulty.
Explain to them that you swapped different speakers into the "muffled" L channel and they sounded fine, eliminating the Denon/source components as the fault. At last resort, bring the Denon and 2 speakers and do the swap in front of them.

cheers,

AJ

Bingo... exactly what I was thinking. A faulty xover in the speaker could create an extremely low impedance curve causing the denon to clip. The amplifier at the dealer might have been able to handle the lower impedance. The fault almost has to be in the speaker...

Another option, but highly unlikely, could be the connections used on the speaker. What connection are you using... a poorly executed "bare wire" connection could cause a short, while using bananas or spades at the dealer would alleviate such an issue.....

Welcome to the forum...!

 

[highfigh]

I'm not exactly sure what sort of amplifier they used at the store.

When I did take the right speaker (the good one) and wire it to the left channel, it was fine, so I'm pretty sure it is the left speaker.

I get what you're saying about the "badness" of the speaker being heard in isolation. That makes perfect sense. What I may do is take both the front speakers to the dealer and let him hook them up and see of there's a noticeable difference.

Does that sound like a plan?

PS: Thanks heaps for all your help so far. It's much appreciated

Did you change the channel at the rear of the receiver or did you move the speakers to the other position? If you changed it at the speaker terminals, you may have a bad wire. Do you have a critter that likes to chew on things?