AMR 130 Front Speakers Popping
dmeans10
Posts: 2
I just got my new AMR 130 computer 5.1 speakers and i noticed the front 2 speakers pop when i play music. i know they arent blown or anything because i have never turned them up past like 1 notch. I am guessing it may not be the speakers since when i direct the signal to the rear satellites the front ones pop even though they arent making any other sounds. Any suggestions would be great because i love these speakers and would hate to have to replace them.
Post edited by dmeans10 on
Comments
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Hi:
What kind of sound card do you have? If it is a SB 5.1 did you go into the setup and configure correctly? Did you read the instructons on how to set your system up?
Gary -
Im pretty sure the connections are good and that everything externally is set up right. now the soundcard is a different story. I think everything is in order that i can tell, its set in 5.1 which is wat i have, AMR 130, and i turned off the virtual sorround sound. Im not too knowledgable about computers when it comes to technical stuff but any suggestions would help. thanks
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Hello,
Thanks for posting on the Forum. We have a pretty fool proof method of determining if there is a problem with a computer speaker. What is needed is an alternative sound source, such as a portable CD player or a Walkman tape player, anything with a stereo mini-plug headphone jack. Then, there are three connecting cables that go from the Polk sub-woofer to the jack panel of your computer. One-at-a-time remove each cable and, with the playing volume all of the way down, and plug it into the alternative sound source's headphone jack. The gradually turn up the playing volume and judge the sound, repeat with the remaining cables. This will determine if the problem is with the speakers or another area of the computer or sound card performance.
Regards, Ken Swauger -
if you have no problem with them when using the cd player your sound card internal amp might be turned on.
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I'm having the same problem with my AMR 130's. I got them about 3 months ago, and they were working fine till i few weeks ago. They get a loud pop in them at random times. The pop occurs at whatever volume I have the speakers set at. I have a soundblaster live, not the 5.1 card though, so I dont have the center speaker hooked up. As far as I can tell everything is hooked up properly. I have yet to try the cd player method described above, but when I do I'll let you know if it fixed the problem.
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Dear Ken:
I'm sending this to your attention because my problem sounds very similar to the ones you addressed in the quote below. A little less than a month ago, I purchased a set of your AMR-50 computer speakers. Until yesterday, I was very pleased with their performance, but they began to "pop" and "crackle" really bad with the volume set way below half. At first I thought my computer was at fault, but then I reconnected the tiny speakers that came with it, and they worked OK. Just now I tried the test you suggested & the Polk's did the same crack - pop - drop out (using a separate CD player and a CD I know is good).
I'm pretty sure they are not "blown", because I had never gotten them even close to full volume, and (until this happened) never heard any distortion at all. I would appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks, AL ROBERTS, aroberts52@hotmail.com.
Originally posted by Kenneth Swauger [/i]
Thanks for posting on the Forum. We have a pretty fool proof method of determining if there is a problem with a computer speaker...or sound card performance.
Regards, Ken Swauger [/B][/QUOTE] -
my set of AMR-130 also makes popping sounds. I have a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 on WinXP home editon. how do i turn off the internal amp?QHOBBES
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Hi:
I would try and go into the soundcard's mixer settings and see if there is a way to turn it off. It should be somewhere in the softwear.
Gary -
DEAR qhobbes:
I am sending a reply because I got a message in my inbox today from "Club Polk Mailer" <webmaster@polkaudio.com>" saying you had posted a reply to my message. I don't know about the AMR-130's, but my AMR-50's had the problem I described above. The thing that gets me is - they sounded great - especially for "computer speakers" for the first three weeks - then without warning they began a sound I can only describe as grounding out. Severe pop-crack; I re-booted, shut the speaker system off & back on - sounded OK for a few seconds, then grounded out again.
I did several checks - in short, the problem is NOT my computer. Ken S. responded to my message, told me to send it back and (after paying about one-half the original cost in shipping), my subwoofer was rec'd in San Diego at 9:38 this morning, according to USPS tracking. If I receive a good WORKING system back, I will think this is a good company that just made an honest mistake. If not, I will let you know, believe me. As I pointed out in my registration comments when I bought the speakers in May, the last time I bought new speakers was a pair of Advent's about 25 years ago. They still work fine today (albeit after a cone replacement). IF this turns out OK, I will certainly consider the Polk brand in the future.
Sincerely,
Al -
can you or someone post information about returning speakers
for service?QHOBBES -
qhobbes:
This is the information I received from Ken in customer service:
>>send the sub-woofer to us at Polk Audio, 2550 Britannia Blvd., Suite D, San Diego, CA. 92154. Please include...your name and address and a copy of your sales receipt...
Ken Swauger, Polk Customer Service<<
This is probably the same location you should mail your speaker(s) to, but it might be a good idea to send them a message first to make sure.
The email address I used is:
polkcs@polkaudio.com
They should be able to help you.
Al -
Hello,
Yes, that is the correct address.
Ken Swauger -
rcolonie,
My amr130 speakers center channel makes the occasional popping noise... Has nothing to do with the computer -> even makes it when I disconnect the computer! Its random and drives me crazy (lasts for less than a second, but is the same volume no matter what volume the speakers are set to).. The WEIRD thing is I've returned another set that did the same thing! I'm beyond the 30 days, but I may fight at Fry's to return these because they are obviously all bad.
-Victor -
Victor / Vissa - yes this seems to be a very common problem with no cause I can identify. After quite a bit of effort, I did receive a replacement for my AMR's. The thing I don't understand is - you cannot set any controls (on WinAmp, the computer master volume, "wave". or the speakers themselves) above about one-fourth power before the crackling and distortion force you to turn it back down. This is really frustrating for speakers that SEEM to have some potential. Email me if you wish - perhaps we can figure something out.
Allen R.
aroberts52@hotmail -
Actually I realized its not just the center channel. I sent a support request to polk.. don't know what they will do. Unfortunately I just realized I threw out the box, so I can't return it to Fry's. My problem seems a bit different than yours. It makes noise regardless of where my volume is set at. Its totally random and intermittent.
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my amr 130 is making the same popping noise, i even went as far as swapping out my sb audigy gamer and went to a sb 5.1, but still they pop, and i did the cd player test, same outcome. from what i understand about electronics, it sounds like a capacitor unloading, but i'm not a tech.so i'm screwed with out the box or a copy of the reciept. i think i may go buy some klipsch. i will say this much, they have been awesome speakers, but the popping has to go.
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Sent Customer Support an email a week ago... Not even a reply! I thought polk had good support?
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Given the sheer number of people having this problem, it is clear that this popping sound comes from the speakers and not the computer or sound card. I never had that "that" problem with my previous speakers.
Currently, this has not been much of trouble for me, on the other hand, speakers are a plus in most other respects. That is exactly why I am planning to live with it. -
I FEEL THAT THEY NEED TO CHECK INTO WHY THEY POP!based on what i have checked, its in the internal amp. it isnt my computer nor my sound card. and seeing i shelled out $170. for these, i'm getting disappointed
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as a follow up to my problem before, I sent back the subwoofer and they sent me a new one, which remedied the problem for about 2 weeks, and now the popping is back and even worse than before. I'm through trying to fight this, once I get some more cash I'll be getting new speakers, but hopefully anyone reading this thread will NOT buy these speakers.
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Hello Forum members,
If you are experiencing any kind of popping sounds or intermittent performance from any of the AMR multi-media type speakers, there's three things to do:
1). remove the multi-pin DIN type cable that goes from the satellite with the volume control to the sub-woofer. Carefully examine the small pins found on the inside of the connector. Make sure that none of the pins are bent, even slightly. If they are carefully straighten them out with needle nose pliers or tweezers. Keep in mind these are relatively easy to bend, so use care.
2). if this appears to be correct, the next thing to do is to substitute a separate audio source in place of the computer's sound card. The easiest way is to use a portable CD player or a portable Walkman, any device that has a stereo 3.5 mm headphone jack with volume control. For owners of stereo Polk systems, AMR 50 or 70, the Polk cable with the green plug should be removed from the computer and placed into the alternative sound source. Then begin playing the CD or tape turning the volume up slightly to determine the left and right output. For multi-channel owners, AMR90, 150 and 130 the other cables, blue and yellow will have to be checked after the green cable has been checked. If all of the speakers exhibit no problem then the difficulty could be the operation and setup of the sound card.
3). if the popping sounds continue when externally connected, it would be best to send the sub-woofer (where the amplifiers are) to Polk Audio, 2550 Britannia Blvd., Suite D, San Diego, CA. 92154. Please include a short note giving us your name and address and a copy of your sales receipt. We'll promptly send the necessary replacements, at no charge. If the problem seems directly related to the speaker (three out of four sound fine, for example) as opposed to an intermittent on/off condition, then send just the non-working speaker. If in doubt, send both the speaker and the sub-woofer.
Regards, Ken Swauger -
I am too having the speaker popping problem. It happens even when connected to NO audio source. Based on that I thought it was maybe dirty power spiking, so I replaced the wall outlet and also tried outlets in other rooms (on different breaker switches) -- no luck. Still popping. Popping gets worse and more frequent the longer the speakers are on. The popping is at the same volume no matter what volume the speakers are set at. I really enjoy these speakers otherwise, but the popping is ABSOLUTELY horrible. I'm very disappointed in them only because of the popping which I can't seem to fix, and from reading the above posts, no one else seems to have found a solution either.
8(
Any updates? -
No response means no solution I guess.
Guess I'll be buying new speakers. Never buy Polk Audio anything again. Thanks for nothing.
Sad too, I loved these speakers other than the CONSTANT popping I'm getting now.
No one I know will be buyin anything polk in the future either. Not that Polk cares I'm sure.
Sayonara! -
Hello,
If you look at the message three "up" from your last message you'll find a detailed set of instructions on testing the speakers and what to do to obtain replacements. The popping is caused by a failure in the amplifiers contained in the sub-woofer. If you send it to us, and if it's within the warranty period, we send a replacement sub-woofer with new internal amplifiers. If you have any questions telephone us at 1-800-377-7655 and we'll try and help.
Regards, Ken, Polk -
To Ken Swauger and Polk Audio,
I saw those and followed the troubleshooting instructions. They pop when plugged into any audio source or even NO audio source. They pop when plugged into multiple outlets around the house. The DIN pins are fine.
I received speakers as a gift, no sales receipt.
I'd rather put my $$$ towards new speakers from some other manufacturer than spend it on shipping and go through what user "rcolonie" did.
Thank you anyway,
Kevin Dudley -
Kevin,
I can understand your frustration, I'm sure I can help, why not telephone me at 1-800-377-7655 extension 891 or via email at kswauger@polkaudio.com and let's see if we can resolve the problem? Okay?
Regards, Ken -
I just received my amr-130. after set up it worked fine initially. but all in the sudden at later that evening, the rear speakers started to make humming noise. Not in high volume, but is more than enough to annoy anyone in the room. I switched speakers around and found they were all fine. so it is subwoofer's problem. I don't know if I should return it to reseller ( an online store, heavy shipping
) or should I return to polk for service...
by the way, the humming noise is present even when amr-130 is not plugged into any audio source. -
Same issues here, on a pair that I got as a gift, so no reciept.
Any resolution to this issue yet? -
I've owned the AMR130 speakers for a couple of years now, and I've experienced the same popping noises that everyone else describes. I wish I'd read this forum before I bought them. :-( Oh well! Being the curious electrical engineer that I am, I opened up the subwoofer and removed the circuitboard. (Hint: the glue on the pegs of the plastic housing is easily peeled off with an Xacto knife). There's no visible damage (charring, cold or cracked solder joints, etc.). I tested the bridge rectifier, and checked for failed capacitors. Still nothing. Further testing is not worth my time, so I took the lazy man's way out and purchased replacements for the Philips OM8384j amplifiers. Philips has discontinued the OM8384j (flawed design, perhaps?) and replaced it with the TDA1554Q. The TDA1554Q can be purchased from Arrow Electronics (www.arrow.com) for about $6 each, plus $8 for the cheapest shipping option. When they arrive, I will replace the amplifiers and report my success or failure here.
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Hey Ya'll,
I was seeking info to a popping issue, happened upon this thread, happened upon another thread and thought this may help. Hope it does.
Shawna
QUESTION:
Why are my USB speakers popping on my new Windows XP system?
ANSWER:
This question was answered on March 7, 2002. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting. Data Doctors makes no guarantees as to the quality of this answer, nor to the safety of any procedures contained herein.
Microsoft has acknowledged a possible problem that can cause a popping sound to come from USB speakers on a Windows XP Home or Professional computer.
These pops may come at intervals of every few seconds to every few minutes. According to Microsoft, the pops happen because some frames are being dropped by the USB bus.
You can install a fix by using the Windows XP Dynamic Update package that can be downloaded from:
www.windowsupdate.com
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