Problem with right speaker sound

[Heatcliff]

Hello all,

A couple of days ago, I ran into a small problem. My right speaker was intermittently failing, sometimes it just started cracking, sometimes it would just stop and sometimes it would run fine for hours.

Now, because I was reluctant to replace my speakers (Tannoy Mercury M3 B/Eye), I decided that the problem was with my receiver (Kenwood KR-V5090).
I went down to the best local audio store I know of and purchased a second hand Yamaha amplifier, Yamaha A-560. After hooking it up, it worked swimmingly, beautiful sound, and for the first time in 10 or so years, I didn't have to dial up the volume to about 80% to watch a movie on my pc. So, I called it a win.

However, two days ago, the right speaker started to display all the same symptoms once more. And because I estimated the chance that two completely different amps, display the exact same fault, to be very low, I started testing other components to try and find the problem. Let me just summarize the things I've tried:
* updated audio drivers, and uninstalled the realtech audio manager (the latter is fairly useless for my use) -> made no difference
* replaced cable from motherboard to amp -> no difference
* tested the sound on headphones via amp output -> no difference
* tested the sound on headphones via motherboard output -> perfect sound
* hooked up different devices to the amp input cable (mp3 player and mobile phone) -> no difference
* tested another output port on my computer -> no difference

My conclusions:
* motherboard works fine
* cable from motherboard to pc works fine
* speakers work fine (else the sound on headphones would always be fine)

So, the only thing left for me to check, is the speaker cables. However, and this is why I post this thread, if my understanding of the amp is correct, this would not solve the problem. If the cables are faulty, then the sound from the amp on the headphones should be fine, right?

So my question is this:
What do you think the problem could be?

I must mention that because my funds are low, I cannot simply replace any of the more expensive components. If I did, I would've bought a new system right away

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello all,

A couple of days ago, I ran into a small problem. My right speaker was intermittently failing, sometimes it just started cracking, sometimes it would just stop and sometimes it would run fine for hours.

Now, because I was reluctant to replace my speakers (Tannoy Mercury M3 B/Eye), I decided that the problem was with my receiver (Kenwood KR-V5090).
I went down to the best local audio store I know of and purchased a second hand Yamaha amplifier, Yamaha A-560. After hooking it up, it worked swimmingly, beautiful sound, and for the first time in 10 or so years, I didn't have to dial up the volume to about 80% to watch a movie on my pc. So, I called it a win.

However, two days ago, the right speaker started to display all the same symptoms once more. And because I estimated the chance that two completely different amps, display the exact same fault, to be very low, I started testing other components to try and find the problem. Let me just summarize the things I've tried:
* updated audio drivers, and uninstalled the realtech audio manager (the latter is fairly useless for my use) -> made no difference
* replaced cable from motherboard to amp -> no difference
* tested the sound on headphones via amp output -> no difference
* tested the sound on headphones via motherboard output -> perfect sound
* hooked up different devices to the amp input cable (mp3 player and mobile phone) -> no difference
* tested another output port on my computer -> no difference

My conclusions:
* motherboard works fine
* cable from motherboard to pc works fine
* speakers work fine (else the sound on headphones would always be fine)

So, the only thing left for me to check, is the speaker cables. However, and this is why I post this thread, if my understanding of the amp is correct, this would not solve the problem. If the cables are faulty, then the sound from the amp on the headphones should be fine, right?

So my question is this:
What do you think the problem could be?

I must mention that because my funds are low, I cannot simply replace any of the more expensive components. If I did, I would've bought a new system right away

Where did you connect your headphones, at the amp output with the speaker wire off, or at the speaker with the wire disconnected from the speaker?

You can easily tell if the speaker is at fault. Just swap left and right speakers and see if the fault follows the speaker or not. If it does it is the speaker.

 

[markw]

This should have been your first move.

You can easily tell if the speaker is at fault. Just swap left and right speakers and see if the fault follows the speaker or not. If it does it is the speaker.

I was going to suggest this but he beat me to it.

 

[Heatcliff]

I just plugged in the headphones in the Phones output of the amp, with the speakers both on and connected.

Also, how stupid of me that I did not think of swapping the left and right speakers... Gonna try that the next time the speaker fails, right now it's all working fine

 

[TLS Guy]

I just plugged in the headphones in the Phones output of the amp, with the speakers both on and connected.

Also, how stupid of me that I did not think of swapping the left and right speakers... Gonna try that the next time the speaker fails, right now it's all working fine

If I understand you correctly, you had the issue with the phones plugged into the headphone jack of the map. In that case it is not the speakers. Since you have changed amps and still have the problem, your problem must be before the amp.

 

[Heatcliff]

Hrrmn, no, the problem occurred first with just the computer (and some other rarely used devices) hooked up. I usually only hook up my headphones directly to the pc, as my girlfriend needs the sound of her computer on the speakers, or when she's off to bed and I do not want to wake her

Since I posted this morning (when the speaker was down), I upped the volume a bit at one point, the speaker came back on, and has worked fine since.

Additionally, the audio guys where I bought the new (second hand) amp from (2 days ago), as well as the speakers (some 10-12 years ago), e-mailed that it might be the speaker after all. And that the speaker (for reasons unknown to me) might cause the amp to break down. I hope however, that this is not the case...

I will try switching the cables the next time the speaker breaks down and report back.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hrrmn, no, the problem occurred first with just the computer (and some other rarely used devices) hooked up. I usually only hook up my headphones directly to the pc, as my girlfriend needs the sound of her computer on the speakers, or when she's off to bed and I do not want to wake her

Since I posted this morning (when the speaker was down), I upped the volume a bit at one point, the speaker came back on, and has worked fine since.

Additionally, the audio guys where I bought the new (second hand) amp from (2 days ago), as well as the speakers (some 10-12 years ago), e-mailed that it might be the speaker after all. And that the speaker (for reasons unknown to me) might cause the amp to break down. I hope however, that this is not the case...

I will try switching the cables the next time the speaker breaks down and report back.

You have a bad connection some place, and I think it is between your computer and your amp. When you up the volume, you spark it and make the connection for a while.

 

[Heatcliff]

I just swapped the speaker cables at the amp output, so that the right speaker was in the left channel and vice versa. The problem was reversed.

Upping the volume does not always work though...

Edit: I'll be buying new speaker cables and new jack-to-tulips cable today after work, to see if that fixes the problem...

 

[TLS Guy]

I just swapped the speaker cables at the amp output, so that the right speaker was in the left channel and vice versa. The problem was reversed.

Upping the volume does not always work though...

Edit: I'll be buying new speaker cables and new jack-to-tulips cable today after work, to see if that fixes the problem...

Its not your speaker or the cable. For Heaven's sake use some applied logic. Your problem has to be in your computer or the interconnecting cable from your computer.

 

[Heatcliff]

other pc with different cable has the same problem though.


still, today it happened a couple of times, and upping the volume a bit, and dialing it back seemed to help the problem a bit.

Could it be that there's something wrong with the speaker, that given too little power it just stops? And more importantly, how bad would this be for the amp, and even more importantly, how bad is this for the speaker and can it be fixed?

(I honestly never quite understood the dynamics behind audio equipment, so forgive me if I get the terminology completely wrong )

 

[TLS Guy]

other pc with different cable has the same problem though.


still, today it happened a couple of times, and upping the volume a bit, and dialing it back seemed to help the problem a bit.

Could it be that there's something wrong with the speaker, that given too little power it just stops? And more importantly, how bad would this be for the amp, and even more importantly, how bad is this for the speaker and can it be fixed?

(I honestly never quite understood the dynamics behind audio equipment, so forgive me if I get the terminology completely wrong )

You said that when you switched the speaker cables over, the problem reversed. In other words the left speaker became intermittent. So if that is true, then it can't possibly be a speaker or speaker cable problem.

Is my interpretation of the facts correct? As I understand it you reversed the speaker cables at the amp, and the left speaker became intermittent.

If that is so, then since you have changed amps, and have the same problem. The problem is before the amp. It would be very unlikely for two amps to exhibit the same fault.

So we need details of your exact hook, up. That means every item and cable in your system.

This is not a software problem. This is going to be a connection problem, or a break in a circuit board. Isolating these faults is quick and straightforward, and just involves elementary applied logic.