Swilli Posted June 23, 2019 Report Share Posted June 23, 2019 Hello, I am new to the forum and look forward to some great discussions. I have a pair of AR4x that I have been using for a few months. I hooked up an Pioneer SX 535 to them and the left channel started popping very loudly and harsh. After shutting the unit down and replacing the pioneer with a reliable receiver I now have static coming from the speaker. Very faint sound and no bass. I looked at the main driver and it doesn’t seem to be damaged. Is it possible the speaker could still be ok and possibly just damaged something internally? Has anyone else encountered a similar issue? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted June 23, 2019 Report Share Posted June 23, 2019 Hello Swilli, and welcome to the CSP forum. Hard to tell what's going on yet, but it sounds too early to place any blame with the speaker - - - you really need to identify and isolate the source of the problem. Are you certain that this second receiver is "reliable" and that both channels are functioning properly? Have you double-checked the wiring connections between components? Also, try swapping the two speakers (move B channel speaker to the A channel, and vice versa) and see what happens. This simple test might tell you if the "problem" follows the speaker, or it stays with the receiver's particular output channel. Those Pioneer SX receivers were very popular products, and a properly working 535 should be a nice match with the 4x's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swilli Posted June 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2019 Hi ra,ra Thanks for replying. After taking the 535 out and replacing it with a 636 that I use as on normal basis,I did swap the channels and the problem stayed with the left speaker and did not move with the channel swap. I also hooked up another set of speakers and both worked fine. I do really enjoy the sounds from my 636. The 535 was just brought home from being repaired and hooked up when the popping issue came up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhattanman Posted June 23, 2019 Report Share Posted June 23, 2019 Might need new caps in the crossovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris1this1 Posted June 23, 2019 Report Share Posted June 23, 2019 Hello, I just restored a pair of AR4x speakers, and one of the fixes was to repair a separated tweeter cone from the edge of the basket. I’m sure I am not the only one who encountered this problem, so it might be a good place to start to troubleshoot the bad speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lARrybody Posted June 23, 2019 Report Share Posted June 23, 2019 Chris1 may be on to your problem. Always check the simple obvious things first. Get a paper towel tube and see if you can isolate the problem to your offending driver (ie tweeter). I have also fixed tweeters in Ar 18 (200014-3) and Ar 18S (20038-0) with this problem. The glue becomes dried out over the years and the cones buzz and crackles on the frame. Try gently lifting the cone edge with a dental pick. I used some Aleene's Tacky Glue on a toothpick to go around the perimeter. Don't use too much. Make sure the cone is back in its original position so the voice coil remains centered. Press the cone edge down gently as the glue dries. I have also ran a 2.5k tone at low volume thru the tweeter to make sure the voice coil is aligned. Hope this is it. Eventually you may want to replace the 20uf capacitor and clean or better yet replace the control pot. They are amazing little speakers and actually fit on bookshelves nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted June 24, 2019 Report Share Posted June 24, 2019 Hi Swilli, it is still a little unclear where your diagnosis stands - - - are you stating that you have confirmed that there is one 4x speaker that is properly working and one that is not? The "very faint sound" notation sounds almost like it could be a description of this speaker when a corroded pot cuts out all of the tweeter output, but this alone would not result in "no bass". My original suspicion was that perhaps the two speakers were wired to the amplifier inconsistently, which often results in deficient LF output. The issue mentioned about the tweeter cones is always worth inspecting - - this is a fairly common occurrence with this tweeter (see pic) and a relatively simple repair. Also, you should know that it is very typical for the original capacitors and potentiometers in these speakers to require inspection, maintenance, and/or likely replacement. If you have confirmed that there is one problem speaker and that wiring has been traced correctly, you'll probably need to dig further into the problem cabinet. Plenty of experienced members here can walk you through diagnostic steps, and it is very often useful to post pics of your speakers (keep pics to no more than 100KB in jpeg file format). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted June 24, 2019 Report Share Posted June 24, 2019 On 6/22/2019 at 9:46 PM, Swilli said: Very faint sound and no bass. At least one significant problem is most likely to be a damaged woofer in the offending speaker cabinet. The next step to take (since replacing the amp) is to remove the woofer, and try playing some music through it independently. The lifting tweeter cone edge is a common issue and should be addressed as well, but "no bass" is a woofer issue, and does not involve level controls or capacitors. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swilli Posted June 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2019 Thanks for all of the replies. It ended being a damaged woofer. I ended replacing the woofers in both cabinets and now good to go. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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