Blown speakers -- maybe more

February 28, 2009

I fear the worst. I left my listening room for a few minutes, running back when I heard the sound get terrible loud and distorted. My son had turned the volume up to "11." I immediately turned the amplifier off, but there was already a "burning" smell from both speakers. So I let things cool down. When I turned the system back on the sound was very scratchy from both speakers. It's still that way today. Have I blown my speakers?

Gerald Turner

Probably. Your son turning the volume to "11" put a lot of power through your speakers -- likely, more than they're rated for. Furthermore, the amp was probably "clipping," which can be more damaging than clean high power. As a result, your speakers are probably damaged -- "blown," as you say -- and will likely need the drivers replaced, and maybe the crossovers too, depending on the level of damage. There's also the possibility that the amplifier was damaged as well, although this isn't as likely. Moral of the story: Don't leave children unattended near your stereo system. You're not the first person this has happened to, or the last.

Loose screws

February 23, 2009

I heard a rattling sound coming from my loudspeakers and when I checked them I realized that the woofers were loose. The screws were coming undone! The speakers aren't new -- about four years old. So I tightened them up. Is this common?

Taylor Wells

Surprisingly, yes. The first time I encountered it was about 20 years ago with a pair of B&W 802 speakers. The way in which B&W mounted the woofers left the screws susceptible to coming loose when subjected to vibration. As a result, many woofers came loose during shipping and you had to tighten them up straight out of the package. I see this same thing happening from time to time, depending on the speaker. It can be from vibration from shipping or, in many cases, normal use, which sounds like what happened to you. In any event, the remedy is to simply tighten the screws up, as you did. Just be careful not to overtighten since you don't want to strip them.

Veneer coming off

February 19, 2009

I have a pair of speakers that are a few months old, and I can see the wood veneer coming off. It's more or less "lifting." I live in a humid area. Will the manufacturer cover this under warranty?

Terry Robitaille

If your speakers are only a few months old, they'll still be under warranty. As to whether or not the manufacturer will cover it, if you ask me (which you have), they must. Perhaps the climate where you live is to blame, or maybe it's a probably with the way the veneer has been applied. Regardless, the speakers you bought shouldn't do that, and you should contact the store where you bought them and/or the manufacturer who makes them right away.

Dog 1, speaker cables 0

February 16, 2009

My dog chewed right through my speaker cables -- one side is actually in two pieces now. What do you think of me stripping the insulation off the wires and just twisting the conductors back together and then putting some electrical tape on? Will that work?

Jim Thompson

I have no doubt that it will work. Just look at electrical wire in your house with twisted connections everywhere. But is this the best solution? Probably not. The insulation and jacket will be missing, and your twisted connection will degrade. If you're willing to spend a little bit of money, I suspect that buying a new set of cables will be a better solution. If you do that, though, make sure to find a way to keep the dog away from them!

Cables for an iMac-based system

February 12, 2009

I have an iMac, and I am contemplating getting the Blue Circle USB Thingee in conjunction with the Audioengine 5 Speakers. As I wish to have a similar level of quality in cabling, what brands would offer the best performance/value for this particular setup?

Linda Freud

When you use the USB Thingee like this, it's important to know that you will be using the analog RCA outputs, not a digital one, because the Audioengine speakers, although powered, don't have a D-to-A section inside. Volume will be controlled either on your iMac or with the speakers.

Some people might steer you toward very expensive interconnects. I certainly don't believe that's necessary. What you want is something well designed, properly terminated, and of good quality so it will last. I've heard good things about the products from BetterCables.com, although I've never used them myself. Axiom Audio sells very decent cables that I use in my own system from time to time, and they work well. Finally, there are Silver Sonic cables, which are made by DH Labs. These are a little more expensive than those from BetterCables.com and Axiom Audio, but they're still quite affordable and of very high quality. With a setup like yours, that's the limit to which I'd go.

Speaker makes "a crackle sound"

February 9, 2009

I have a brand-new room in which I installed two new Yamaha 8" in-ceiling speakers hooked up to my Sony receiver. This is hooked up to my cable box and TV.

My speakers work fine, but after a while the left speaker starts making a crackle sound. I thought it was the speaker. I brought them back and got a new set. The same thing happened. I checked the wire in the back of the receiver and it looks ok. Any idea what it may be? Is my new receiver bad? I bought in-wall rated wire that is new too. What else can I try?

Erik Goldberg

I've had the same thing happen a couple of times for different reasons. In one instance I was getting a crackling sound, and it was the result of a badly corroded connection from my speaker cables to my amp. I took the connectors out, cleaned everything with a contact cleaner (including the connectors on the amp), put it all back together, and it was fine. You might want to try that.

On the other hand, I had an instance in which a crackling sound would start after about ten minutes of play, and it ended up being one channel on an amp that was going bad. The fact that you say it works fine for a while and then starts to crackle leads me to believe this could be the problem here as well. Obviously, the best way to test this is to try a new amp.

If it's not that, then you might start having to look ahead of the amp to the cable box and TV, but I doubt you're going to have to go that far. I think you're going to find that the problem rests with the amp or with a connection that goes from the amp to the speakers.

Connecting a turntable

February 6, 2009

I recently purchased a new plasma television and a Yamaha A/V receiver (RX-V663). I thought I would be able to integrate my older components (CD player, tape deck, and turntable) with this new receiver. The CD player works great. I attempted to hook up my turntable (Yamaha P-30, circa 1980) and the sound is feeble at best. I have to turn the volume up almost to the maximum to get any sound at all. I've tried the CD jacks, VCR-in jacks, and pre-out front jacks (I use just two speakers) with no success.

I happened upon your website by Googling "pre out." To say I am inexperienced at these matters would be an understatement. Any guidance you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Michael Dreger

You've bought an A/V receiver with lots of bells and whistles, but it's missing one thing: a phono stage. This isn't uncommon. Most A/V receivers don't have one because turntables aren't as popular today as they were in 1980, when you got your turntable. What a phono stage does is boost and equalize the signal that comes from your phono cartridge. Without one, you'll get the feeble sound you're experiencing right now. CD players and VCRs don't need such a thing because their output is a lot higher.

More than likely, there is no add-on phono board available for your receiver, but there are plenty of external phono stages available from companies like NAD, Cambridge Audio, Creek and Rotel that are fairly inexpensive and will do the trick.

Emotiva reviews?

February 4, 2009

I've been reading GoodSound! for years. Thank you for keeping the two-channel flame burning!

I was wondering if you have any opinions to offer on Emotiva gear. I don't see any reviews in your archive. A friend swears by Emotiva surround gear, but I'm a two-channel guy, and while Emotiva does offer some two-channel models, information from outside the company is scarce. The prices seem to be unbelievably low for what the company claims to offer, and my "If it's too good to be true, it probably is" red light is going off. I would greatly appreciate any expert opinion.

Tony

You are correct -- we haven't reviewed any Emotiva equipment. But that doesn't mean we won't in the future. We've just never been sent any. As for the prices and what the company claims to offer, I had a look through the website. You're right -- the prices do seem very low. But I'm not about to pass judgment until we've actually evaluated the gear -- if we ever get any to evaluate, that is. Stay tuned.