Buzzing from a woofer

[scardeal]

So, I finally got my Continuum (II) speakers together, dropped one (approx 35 inches from desktop to the floor), fixed the cabinet damage, and finally sat down to listen...

And one of the woofers was buzzing or fuzzing distortion with certain frequencies. I tried to confirm that all the contacts looked good and they did. A different pair of speakers did not have the same issues, so it wasn't upstream. I swapped the woofers between the speakers, and the distortion followed the woofer. Previously, the right speaker had the distortion, and after I swapped the woofers, the left speaker had the distortion. I don't *see* anything wrong with the woofer, but I'm not sure what I'd be looking for.

Is there anything I can check before saying that the woofer is bad and forking over $70 for a replacement?

[fpitas]

So, I finally got my Continuum (II) speakers together, dropped one (approx 35 inches from desktop to the floor), fixed the cabinet damage, and finally sat down to listen...

And one of the woofers was buzzing or fuzzing distortion with certain frequencies. I tried to confirm that all the contacts looked good and they did. A different pair of speakers did not have the same issues, so it wasn't upstream. I swapped the woofers between the speakers, and the distortion followed the woofer. Previously, the right speaker had the distortion, and after I swapped the woofers, the left speaker had the distortion. I don't *see* anything wrong with the woofer, but I'm not sure what I'd be looking for.

Is there anything I can check before saying that the woofer is bad and forking over $70 for a replacement?

You probably shifted the pole piece and magnet. Not repairable easily.

[scardeal]

BTW, it's most noticeable when I'm listening to male voices speaking solo, if that makes a difference.

[drab]

Check to see if a portion of the dust cover has delaminated from the cone.

[scardeal]

Check to see if a portion of the dust cover has delaminated from the cone.

Would that be visible from the front of the woofer peeking through the frame from the back?

[tomzarbo]

You probably shifted the pole piece and magnet. Not repairable easily.

Sounds like that's probably what happened, the magnet is heavy and a full yard is a long distance for something like that to stop all of a sudden without something giving..

If you take the driver out, you might be able to see if the magnet assembly moved any.

But, if you just push the cone in with your fingers you might be able to tell if it is rubbing or not.

Sorry about that! I just kicked myself for dropping a trim router last week and had to wire in a new toggle switch... much cheaper repair that a driver, though.

TomZ

[fpitas]

Would that be visible from the front of the woofer peeking through the frame from the back?

No, not likely. It only takes a few thousandths to ruin everything.

[djg]

As a fairly new Continuum owner, I encourage you to get it fixed and enjoy your new speakers. Very unfortunate incident.

[drab]

Would that be visible from the front of the woofer peeking through the frame from the back?

From the front. If any portion of the dust cap on the center of the driver comes loose, it can rattle off of the cone as it vibrates. Obviously it may not be the problem but it is worth a look.

[fpitas]

Be nice if it's just the dust cap. A little adhesive and it's fixed.

[drab]

I had it happen several years ago with a Dayton DA175. I noticed it buzzing but only when Jeff Buckley would hit some ridiculous note. I tightened down all of the mounting screws trying to make it go away and finally decided something must be wrong with the driver. I figured I would buy a new one at some point and just wouldn't play Buckley till I did. Long story short, a while later the dust cap just fell off. I thought hmmm, threw Buckley on and everything was great! A year or two later I glued it back on, I don't move too fast.

[fpitas]

I had it happen several years ago with a Dayton DA175. I noticed it buzzing but only when Jeff Buckley would hit some ridiculous note. I tightened down all of the mounting screws trying to make it go away and finally decided something must be wrong with the driver. I figured I would buy a new one at some point and just wouldn't play Buckley till I did. Long story short, a while later the dust cap just fell off. I thought hmmm, threw Buckley on and everything was great! A year or two later I glued it back on, I don't move too fast.

Lol

[djg]

I'm not saying I know what's wrong, but it seems to me a 3 ft. fall is going to affect a heavy magnet more than an essentially weightless dust cap. Pretty easy to see if it has come loose.

[scardeal]

The dust cap isn't obviously loose, and giving a little pressure on it while it's playing doesn't mitigate the distortion. I'm inclined to agree that it's the pole piece / magnet :(

[jhollander]

Like mention above move the cone and listen for scraping noises, if so it's toast. I've also had inductors break loose and wring move contacting the cone causing buzzing noises.