Blown speaker tweeter :-(

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Gambit

169 posts

Master Geek

#183640 24-Oct-2015 14:24

Hi,

I've just noticed that the tweeter isn't working on one of my Wharfedale diamond 10.6.
I've tried switching it to the other speakers wiring but still no good.
Do I need to get a wharfedale specific tweeter or will anything within reason do.
Would this be an expensive fix?

Thanks in advance.

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#1413195 24-Oct-2015 14:38

How old are your speakers?
It is probably not economic to repair them if they are more than 5 years old.
You need to replace BOTH tweeters with the correct Wharfdale HF units, or they won't sound the same.
This will be expensive, and parts may be hard to find.

Sideface

Gambit

169 posts

Master Geek

#1413197 24-Oct-2015 14:56

Do i need to replace both as the other speaker works fine.

Sideface

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#1413199 24-Oct-2015 15:03

Gambit: Do i need to replace both as the other speaker works fine.

Yes.
And from memory tweeters usually come in matched pairs.

I have repaired good quality speakers twice in the past - in both cases I regretted it - the repair was expensive, and the repaired speakers did not look or sound the same afterwards.

It may be cheaper in the long run just to buy new speakers.

Sideface

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1413215 24-Oct-2015 16:47

I can only disagree...
Wharfedle Diamond 10.6's are still being brought into NZ and sold in stores.
The importer is Monaco Corporation and they'll not only carry spares, they will also have techs who can replace it with factory parts. It shouldn't be an expensive fix really.

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek

#1413570 25-Oct-2015 17:59

I would say contact the distributor or Axent Audio, I had tweeters quoted from 10yo B&W speakers and was surprised at a cost of around only $120ea and that was for genuine B&W replacements

sultanoswing

814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1413974 26-Oct-2015 15:29

I had a blown tweeter on a pair of 25 year-old Castle Trent II's. Suprisingly, I managed to locate a spare tweeter on E-bay for a good price ($80, if i recall).

Ten minutes with a philips screwdriver and the speaker was repaired (and sounded exactly the same as the other one to my unmateched ears!).

Gambit

169 posts

Master Geek

#1413977 26-Oct-2015 15:38

I have fixed the issue by disconnecting all the cables from behind the amp and then reconnecting them back.
I was putting on banana plugs on Saturday and my 1 1/2 year old son got in there and probably had a fiddle so I think that was issue.
Pretty embarrassing but at least it didn't get worse by taking them to get repaired :-)

Thanks for your suggestions everyone.

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driller2000

935 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#1414033 26-Oct-2015 16:53

lol glad you found the cause - had the exact same issue - i.e. had by toddler daughter mess with my banana plugs on the speakers - effectively swapping polarity, which put the amp into protection mode and i thought my amp had died - so I was about to head out and buy a new 1 (i needed an excuse and this was going to be it!!) - before i thought i should go through a proper process of elimination....and hey presto :)

richms

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#1414039 26-Oct-2015 17:09

I hate banana plugs. I wish consumer gear would get off them and move to speakons. I had my amp blow its fuse when a useless metal knickknack that someone insisted on putting ontop of a speaker fell off down the back and across the banana plugs that stuck out at the perfect angle to funnel anything falling down towards the metal end of the plugs.

Richard rich.ms

Gambit

169 posts

Master Geek

#1414046 26-Oct-2015 17:32

For me banana plugs are handy as when I want to listen to music i use my integrated amplifier so I have to undo the speakers from my HT amp.
The plugs have made it a lot easier to do.

richms

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#1414049 26-Oct-2015 17:39

Gambit: For me banana plugs are handy as when I want to listen to music i use my integrated amplifier so I have to undo the speakers from my HT amp.
The plugs have made it a lot easier to do.

speakons would be easier. No worries about accidentally brushing them against the side of the amp earthing it etc too.

Richard rich.ms

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek

#1414056 26-Oct-2015 18:04

Lol, i think we all have similar stories to tell :P

My then 4 or 5 yo daughter accidentally bumped a switch on my amp which effectively disconnected HDMI audio on the input I was using for sky, after much stress and a callout from Sky about "another of their faulty decoders" (had a couple of MySky HDD's die at a similar point in time) I discovered "the fault" ..... Doh.....

Malpaso

52 posts

Master Geek

#1422495 6-Nov-2015 16:00

Howdy, i had a blown bass driver and tweeter on one of my older Wharfedale 9 towers. I recently got them replaced at Paul Money Hifi who luckily carried spares for both, if anyone has this issue in future. Saves having to replace the whole speaker.

Gambit

169 posts

Master Geek

#1424682 10-Nov-2015 20:32

Monaco replied to me and from memory it was going to be around $15 for the part and $5 for freight. Never had to worry about finding out how much it would have been to fix but was impressed at the price of the part . Will keep them in mind if I have any issues in the future.

Fred99

13684 posts

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#2544335 19-Aug-2020 11:53

I just replaced a tweeter in some active studio monitors I'm using. It surprised me that one blew, the system isn't driven hard, the speakers are bi-amped and have some driver protection circuitry (using DSP and feedback circuit to detect clipping and apply compression of peak signals - in a way they're kind of indestructible in comparison with passive speakers / separate component amps) They'll let you know if clipping - thus compression - is happening - a bright red LED on the front will flash (you probably need to have your fingers in your ears long before this happens). It could be that the protection circuit only operates on the mid/bass amp, not the HF amp - I don't know.
Google didn't come up with any reports of similar failures, they're well out of warranty, so I ordered a pair of replacements to be shipped from the USA. I believe the tweeters are made in Norway. USA seems to be the only place where there are quite a few re-sellers of OEM speaker drivers, and repaired speakers (or kits to DIY repair if you're game), especially replacing surrounds on bass/mid drivers that used foam rubber - which falls apart over time / exposure to light.

Anyway, while waiting for the replacement, I pulled the speakers apart, to remove the tweeter and to check signal from the HF amp. Amp seemed fine - tweeter was open circuit. I was interested to see what went wrong - and googling did uncover that they were ferro-fluid cooled - which is very common on hifi tweeters of all qualities and prices. That led me to sites where people give instructions on how to clean out and replace ferrofluid - which they were suggesting as a "routine maintenance" on high end systems - seemed like overkill to me. Also some risk you'll damage it. Removing the diaphragm was pretty easy, the voice coil was burned, digging around in the voicecoil gap to remove remaining ferrofluid, there wasn't much left, and what remained was pretty grotty - but that was probably due to remains of burned insulation contaminating what remained of the fluid. I don't know for sure why it failed, but the ferrofluid is there to transfer heat from the voice coil, as well as supposedly improve damping/acoustics.

I bought a pair intending to replace both, but to be honest I'm too lazy - it's a bit of a mission to disassemble the things and they're heavy. If there's any difference in the sound between the speaker with the old tweeter and the new one - I can't hear it - and that's what matters. Even sending a sine wave signal - they sound the same. If it's lost the ferrofluid and dies, then I've got a spare. The speakers came with frequency response measurement charts matched to serial #, I don't have the gear to measure them, and if I did, then it would be a mission to set up, measure, and tweak the amps (if that's even possible - I'd need the repair/service manuals).

So anyway TLDR. There are people suggesting that ferrofluid replacement on tweeters should be routine maintenance (I don't know - maybe they're right), it may have been why the tweeter blew (I'm guessing it may have been), it's argued that drivers should always be replaced in pairs - but my ears couldn't tell the difference in that case, and if you hunt around on US sites, replacement drivers for speakers may be available and at lower cost than you expect. It possibly may be a good idea to buy a pair rather than just one, just in case and especially when paying a fixed shipping fee the second one "comes at half price".

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