Replacement speaker still sounds blown

[Dogballs5000]

First timer here. Looking for assistance... I have an Ampeg 610HLF. The bottom left speaker (when looking at it) completely blew, torn all the way around the outer part of the cone. Replaced it with an identical speaker (Eminence 6 ohm). Unfortunately, the new one still sounds blown and farty, especially in the low register and at volume. It's a little tough to tell, but it seems like it's being pushed harder than its partners. When I remove it again and play through the remaining 5, the cabinet sounds good.

So it seems like there is a problem with this particular station, and I'm afraid I'm going to blow the brand new speaker if I keep testing things.

Any suggestions for how to go about getting my cabinet operational again?

Thanks!

 

[byacey]

Thank you to everybody for the support and flow of ideas. I freely admit my n00bness on the topic and would've taken it to a tech if I had anyone that came recommended. All I get are winces and grimaces when I ask around. Raleigh/Durham NC area.

The cab is probably 15 years old, used from a guy in Myrtle Beach. I've heard that salt air can do a number on equipment, and not just the metal parts. But it worked great for the past 2 years.

The replacement came from FlipTopz, and I waited 6 months for it. I know they're reputable, and the thing looks like a carbon copy of the others. After that long wait, I upped the order to 2 to have a backup. Bruce said they were 6 ohms.

Being aware of the risks of dabbling where I don't belong, I went ahead anyway and looked at all 6 drivers. The same Eminence label, though the tech specs aren't printed on them. Visually, driver conditions look good. The screws holding the drivers in place were fresh black as if they'd never been loosened since factory fresh - I did a number on them even trying to not strip them. One thing I noticed was that it seemed like everything was wired perfectly opposite from what the attached diagram shows. I took the chance and reversed everything to match the flow of the diagram (risky, I acknowledge). In the end, nothing changed.

My lastest test was moving the fresh driver into the bottom right spot and the original bottom right into the danger zone (bottom left). Did the battery test, they all row in the same direction. Plugged in, and the thing sounds normal now. I can't believe my ears. I am 99% sure I have tried this exact combo before. I had previously tried 2 brand new drivers in the bottom position but got the same problem.

It will sound to you clearly that I messed up the polarity, but I assure you I was extremely careful about this. I'd bet the cab on it! (I'm being irrational because we're fighting right now). And reverse polarity wouldn't explain why the original speaker blew. Now, if when I re-wired all 6 in reverse of how I found them, then maybe I did something stupid there (the colors of the wires probably matters). But it didn't seem to affect my troubleshooting, and now it matches the diagram I found somewhere on TB.

I suspect this isn't the end of the story, but I sure hope it is!

View attachment 7295503

If someone was messing around with the original and miswires it, and then you replaced the driver while carefully observing the polarity as it was found, it could still be wired wrong. However, if you verified it according to your drawing, it should be correct.

 

[agedhorse]

The movement is not a self test, it’s the normal DC offsetting that occurs at the power amp’s circuitry stabilizes.

You now have all the relative polarities correct. You need to do the battery test using the input jack to test for absolute polarity.