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Blown Speaker?

B

bal704

Jan 21, 2004
944
179
In the Great Southwest
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#1
I just bought 2 new raw speakers from MF for a project I'm working on. These are Eminence Delta 12 LFC speakers.

I have a 1x12 enclosure, and I decided to test each of the speakers after I got them to see if they were good. The cab has the no-solder type press on connectors, so it was fairly easy to drop each of them in for a quick test. I used by GK MB-200 amp at very low volume.

One speaker sounded fantastic, nice full tone. The other sounded like a 10 pound can of farts, heavily distorted with no balls. I swapped them each in and out a few times, and got the same results each time. I used the same connections/cables/settings etc.

The reason I did the test in the first place is because I bought a 15" driver from Carvin last year, and the first one I received had the same issue with distortion. They sent me a free replacement (as is MF), and it sounded great.

So....what could be physically wrong with a speaker that it would sound heavily distorted like this?
 
#6
bal704 said:
I gently pushed on both the good and bad speaker, and didn't notice any difference between the 2.

Also, I got the replacement speaker from MF. It sounds like a 10 pound can of farts too. What else can I look at?
Click to expand...

About the only thing you can diagnose yourself is a frozen coil caused by a drop or an open coil, which would give no sound at all. But if it's bad it's bad, send it back.
 
#7
I'm going to call MF about a replacement. I've gotten 1 good one out of 3. Is this an unusual amount of failures?

I notice these come in a small cardboard box, with expanding foam over the magnet. Any chance the force of the foam expanding is knocking something loose? These don't seem well packaged to me, in that there only padding is over the magnet. The cone area is completely unprotected from shock.
 
#8
bal704 said:
I'm going to call MF about a replacement. I've gotten 1 good one out of 3. Is this an unusual amount of failures?

I notice these come in a small cardboard box, with expanding foam over the magnet. Any chance the force of the foam expanding is knocking something loose? These don't seem well packaged to me, in that there only padding is over the magnet. The cone area is completely unprotected from shock.
Click to expand...

This IS your answer! That was meant to be packed inside a second box with proper material.:rollno: They shipped it BADLY. :scowl:
 
#9
stating the obvious here but be sure your placing the connector wires correctly. So as not to wire it out of phase. I installed a new 12" driver into a cab and got distorted sounds immediately. I had even marked the wires when I removed the old driver and somehow turns out I still installed it out of phase. Yeah DUH!, I was just trying to work too fast and didn't pay attention to that litttle detail.

First I was frustrated and left the cab alone for a few days, getting that grill off n on and all those screws, was a small-bear, so I walked away from it. Once I went back and pulled the driver and installed the wires reversed; the speaker worked great.

I just did not think it was outta phase since I had marked the wires, had to be a bad speaker. Maybe I marked them wrong once I pulled the old driver. Those wires are all twisty n stuff ya know :rolleyes:. I need to slow down and pay attention when I do this kinda stuff. Pays for itself time-wise. That whole measure twice, cut once thing. Good luck, let us know what you find.
 
#14
bal704 said:
I finally got my 2nd good speaker. Got 2 bad ones in the process though. You would think that eating a few of these speakers due to poor packaging would make them re-think their packaging policies.
Click to expand...
When I get a driver from Eminence it's double boxed. MF probably gets them packed a dozen or more drivers in a master carton; when they ship them individually they should double box them, but their shipping department probably just doesn't bother. Their problem, not yours, but not exactly convenient. Next time use a company like speakerhardware.com, where selling drivers is their main business, not a side-line.
 

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