Pop goes the SRS 1.2TL

Big Dan R
Big Dan R Posts: 131
edited October 2003 in Troubleshooting
Whew, I have been enjoying my systym for several weeks now until yesterday. Bare with me as Im not very techinical...When I turned on my Carver C-1 pre and M1.5T amp, the right 1.2TL started making a loud popping noise, the leds on the amp were all blinking including the ones indicating head room exhausted. This is with none of the other components turned on. When I turned the balance full to the left speaker, the popping stopped and the leds stopped blinking. I triple checked all of the wires and connections and nothing was wrong. I unfastened the rear round plate of the right 1.2 and the terminals were well sealed, nothing strange. I reached into the speaker enclosure to see if any wires were touching or were loose. I wiggled some then refastened the plate. I turned the pre and amp on, no popping, no blinking leds. I listened to 2 cd's and all was fine. On the 3rd cd which has a song with an abrupt loud sound(Bryan Ferry's Frantic, track 10) the popping and headroom exhausted indication returned. I turned the system off.
Should I pull out the plate on the front of the cabinet for a better view of wires and connections? What exactly might I look for? Thanks for any and all help.
Dan
Post edited by Big Dan R on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,564
    edited October 2003
    Are you sure it's not your amp? Do you have any other speakers that you can hook up?
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • bikezappa
    bikezappa Posts: 2,463
    edited October 2003
    Intermittents are difficult to solve sometimes. The first goal is to find out what component is broken or doing something intermittently. The problem sounds like it could be doing damage to one or more components however so be cautious.

    You need to determine what is broken-electronics or speakers. Try reversing the left and right speaker wires from the amp. If the poping noise changes to a different speaker then the electronics are the problem. If the poping noise is still with the original speaker then that speaker or wires are the problem. If it is the speaker I would then check and compare connections and resistances with an ohm meter in the problem speaker to the good speaker.

    Good luck and be patient with intermittents, they suck.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SDA SRS 1.2
    SDA SRS 1.2 Posts: 255
    edited October 2003
    Yikes Dan! Sorry to hear about this. Don't know what it could be but the closest I ever came to having that happen was one time when I wasn't thinking and turned the amp on first instead of last as i should have. The thump was loud enough to let me never do that again! Good luck with the fix!
    Main System: Polk SDA SRS 1.2 Speakers, Sunfire Signature 600~two Amp, Carver C-16 Preamp, Carver TX-11b Tuner, Marantz 6350Q TT, Philips CDR-775 Recorder, Teac V-707RX Cassette Deck, Signal Cable Double Run Speaker Cable

    Upstairs Den: Marantz 2325 Receiver, Marantz 5220 Cassette Deck, Marantz HD-880 Speakers, Marantz 6370Q TT

    Exercise (Kabuki speaker) Room: Kenwood KR-9600 Receiver, Pioneer CS-99a Speakers, Sansui SP-X9000 Speakers (not pretty, but LOUD! :) )
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited October 2003
    BDR,

    bz has sugggested some nice steps, and I would perform those. Ditto F1's suggestion to hook up another pair of speakers. Just eliminating some possibilities.

    But after the above, I think it likely that you find you have an electronics or IC issue. The 1.5's lights dancing would indicate it's reacting to an input signal, and while it is possible it is self-generating it, I'd look elsewhere.

    Could be a source. You mentioned the CDP was a source when it acted up. Has this been the case on all occassions? If yes, try another source like the FM tuner.

    It could be the pre. Plug in headphones and see if the pre is generating the noise...
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • har_navalta
    har_navalta Posts: 957
    edited October 2003
    I experienced that before and the cause is the interconnect that was loose.

    Good luck,
    Har
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Big Dan R
    Big Dan R Posts: 131
    edited October 2003
    Thanks guys for your info. I originally thought the amp was the problem. I switched speaker wires left with right and the right speaker still was popping. Hooked up another speaker and it sounded fine, no popping and no blinking leds. Ive tried all of the components, turntable, tuner, cd player, dvd, cassette player and no change. The interconnect is tight on both sides.
    Dan
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • bikezappa
    bikezappa Posts: 2,463
    edited October 2003
    Try playing music without the interconnect wire.

    Has the cat bitten the speaker wire anyplace?

    Is the problem still intermittent?

    Get an Ohm meter and check internal resistances in the problem speaker and compare them to the good speaker. If there are differences you have further isolated the problem. I know some of the members have schematics of the speakers.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited October 2003
    Had the same thought about the SDA IC...

    Otherwise Dan, contact Ken Swaugger. He can mail you an SDA troubleshooting guide. Series of VOM checks with various connections undone....

    Good Luck...
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Big Dan R
    Big Dan R Posts: 131
    edited October 2003
    At low volume speaker sounds ok, amp normal, no cat BZ. Ill phone Ken.. as I thought this was a direct line to Polk CS.... Thanks guys.
    Dan
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited October 2003
    Hello Dan,
    The combination of the amp's LEDs flashing and the popping sound from the speakers could indicate a problem in the speaker's crossover network possibly combined with a damaged 6.5" driver. A typical approach would be to exchange the two crossovers to see if the problem follows the crossover. I hesitate to suggest this based upon the amp's reaction, having the overload LEDs flash is a concern. It might be best to send that speaker's crossover to Polk Audio, 5601 Metro Drive, Baltimore, MD. 21215 attention Ken and I can check it out.
    Regards, Ken
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter