Strange CSi5 issue

OpticalSerenity

So, I bought a brand new CSi5 today from Tweeter.

I got home, connected it to my Denon AVR-1706 receiver, and only the tweeter is working on the CSi5. So, I thought it was the speaker, so I exchanged it for a new CSi5. Same thing.

So, I connected the CSi5 to the front right channel, and everything works great. I connected the RTi6 from the front right to the center channel, and everything works great. Just the CSi5 on the center channel doesn't work, only the tweeter works.

I've changed cables, and checked all connections.

How could this be? How is it that the RTi6 on the center channel works fully, and yet the CSi5 does not? Yet the CSi5 works fine on the Front Right channel.

Please help. I'm going nuts trying to figure this out!

UPDATE:

I switched from the bottom terminals on the speaker to the top terminals, and shazam, it works. I can't imagine why this is the case, but everything was nice and secure in the past.

OpticalSerenity

Yeah very secure...I always tighten them down on all the speakers.

OpticalSerenity

So by removing the gold strips and using wire, what benefit will I get?

AndyGwis

Apparently, it will sound better. . . that's the benefit

Actually, I think the reasoning is that the brass is somewhat crappy and speaker wire will conduct and shield better. I'm totally making this up, but it sounds about right.

TheReaper

I have found that when I use bare wire connections (through the hole in the middle of the post). When I tighten down the nuts, they don't always clamp down tight on the metal jumper strips. Which is why I switched the strips out for wire jumpers.

OpticalSerenity

Good deal, I'll give this a try. Thanks.

jhermance

I'll have to give it a try to.

jdannyj

When I hooked up my new csi5 i experienced the same problem. After checking all my connections I jiggled the banana plug around a bit, and that seemed to solve the problem. Now that I've read this post, the jumpers were probably the issue. Unfortunately I'm still not entirely happy with the way the csi5 sounds. When you talk about removing the brass jumpers, and replacing them with wire, are you talking about regular speaker wire? Could you please be a little more specific about how exactly to go about replacing these jumpers with wire.. I would like to try it.

Sherardp

yes regular speaker wire, 10-14 awg with spades.

PolkThug

jdannyj

thanks for the reply. pictures are great. especially for newbies.

TheReaper

With banana plugs, using spades is the best way.

For the bare wire people. Someone posted that he stripped a section of insulation off a couple of inches back from the end, in addition to the stripping the end. Then threaded the wire through the hole of one post to the stripped section, and then inserted the stripped end in the other post, an elegant solution. Here is my inelegant solution:

gonzalr

Can you jumper the FR/FL speaker also or it's only applicable to center channel? Is the benefit of using a jumper same with bi-wiring a speaker?

bert26

Hi Gonzalr,

You can certainly jumper your mains (provided you have 2 sets of posts!). Be sure to use 10 - 12 AWG cable if possible. Someone else will have to answer the bi-wire question, but I don't believe it will do the same thing.

Cheers!
Chris