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Monitor Repair

Do speakers need to be maintained ? Do they become less sensitive or does dust prevent the tweeters from moving ? If so , how much would that usually cost. I can't really hear anything out of the ordinary but I often hear some weird resonances which then again might be due to the actual source. It usually happens when watching or listening to ripped material. Little distortions here and there that make me sort of paranoid.

Speaking from a theoretical perspective... the whole mechanism is based on electromagnets, there aren't really any moving parts in the sense of metal against metal. The only kind of "wear" I'm familiar with is if you overdrive the speaker too much and start to melt the coil - in which case, good luck getting it repaired. I suppose it's also possible for excessive heat buildup to damage something else - but again, if that is the case (highly unlikely) then you probably wouldn't be able to get repaired.

But... I am not intimately familiar with the inner workings of each and every type of speaker/monitor. I suppose it's possible that some of them are built in such a way that they wear down some other way; best to ask the manufacturer.

My speakers here have got to be at least 10 years old and I'm pretty sure they sound the same as they always did.

is it the sort of component that either works or doesn't ? My new room hasn't really been treated and it is hard to tell if the resonances that make me go ehh are actually the room. I was watching a movie with my girlfriend and she had a glass that was resonating slightly and I thought my speakers were fucked and had to stop the movie find out what was going on.

I've done a lot of monitor repair in the past.

there's a few things you should do, some just for periodic maintenance, so when something doesn;t sound right.

1, Nearly all drivers have screws (usually allen/hex bolts) that hold them in place. These nearly always come loose through use.

You need to tighten them in a star formation (like you do with car wheels) so you tighten the screw on the opposite side from the last screw you just tightened.

2, Check the screws an the housing - unusual resonant sounds can be panels, vents and ports not being tightly affixed.

3, Sometimes, the internals can become loose due to vibration - there are often pasts that are glued in place which come loose over time.

4, Drivers do over time become worn - the part that is often the culprit is the rubber or farbic reinforced flange that surronds the cone, which allows the movement.

This happened to my vintage 15 inch Tannony concentric cone tweeter speakers. I sent them back to tannoy to get reconed and it cost me 250quid, but they soudned perfect again.


If the spider or the coil is damaged you need a completely new driver and in some cases it just not worth it, just time to get new speakers.

Ritchie, let me know if you need specific advice based on your beand/model.

One of my Yamaha HS 80m, which aren't even 10 months old, tend to distort when I use a sound that's quite powerful around 1khz-2khz mark. It is extremely annoying and really hinders my mixing process. I have literally no idea how it happened

If you're absolutely positive it's the speaker that's the problem (and the other one isn't doing it too) then send it back while you still have your warranty!!

quote:

Originally posted by Owsey2008 One of my Yamaha HS 80m, which aren't even 10 months old, tend to distort when I use a sound that's quite powerful around 1khz-2khz mark. It is extremely annoying and really hinders my mixing process. I have literally no idea how it happened

Sounds like a voicecoil deformation on your tweeter. I would put money on the tweeter being crossed over at between 1k-2k and this will be the point where the tweeter has its lowest power capability in terms of excursion and electrical input capability. It might be blown (where eletrical power input was too high so it fried the voicecoil, or the speaker might not be up to the type of volume at 1-2k you are playing through it.

Thanks for the replies! I think I'm going to send it back. To be honest, I should try to learn something about the whole electrical/voltage stuff. It could well be my problem.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN there's a few things you should do, some just for periodic maintenance, so when something doesn't sound right.

Very interesting, I'm surprised that this can happen without blasting them all the time. How often do you suppose this type of "tune-up" is required?

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut Very interesting, I'm surprised that this can happen without blasting them all the time. How often do you suppose this type of "tune-up" is required?

We do a "first service" at the studio about 1-2 months after new as the screws neay always need a re-tightening when they;re new and first get broken in. It's simply because they are nice and tight when you buy them and the vibrations make the cabinets and drivers ease in to their restring state, so a quick tighten gets them back in order.

This has been the case with Quested VS2108's, B&W Nautilus 802's and Mackie HR824's, as well as some of the Dynauadios and PMC's.

We then check and service them about every six months after that - also sometimes when we are starting a mix for a big project we do it just before the start of the project - it's becomes one part of the routine for prep along with monitor calibration, drive formatting, performance checks and mix layouts/desk models.

DEADMOOSE- that's not actually a bad suggestion as the corssover on the HS80's is between 1-2khz, but the only problem is that I've rarely ever seen a manufacturer replace a tweeter regardless of waranty status - it's like car tyres, but you never know, it's worth a try, I just wouldn't say the problem is a blown tweeter, jst that it;s making a wierd noise.

Ok, how about breaking in monitors a second time? For example, when you get new monitors they soften up a bit. Now over time without much use, do they stiffen back up again? So if you've gone from barely using them for over a year to full load every day, would you take a couple of hours to slowly soften them back up by gradually increasing the volume?

quote:

Originally posted by Fledz Ok, how about breaking in monitors a second time? For example, when you get new monitors they soften up a bit. Now over time without much use, do they stiffen back up again? So if you've gone from barely using them for over a year to full load every day, would you take a couple of hours to slowly soften them back up by gradually increasing the volume?

No - IMO, I don't think you need to do it like that, the materials themselves have been broken in previously and I don't think they stiffen back up like that.

However, I do think you should give them a tighten all round and then again after a month (as above, as if they were new). This is becuase overtime things like wood (cabinets) breath and settle. Temperature also plays a role, depending on how they were stored.

if this never have happened when producing then i wouldnt worry.

it sounds more like it was just the movie that played a frequenzy that ressonated in the window. happens to me all the time, and on all the sound systems i have ever owned.

oh, and havent you ever been outside a club with a proper soundsystem? the whole building is resonating ffs. you have nothing to worry about if the sound isn't coming from the speakers themself. only thing to fix it is build a new house.

quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi if this never have happened when producing then i wouldnt worry. it sounds more like it was just the movie that played a frequenzy that ressonated in the window. happens to me all the time, and on all the sound systems i have ever owned. oh, and havent you ever been outside a club with a proper soundsystem? the whole building is resonating ffs. you have nothing to worry about if the sound isn't coming from the speakers themself. only thing to fix it is build a new house.

Eh? Who said anything about a movie? Every sound system you've ever owned has resonated at a particular frequency?

And yes, when you're outside a club you do feel resonance frequency but that is because it's high SPL bass frequencies, not the PA system resonating as suc

And no, you don't need to build a new house because one of your speakers is making a strange sound.

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