very scary noise

replicant
replicant Posts: 6
edited March 2005 in Vintage Speakers
Okay, so I never got around to construction my IC for my SDA CRS+ this weekend, (hopefully tonight will be a solder and rebuild night) but I did have the right speaker connected as a main while watching some TV. Nice sound, even without the SDA circuit enabled.
Very intermittently, as in it only happenned 3 or 4 times max, I would hear a noise. Not really a popping noise, but it sounded like someone broke squelch on a walkie talkie. White noise burst for about 1/4 to 1/2 second. The first time, I didn't think much of it, thought it was a burst of static from the cable or something, then I got to worry if there was something I should check on my new vintage speakers.
Any thoughts? I checked the connections, and they are tight in the binding posts, and this noise never happenned with my regular mains before. Is it possible one of the components in the crossover is starting to fail due to age?
Electronically, I am able to solder (not too great, but passable) and I can hook up + and -, but putting this to you guys seemed the first thing I should do.
Thanks,
Rep
should I throw these ol speakers in
the garbage?
Post edited by replicant on

Comments

  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,408
    edited March 2005
    Are you saying you only had the right speaker hooked up?

    If you had the IC connected, I would say it is a non-common ground amp thing, that's exactly the noise I got when I had a pair of monoblock hooked up to my SDA whatever I had at the time.

    But without the IC in place, I don't know.

    What amp or receiver are you using? Could it be that is what is going bad? Or the Source, does it do it on all sources?
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
    Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
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    ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
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    Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
    Outlaw ICBM - crossover
    Beringher BFD - sub eq

    Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!

    "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
  • PolkFreak
    PolkFreak Posts: 91
    edited March 2005
    You need a common ground amp when using the SDA IC cable.
    If you did not use the IC cable, Your speakers would run in normal stereo void of the SDA F/X. Without the SDA IC cable you
    don't have to have a common ground amp and could run them on
    either type of amp in regular stereo. You can identify that the AMP is "common ground" by it's power cord. The power cord will have an extra "prong" for a total of three metal pieces. That third
    pole is the "ground":D My Yamaha is a common ground receiver,
    but only has two blades and the Left is bigger than the right.
    That way you can't plug it in backwards and it is grounded proper.
    An older receiver "non-common" might have both blades the same size. You probably can't always tell by the plug though. It is
    best to call the company that made the receiver or AMP. IF your AMP has circuit protection it will cut out and power down if it is NOT common ground OR if the wires are out of phase with the SDA IC cable in place. Meaning a positive wire could be where negative wire is supposed to be and vice versa. That could be the wires between the speakers and the AMP or wires backwards within the speaker cabinets. Had to say all of this the long way as it might be helpful to any people new to any of this stuff.

    I hate the way my message turns out after I post it! It looks together and not spread about before I hit the post button.
    The final product looks like crap.

    Cheers from a Polk-Wal-Nut! That would be me! :D
  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited March 2005
    I know of no correlation between plug style and an amp being common ground or not...

    That aside, intermittant noise is not an indicator of a non-comon gorund amp being used.

    rep,
    Sounds like a possible grounding issue with one of your interconnects, perhaps due to poor contact due to oxidation.
    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

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  • replicant
    replicant Posts: 6
    edited March 2005
    welll........... (looks realllllly sheepish)
    It drove me crazy for a day or two...
    I kept sitting on the left corner of the couch.... the projector is up and to the right.......
    I had pulled the composite connector from the projector that usually feeds my vcr signal to it, and hooked up one of those teeny tiny wireless camera recievers and put it the reciever on top of the projector mount.......(2 composites, one video, one audio)
    sooooooo... alll of the audio for the surround and everything is going from the reciever to the appropriate speakers......
    Except for the audio RCA for the camera reciever feeding the projector speaker....
    It seems it was getting a signal every once in a while from who knows what, and the speaker on the projector, (that I usually have muted for obvious reasons), would break squelch. Even with the camera unplugged.


    um, SDA CRS+ working juuuuuuuuuust fine. Interconnect finally made a couple of days ago. Nice noises coming from the main stage area. No more bursts of white noise that I can't localize.
    Cobbled an IC together out of some cheap RCA plugs and 1/4 inch spades, some 12 gauge speaker wire and some solder. They seem to work.
    Had my reciever cut out and display an "OVERLOAD" message for the first time when I pushed the volume up during Pearl Harbor, though. Note to self: Don't jack the volume past the low 60's.
    should I throw these ol speakers in
    the garbage?
  • ozzy44
    ozzy44 Posts: 4
    A common ground amp does NOT have to have a 3-prong power plug or a polarized 2-prong plug! I own a Hafler XL-280 power amp and a Phase Linear DRS-900 amp. Both of these amps are COMMON GROUND, AND both have 2-prong non-polarized AC plugs!
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    Well 16 years later I'd have to think plugs may have changed.
    You are not able to tell common/non-common ground by the plug. An amp could invert one channel and the plug will be the same as a common ground amp.


    Either way welcome to club Polk