Speaker problems? Avatar B410 NEO

[Jords1984]

This is copy/paste of what I sent to Avatar via e-mail. Just thought I'd ask for some advice from the lovely TalkBass folks as well!

I purchased a B410 NEO back in 2006. It's been a great piece of equipment for the most part, but I have had a couple issues with it. The first time, one of the electronic pieces on the input panel melted back in 2008 or 9, I think. I ordered a new one from Avatar and put it in. Worked like it was brand new. Then, a few years later, the cab went out again. This time, nothing on the input panel appears to be damaged, but it puts out little to almost no volume and the sound it does make is fuzzed out and weak.

Any idea what this could be? I use a Gallien-Kruger 1001RB solid state amplifer (700W + 50W for a tweeter. I can't imagine I blew all four speakers considering I never pushed the volume passed halfway (for fear of doing such a thing). Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. A few years later, I've got some time to try and solve this problem and I'd love to get this baby up and running again. If I can avoid taking it to an amp/speaker shop, I'd prefer that.

 

[Bass_Pounder]

Volume knob position means nothing.

Depending on your gain staging and EQ'ing, you could very well be pushing your amp at just "halfway".

Your going to need to pull out the speakers and test them with a multimeter.

 

[Jords1984]

Volume knob position means nothing.

Depending on your gain staging and EQ'ing, you could very well be pushing your amp at just "halfway".

Your going to need to pull out the speakers and test them with a multimeter.

Right now it's reading around 5-6ohms. I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be 8ohms.

 

[Bass_Pounder]

Nope, your in the right ballpark.

Meter readings are always less then the "nominal impedance"

8 ohm speakers read in the 6 ohm range, and 4 ohm speakers in the 3 range.

Maybe a bad connection in the wiring ?

 

[Jords1984]

Gotcha. That's good to know, thank you. It could very well be wiring, but everything looks fine from my eyes. Considering I'm not an expert on speaker wiring, I'll have to get someone to look at it, I suppose.

 

[Bass_Pounder]

Check the fronts of your speakers too.

If there are any light lines in the paper cone near the outside (almost look like water stains), then the cones are creased and need to be replaced. If the cones are creased, they will sound normal at low volume, but fart out real easy when given some more power.

You may also want to pull out the input panel and check the attenuator and circuit board for signs of damage.

 

[Jords1984]

The cones look normal, as does everything on the input panel. The first time I had an issue, there was visible damage. This time, everything looks solid and clean.

 

[Bass_Pounder]

Gently push in on the speaker cone to move it back and forth.

It should be smooth and silent.

Any scraping would note damage to the voice coil, but not yet blown.