Question about hooking up speakers

Noose · #1 03-18-2011, 11:51 AM

What are some common signs that the speaker wires are connected to the wrong terminal on the speaker? For example, if the positive is connected where the negative is supposed to be and vice versa.

BurningSkies · #2 03-18-2011, 11:54 AM

Your music plays backwards?

PhiDeck · #3 03-18-2011, 11:59 AM

Polarity of speakers only matters when there is more than one speaker being fed the same signal. Even then, absolute polarity doesn't matter, only that the multiple speakers be in phase with each other.

BassmanPaul · #4 03-18-2011, 02:45 PM

Really the only time polarity matters is if you are using more than one cabinet. The easiest way to check is with a 9V battery. With the positive pole to the speaker cable tip most cones will push out from the magnet structure. Ensure that in cabinets with more than one driver that all the cones move the same way.

Tracebassplayer · #5 03-18-2011, 03:12 PM

Why do you ask, grasshopper?

Noose · #6 03-19-2011, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracebassplayer

Why do you ask, grasshopper?

Having speaker troubles. Trying to eliminate all possibilities. I have a GK SBX 410 with a buzz coming from one speaker. Got a used replacement off eBay. Guy said it worked perfectly. I put it in and it sounded blown too. It's the upper right speaker. I switched it out with the upperleft speaker and it sounded the same. I've checked just about everything I can think of. I can't afford another replacement and I've got several gigs this next weekend. Thought there might be an off chance that I hooked it up incorrectly

SurferJoe46 · #7 03-19-2011, 12:50 AM

Loose spade connex if it uses them made the same bad sound on one of my 210s too.

The spade had no spring to it at all and it was loose and when it rattled it sounded just like a blown cone.

Maybe your problem or not. I'd look at the wires though as two drivers in the same location sounding the same isn't likely to be the drivers - too much of a co-ink-i-dink.

PhiDeck · #8 03-19-2011, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

Really the only time polarity matters is if you are using more than one cabinet.

I beg to differ. In a single multi-way cabinet the relative polarity of the woofer, midrange, and tweeter matter (and may be influenced by the delay caused by the passive crossover network, if present).

Noose · #9 03-19-2011, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

Loose spade connex if it uses them made the same bad sound on one of my 210s too.

The spade had no spring to it at all and it was loose and when it rattled it sounded just like a blown cone.

Maybe your problem or not. I'd look at the wires though as two drivers in the same location sounding the same isn't likely to be the drivers - too much of a co-ink-i-dink.

I thought the same thing, so I switched the position of the speaker in the cab with another speaker that wasn't buzzing. The buzzing sound was coming from the same speaker even in a different position in the cab. The speaker that I switched it with didn't buzz at all in it's new position.

Just a note, I started this thread before trying this.

SurferJoe46 · #10 03-19-2011, 08:56 AM

That (^) wasn't totally clear to me in your previous statements. It sounded like it was a position-thing and not something that moved with the driver.

My bad.

BassmanPaul · #11 03-19-2011, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhiDeck

I beg to differ. In a single multi-way cabinet the relative polarity of the woofer, midrange, and tweeter matter (and may be influenced by the delay caused by the passive crossover network, if present).

Obviously!

gnjpowell · #12 03-19-2011, 11:20 AM

Symptom: weak bass - All drivers in a cab and all drivers in multiple cabs MUST move in the same direction (either in or out) at the same time or they will cancel each other out. (relative phase) This is especially important when using your rig as a monitor on stage and you are through the FOH system at the same time. Start with your rig all the way down, slowly turn up your volume, if the overall room sound goes down or sounds weaker as you turn up the volume on your rig then your rig is most likely out of phase with the FOH system. You will have to reverse the phase (connections) of one or the other. Equally true for other instruments but most critical at lower frequencies, say ~100Hz and below. Gently tap your bass strings and watch the drivers initial movement either in or out. Absolute phase is less critical. Example: An explosion should result in an initial positive pressure increase. If recorded and when played-back all of the drivers should move OUT on the initial attack reproducing a positive pressure same as the recorded explosion.

Tracebassplayer · #13 03-19-2011, 02:22 PM

Can we move the "Speaker Phase" conversation to a new thread....

OK, so you moved the buzzing speaker (A) to a different spot and the speaker (B) that WAS in that spot to where the buzzer WAS (A to B and B to A right?)... and now you get a buzz in Position B not in A. Yes?

Tracebassplayer · #14 03-19-2011, 02:24 PM

And have you manually actuated the suspect speaker to check for rough movement or gritty grinding sound?

Noose · #15 03-20-2011, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracebassplayer

And have you manually actuated the suspect speaker to check for rough movement or gritty grinding sound?

Yeah, the buzzing goes where the speaker goes so it is definitely the speaker. There is no rubbing sound in the voice coil when pushed in or out and it reads 26 ohms on the DMM. No tears anywhere, no apparent glue failures, nothing rattling around inside it. I'm stumped. I'm betting there is a very tiny spot in the voice coil that is small enough that it doesn't effect the ohm reading, but causes the distortion. There was another guy that had a similar problem that had a thread going about it.