Tweeter trouble

Simplyrandom

I recently picked up a pair of 10a's. I have been enjoying them while I went through the process of cleaning them thoroughly. To say they were filthy would be an understatement however they are solid with square corners and very minimal vinyl edge peeling. I changed the fuses though I do need to go at the fuse contacts with some cleaner to ensure they are in tip top shape. I have one peerless tweeter that makes a static sort of sound on occasion. I was wondering if that is a symptom of a tweeter going south. I was wondering what my first course of action would be to troubleshoot this issue. I would greatly appreciate any input.

george daniel

I would swap the tweets and see if the problem follows the suspect tweet.

michaeljhsda2

More than likely it's a corroded fuse holder. I had the same issue with mine, however, I didn't know about this common issue at the time and instead bought a replacement tweeter because I screwed up trying to remove it. Keep in mind that the tweeters in your speakers may not have a quick connect on the wires but are instead soldered to the tweeter posts. If that's the case, DO NOT try to melt the solder and pull the wire off because too much heat will make the binding post just fall off, just ask me how I know Instead snip the wire fairly close to the tweeter.

westmassguy

The early 10s were all soldered, Tweeters and Woofers. Thoroughly clean the prongs on the fuse block, even a some 0000 steel wool my be called for. Install new 1 amp, AGC, Fast Blow Fuses, and use a contact dressing such as DeoxIT. I would also inspect the crossovers. I've run across many 10As with burned, burned out, and heat damaged resistors and circuit boards. Pull the PR, and taker a close look.

Simplyrandom

I already had the crossovers out and saw no evidence of burning or heat damage but I will pull them again and look closer. I know when I pulled the woofers that one had soldered connections and one had spade connections. I thought that was a bit odd and it did not appear as though it was a repair or from driver replacement. I do know my pair are quite far apart in serial numbers. 2,760 apart even. The dates on the woofers span 5 months from June 82 to October. I guess I will scrub the contacts tonight then pull the crossovers and inspect thoroughly. Then I will pull the tweeters and swap them. I am curious to what method you use for this if trying to desolder the connections may damage the posts. Should I clip the wires an inch off of the contact and then tin them and solder the wire splices ? I guess I could clip then close and add spade connectors if they do not already have them.

westmassguy

Solder and Spades is odd. I would cut the wires 1-1 1/2" away from the solder joint, strip and tin them, then slide some heat shrink tubing on so they'll be insulated when you're done.

george daniel

Let's not over analyze this,, snip the wires and replace/swap the tweeters,, report back your findings.

TennMan

If you are going to cut the wires 1-1/2" away, solder on spade connectors to the ends of the wires so you don't have to cut the wires again on down the road.

Simplyrandom

Well the issue is not my tweeter. I cleaned the contacts on the fuse holder and then I decided I would swap the speaker wires before I did surgery. The issue followed the wire so I am sad to say the issue is in my receiver. I am a sucker for old Onkyo beasts and I guess this TX4500 MKII could use a trip to the service man. I am picking up a TX5000 tomorrow.

westmassguy

Be sure whatever you use can handle 4 ohm loads. The 10s were listed as 6 ohm, but everything below 3KHz is handled by the two woofers.

Simplyrandom

Well at the risk of taking my own thread off topic I would not mind suggestions on a replacement for my Onkyo TX-4500mkII. I have had difficulty finding specific specs for it but I am certain it is rated at 65w rms into 8 ohms and not only have I read it is rated for 4 ohms but knowing I could run A+B would imply it was good at 4. It is stated on the back under the C speaker connection total impedence more than 4 ohms. I have a limited budget for this hobby and I know that this can get stupid expensive very quickly. I have been looking at Adcom as that seems to be in my price range. I currently have a Pioneer PL10 and a couple of Onkyo cd players that I am happy with at the moment. I like some of the Adcom GFPs because I sure would like me a remote. I am only interested in 2 channel and using my Polk 10a's.

Schurkey

Simplyrandom wrote: »

Well at the risk of taking my own thread off topic I would not mind suggestions on a replacement for my Onkyo TX-4500mkII...
... I have been looking at Adcom as that seems to be in my price range. I currently have a Pioneer PL10 and a couple of Onkyo cd players that I am happy with at the moment. I like some of the Adcom GFPs because I sure would like me a remote. I am only interested in 2 channel and using my Polk 10a's.

Do I understand this correctly? You need either another receiver, or an integrated amp, or a preamp and power amp?

Do you ever listen to broadcast radio? I don't. There's no reason to buy a "receiver" if you don't want the tuner--except that receivers are far more common than integrated amps and separate preamp/power amp. MOST receivers have relatively low-cost/moderate performance preamp and poweramp sections. An integrated amp or separates is the "quality" way to go in most cases.

What is your budget?

Simplyrandom

I currently have receivers. I would like to upgrade to a preamp and a power amp. I had always steered away from that combination as it was out of my budget. I would prefer the pre have a phono stage in it. I have noticed I could get into an Adcom used for under 500. I just didnt know if there were any reasons to stay away from that brand or if anyone had any suggestions of other manufacturers. I do not need a tuner and if I do later on there are plenty of options.

Faustin

I bought a used GFA 555 and a GTP 500 for under $500. Had the remote and everything was in wonderful shape. Had some caps replaced on the amp a few months ago and had everything checked to make sure all was at spec. Have been very happy with the set up and it will run any of the speakers I have. I also found a Yamaha CR 2020 for $140 from the original owner that is in perfect shape. I currently use that to run my 10a's in my office Has plenty of power and looks good too.

Simplyrandom

Thats exactly what I was looking at. I would like to get the GFA 555 but I would not mind the 545 either. I have also been curious about the hybrid tube offerings of yaqin and qinpu but I prefer to stick with something more reliable like the Adcom or Parasound.

TennMan

I have a GFA 555 and I have owned the 545. Both were good amps for the monitor 10Bs that I owned. If you have any plans to get SDAs in the future the 555 might be a better choice in the long run. My 555 handles the 4 ohm load of my modded SDAs 2BTLs with ease.

Faustin

TennMan wrote: »

I have a GFA 555 and I have owned the 545. Both were good amps for the monitor 10Bs that I owned. If you have any plans to get SDAs in the future the 555 might be a better choice in the long run. My 555 handles the 4 ohm load of my modded SDAs 2BTLs with ease.

^^^^^^
Yup. The 545 will be great with the 10's but the 555 will give you more options