Hmmmmm... Speaker seems to have burnt out...

[Dominus]

I've got an Altec Lansing ACS45W Speaker system, and the left speaker seems to have burnt out. The rest work fine. The system is made up of a 200w subwoofer that has the lead to the soundcard. The subwoofer then has what looks like a PS/2 port to the right channel speaker which has the satellite volume controls (the subwoofer has the bass controls) From the right satellite there is what looks like a standard headphone jack that leads to the left channel, which has no volume controls and seems to have burnt out.

The left channel satellite puts out NO sound or vibration. It seemed to have burnt out earlier today during a multiplayer game of Q2 (for anyone who might have been present during that game, I apologize for the cursing) I have a 3 year (limited) warranty on the speaker system which is only 10-11 monthes old, but in order to have it fixed/replaced, I have to send it in to the manufacturer, which I DO NOT want to have to do. Anyone who has had both dinky little tiny speakers and a *****in' set like this will understand why.

The subwoofer and the right channel satellite still work superbly, it's just the left channel satellite thats acting up. I know it's not the most technical problem posted on this board, but since a sizable portion of the SysOpt population may have had jobs at Radio Shack or other electronics repair shops in the past, I thought it was worth a shot.

Thanks in advance,

Dominus

[KillerBug]

Sounds like the speeker is dead, if you do not mind voiding your warantee, open your speeker right now, while you are reading this. Does it have wires going to both the positive and negative? Are they freyed at all? Are the touching eachother? Are they loose? If there seem to be no problems with this, and the line to the speeker works, then the speeker itself is fried, find a new one the same size and rations, pull yours out and cut the leads to it. Hook up the new one just like the old one was, and you are good.

[DavidX]

I don't know the solution but I just wonder if the fault lies in the stereo output from either the subwoofer or even as far back in the chain as the sound card - rather than in the speaker itself.

Also, I know this sounds like a stupid question but: you have checked the balance control in your Volume Control mixer, just in case it was moved all the way to the right by accident?

[Dominus]

The stereo output on the right satellite works fine. I tested it with a pair of headphones and it worked,(the manual said to do that). I also tested the left channel satellite on a stereo, and it still didn't work. I double checked every volume setting that the computer has and re-installed the drivers for the soundcard. Also tested an older pair of speakers (the dinky kind) and they worked fine. Also tested both input ports on the subwoofer (both are identical) and both output ports on the soundcard (powered and unpowered, both can be used with this speaker system). And after all of that, the left channel speaker is still dead.

I'm quite confident that the problem lies in the left speaker itself, and not elsewhere. Does anyone have experience in repairing speakers/stereos? Any advice or insight that you could give to the nature of the problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the replies so far.

Dominus

[This message has been edited by Dominus (edited 07-03-99).]

[DUSTYRUN]

Just as a guess, If your speaker is blown,--If it's minor then the fine wire leading from the connection terminal to the coil on the speaker could be fried. If it is , then splice a small piece of wire into the circuit and use model glue to seal it. If it's major, the coil will be fried. Unless you do this for a living, it's easier to buy anothe rspeaker then to replace the coil. Replacing the speaker is what I would do. If you do, then make sure the new speaker has the same range as the existing one or replace both. GOOD LUCK!

[Zonker]

I thought speakers usually fried first in the voice coil, not the lead wire.

If you're sure it's the speaker, you might want to call Altec and ask them how much a replacement speaker is for that model. I'm sure they would sell you one at a rediculous price. That's how speaker manufacturers are. They would rather sell you a new system than a cone.

You never know, they might ship you one free and void your warranty at the same time http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif j/k

[dawgtuff]

Your voice coil is fried.Take the speaker out and see if Radio Shack has an OEM replacement for it.
Tip:When you drive your speakers to the point of distortion for an extended time,that's when your voice coils overheat and blow out.It's not the speakers fault(generally),it's distortion from the amplifier.Most volume controls give peak output between 10-1 o'clock on the dial.Anything over that is pure distortion.