Huge sigh of relief

F1nut

A number of days ago I got the chance to actually sit down in front of the big rig and listen to one SACD. However, something was off as in the sound stage was shifted to the right. Not having the time for an investigation right then I made a mental note to check it out ASAP, which happened tonight. I listened to a number of cuts from familiar CD's and SACD's noting all were shifted right. My first thought was I had lost some hearing in my left ear, that my days of audio enjoyment were basically over. Praying that wasn't the case I started messing with connections, still not right. I popped off the grill covers, listening up close to the tweeters, which all seemed to be playing. Now, I'm thinking I've got a tube going bad or an output device or a bad cap and dreaded the thought of tearing into everything. Then for some reason I grabbed my SPL meter and put it an inch away from each tweeter in each speaker noting the readings. After a while I was able to determine that the top left tweeter was playing about 3dB less than the top right. Ah ha! Before I replaced the tweeter I decided to swap the top left and right to see if the problem followed. It didn't, the sound stage was now perfect again. Dirty or loose tweeter connection.....not sure, seems likely.

Thoughts?

msg

Nothing much technical to offer here, but will say that loss of hearing is something I hope against. I never gave it much thought before until I heard a story from work colleague who used to really enjoy music, but lost hearing in one ear completely after some ear infection contracted during a trip. Said he completely lost interest after that, which I can understand. I've noticed it somewhat even just with a stuffy ear during allergy season.

Glad you got it sorted. I can understand that sense of relief. Weird how unsettling it is when something's not working in our systems.

Did you happen to note whether any of the tangs on the tweeters were loose? I've noticed that before on some SL2000's when swapping in new 194's.
How about the wire connections? Where they that near-nuisance tight fit, or did they come off easily?

Speaking of those connections are all yours upgraded, or do you still have the oe ones? The oe ones seem to be a bit loose with just that dimple in the connector locking them in.

erniejade

Do you have any pets that could have knocked the top speaker cable loose?

littlewoodboats

When I got my current pair of M7's I thought one of the SL2500's was toast. As it turned out it was also a failing connection. Connectoritis is no fun

I am glad it was nothing more than a connection. For a lover of audio to develop hearing issues is a sad thing.

F1nut

Did you happen to note whether any of the tangs on the tweeters were loose? I've noticed that before on some SL2000's when swapping in new 194's.

I can't say I noticed.

How about the wire connections? Where they that near-nuisance tight fit, or did they come off easily?

The small Faston on the top left tweeter did seem a bit loose. Hence, my comment about a loose connection. I squeezed the rolled pieces a bit before hooking up the tweeter from the right speaker. That very well may have been the problem.

Speaking of those connections are all yours upgraded, or do you still have the oe ones? The oe ones seem to be a bit loose with just that dimple in the connector locking them in.

Stock.

F1nut

Do you have any pets that could have knocked the top speaker cable loose?

I do have a rather large Maine Coon, but she knows she'd die if she got anywhere near the speakers. However, I did check those connections and all were good.

skrol

My RTA11TL's had always seemed intermittently little harsh. When I went to give the XO's the treatment, I found that the blue elecrtolytic piggybacked on the yellow mylar cap was not even soldered. The lead was just hooked around the other. I am not sure how much difference it made because I upgraded the caps, resistor and went RDO-198.

westmassguy

A little DeoxIT Gold never hurts. I use it during re-assembly. Keeps any corrosion at bay, and lubricates the connectors. The RDO Tweeter's are extremely delicate. I've snapped a tab off, and several customers have.

halo

I'm glad you got the issue under control.

I have lived with tinnitus most, if not all, of my life. Listening to music at moderate levels actually helps to "distract" from the constant ringing in my ears.

BlueFox

halo wrote: »

I'm glad you got the issue under control.

I have lived with tinnitus most, if not all, of my life. Listening to music at moderate levels actually helps to "distract" from the constant ringing in my ears.

I find that pure piano music really aggravates the tinnitus in my left ear, yet turned up rock is soothing. On the other hand, I think it was the rock that caused the tinnitus. LOL.

treitz3

Hmmm, this is interesting Jesse. First off, I am glad that the rig is back to normal. With that said, the one thing that came to mind would be that it wasn't the connection from the tweeter at all, that it was upstream in the component section of the crossover. Hear me out.....

The connection on the tweeter is either there or it isn't. Worst case scenario in my own experience is that if the connection is loose there, then on occasion you might hear a crackle or unwanted artifact that follows the volume and is sparatic. I have not once heard a 3db drop form a loose connection on the tweeter.

Here are my thoughts - when you disrupted the wiring when you swapped the tweeters, a connection from the components the OTHER side of the wires go too (crossover side of the wire) may have been jarred just enough to remake the connection. This may have "repaired" the tweeter db drop.

I would check to see if there are any suspicious connections on the components closest to the wires coming from the tweeter.

Tom

Joey_V

I'm glad you didnt lose hearing Jesse

gmcman

Good to hear it's the source and not the receiver... Definitely would be a scary experience. Maybe you can close the molex connectors up a little to snug things up...assuming those are the type of connectors you have.

gp4jesus

???

BlueFox

I just had my scary moment. Tonight was my worst commute night home in 25 years. Three times I had people just cut right into my lane while I was next to them. I still smell something burning from my car out in the garage.

So, it's Friday and all I want to do is listen to some rock and drink some beer. Now I'm sitting here and I occasionally hear from the right speaker a very slight blaaattt on some notes, frequencies or whatever. Since I am very familiar with the system sound I sit up and really listen. Yes, something at certain points is different. Plus the left seems a touch louder. WTF I scream. I do not need this tonight.

Then I got lucky. My first thought was verify the connections, and when I looked at the right speaker I see the mid/high spade connection is almost off and bent. I get some needle noses and straighten the spade and reattach it. Power on the right amp. Okay sounds better.

After eye balling the speakers I turn the right in a tad, and now the sound is balanced. Thank the 'verse' I proclaim.

I think being able to pick up on this type of detail is a necessary ability, especially when evaluating cables and power cords.

gp4jesus

I'm convinced, the more intricate the system, the more troublesome & frequent the gremlin attacks.

Last weekends I experienced similar left channel "Argh!" A quick once-over revealed "Connectoritus" on my left channel's woofers @ the amp. Thanks Steve (little wooden boats). The affliction now has a name.

Tony

dkfreebird

Mine has shifted to the left and I can't figure it out.Pardon the hi rez pic.

nooshinjohn

F1nut wrote: »

Do you have any pets that could have knocked the top speaker cable loose?

I do have a rather large Maine Coon, but she knows she'd die if she got anywhere near the speakers. However, I did check those connections and all were good.

I have had a couple Maine Coons... If you can't have a dog, they are a very close second on the loyalty scale. Amazing, beautiful and loving animals.