[onemorething]

My Question
What is the actual problem with these speakers, and is it something that can be fixed?
Please tell me streight if they're totally busted 

 
 
Problem:[size=medium] Absent left stereo output / mono output only coming out one speaker (I don't really know)[/size]
 
I bought an old (2009) active 2.1 set of desktop (computer etc...) speakers second hand over the internet and I only get sound out of the right tweeter (the sub seems to work fine). When set up the left tweeter is unresponsive and when I plug in headphones fully into the headphone port on the right tweeter still no sound coming out of the left (headphone) speaker.
 
 
Attempt at Diagnosis:
 
I have tried the speakers with my laptop and a cd player, the problem is the same.
 
When the speakers are powered I touch the tip of the 2.5mm jack (the left audio signal, as I understand) and get only a slight twitch and a low / faint buzz / hum in the right speaker. When stroking the centre band on the shaft of the 2.5mm jack I get a loud buzz / hum from the right speaker (as I understand this band carries the right audio signal). So I might come the conclusion that it is simply the left speaker that is not working... or the jack, or something within the tweeter itself.
 
I've tried several sound tests online and when slowly inserting my headphone jack into the socket on the right tweeter I get both a "left speaker" and "right speaker" mono output coming from the right speaker, then the same mono output coming only from the left tweeter, then what sounds like a "left speaker" and "right speaker" coming from both headphone speakers before getting only a mono output from the right headphone speaker when fully inserted.
 
 
[size=small]System Details & Damage Assessment:[/size] logitech X-230
 
The right tweeter is connected to the powered subwoofer (which seems to work fine) by a cable which attaches via a vga like connection:
 
There is visible damage to a section of this cable whereby the cable jacket is missing and some of the wires have damage to their insulation. The cable contains red and black wires         which seem undamaged (I don't know what any of them are for), yellow and blue wires which have holes in their insulation a string, and a thick bare stripped wire in the centre
which has some nicks to it. I have patched all the wires and the whole section with electrical tape where it had previously been covered with regular brown tape. I don't know how this could affect the system. Maybe it caused a power surge in one of the coloured wires?
 
The right tweeter also connects to the left tweeter and has a 2.5mm jack to connect to the pc or whatever.
 
 
My Best Guess: Either there is an internal problem in the right tweeter or their is a problem with the 2.5mm audio jack.
 
 
 
I would hugly appreciate any tips or advice you could offer, as you can probably tell I'm not hugely competent with audio equipment 

 I've tried to be as thorough as I can and I hope this is in the right section...

 

[billybob_jcv]

I found a couple of pictures of the X-230:



I think it's a bit more complicated than you indicated. One of the satellite speakers seems to be the "Master" and has the volume control, headphone jack and the input from your PC, correct? This Master satellite has the "VGA-type" connector that plugs into the subwoofer. The other satellite is then plugged into the first satellite, so I'm going to call it the "Slave".

I'm not sure what you are looking at when you talk about the 2.5mm plug having both a "left" and "right" signal. Is this the cable connecting the "Master" to the "Slave"? I don't think that is what that plug is for. I think that plug carries only one channel - the "Slave" channel.

So, are you saying that the "Slave" speaker is the one that does not work? The "Master" speaker does work?

The damaged cable - is that the cable on the "Master" that is plugged into the subwoofer? The fact that your headphones do not work correctly when plugged into the "Master" worries me - I think that means there is a bigger issue somewhere. The amp that powers all the speakers is in the subwoofer. I suspect that whatever caused the damage to the cable might be the primary issue. If any of those cables are shorting against each other or the ground wire, that would be a big problem that would need to be corrected.

I have to be honest - I don't think I would spend much time on this.