[darkclouds]

Yesterday, I noticed a strange scratchy noise coming from my right speaker (Totem Mani-2). I have no idea what is causing it. I've narrowed it down to the woofer. There's no tear that I can see. So I just opened it up and it seems that the suspension is making this scratchy noise everytime I push the woofer cone. Sounds like something is scratching against each other. I just don't see what. Any ideas?

 

[darkclouds]

I'm such a fantastic diy! After fiddling around with it, the noise is even worse now.

It was barely noticeable on certain tracks. I have to really listen for it. Now, it's much easier to discern.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Sounds like it's time for totem to send you a new woofer. Could be the spider is torn? Can you see any tears in it?

 

[darkclouds]

Can't find any tears. That was my first guess. Like I said, it makes this strange scratch sound that you can hear during low passages. On higher/louder passages, it gets drown out. Needless to say, it's very annoying. Would you suggest just getting a replacement woofer rather than sending them in for servicing?

 

[gerG]

Yikes! Your description sounds like the voice coil rubbing against the magnet structure. This can happen if the woofer frame is distorted by unequal force from the mounting screws. Does the woofer scrape when you press on the center cap? If so, remove it from the cabinet and repeat the experiment. If it still scrapes, call the manufacturer and ask for a replacement part. If not, reinstall, but be very careful to tighten the screws in a crosswise pattern. Flexible baskets are very susceptible to this symptom.


gerG

 

[ooheadsoo]

Yeah, I was hesitant to mention the voice coil because that would be a worst case scenario. gerG, would you recommend that he keep the woofer even if reseating the screws eliminated the problem?

 

[darkclouds]

Ok, the spider you're talking about is the accordian looking thing right? there's no tears that I can see there. If there is a tear, shouldn't it sound worse as the volume get louder?

Or is the voice coil the accordian looking thing? That is what I believe to be doing the rubbing. I'm pretty sure I can feel it rub when I push against the cap. If that is the voice coil, then I think you may have diagnosed the problem. It would be so much easier if I can get them to simply send a replacement woofer then to have to ship everything to canada.

Please clarify/describe the spider and voice coil.

 

[ooheadsoo]

I'm afraid gerG may be right. The spider is the suspension inside the speaker that you can see (the accordion thing.) The voice coil is inside, you can't see it under normal circumstances.

 

[gerG]

Oof, good question. Stamped steel frame woofers are notorious for this, and you can just tune them with the mounting screws. I would check the woofer out of the cabinet and see if there is a bias, i.e. pressing one side makes more of a difference than another. If so, then the woofer is faulty, and a new one is in order. If the VC seems centered, then I would look at the mounting surface and gasket. Something seems out of tolerance. If it is a cast frame woofer (thick aluminum) then this should not happen in the first place. Again, check the woofer out of the cabinet. The problem could lie in an improperly routed woofer mount, or a lump of crud under the seal. Make sure that the mounting surface is perfectly flat, and there is not a foreign object (like a Volkswagen) caught under the gasket.

Another possibility is a voice coil misalignment in a woofer with an adjustable magnet. This is a very slim possibility, but I am not familiar with the woofer in this system, so I thought I would mention it.

The fact that you did an R&R on the woofer and it made things worse makes me think that it is either a warped frame due to incorrect torque on the mounting screws (or something under the flange) or a piece of stuffing contacting the cone.

gerG

 

[KZEE]

One of my Dynaudio 6" woofers did that once, and it turned out to be the braided speaker lead that goes to the voice coil. It had come loose and was rubbing on the cone.

 

[darkclouds]

Thanks for the help guys. It feels like it's the spider that is scrapping against the frame. In either case, it looks like this isn't going to be cheap.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Heh, actually most likely it's pretty cheap, it's just that totem's about to don a bandanna and gallop on up to your horse and carriage. Unless they do it under warranty, of course.

(Unless you meant a couple dollars by cheap.)

 

[darkclouds]

They're no longer under warranty. I've shot them an email and they want me to send the speakers in for the estimate. I'm hoping it won't be much more than $500 since I really do love these speakers. Maybe I'll check in on their signature upgrade while I'm at it. This just sucks.

 

[rickcr42]

did you try the first step of loudspeaker troubleshooting ?

Swap the left and right channels to either confirm or eliminate the speaker as the culprit.If the problem stays in the same channel it is the amp and not the speaker.But if the problem travels to the other channel with the speaker then your suspicains are on target and you have speaker problems.

BTW-speakers are not easy to blow up up unless played at high volume over a very long time period.It is the heat buildup over time and not the instantaneous power peaks that do damage unless of course you are hitting that baby with 200 watts and it is only rated for twenty (as an example ).
The other may cause is the opposite-underpwered speakers where driven continuously into clipping will also overheat the speakers but in this case usually the tweeters with the harmonics created by an amp clipping which are up in the ultrasonics but at high power-a really bad combination for loudspeaker health

 

[ooheadsoo]

$500? Man, I'm never buying an expensive commercial speaker if they want to rip you off like that. I hope it works out for you for a heck of a lot less than that.