# Whats wrong with my tweeter?



## rc10mike (Mar 27, 2008)

Im running Focal 165K2P passive with a bridged Diamond 700.4. Recently I noticed some distortion on the front/right side which sounds like static while the music is playing. Not a constant static, but one that seems to go along with the music.

I t/s the amp and crossovers out of the equation by swapping sides. This leaves the wire running to the tweeter or the tweeter itself. 

The part that gets me, is the tweeter still plays fine at higher volume, its only low-med levels its easily heard. So, if the tweeter was partially blown, wouldn't the problem just get worse as the volume increased?

I know this may sound obvious to others, but Ive never really blown a speaker before...although I hope thats not the case.

I plan on taking out the tweeter tomorrow night, but for now any ideas?

Oops, I thought I clicked on Dumb Question forum..


----------



## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

It is prolly going to need replacement


----------



## rc10mike (Mar 27, 2008)

a$$hole said:


> It is prolly going to need replacement


Why do you say that? Does it sound like its blown to you? Wouldnt it sound worse as I turned the volume up?

I appreciated the response, but you need to include more details.


----------



## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

What more do you want to hear? The tweeter's dead. Replace it.


----------



## rc10mike (Mar 27, 2008)

I have a good feeling I wont be able to find just one TN52 tweeter...so I guess Ill have to settle for something else to run with the K2P mids. What should I look for when trying to find a good match? Note: Id still like to run passive for now.


----------



## skydeaner (Mar 25, 2006)

yeah often times drivers "soft" blow to where they don't actually completely stop working.  And it is almost always more noticable at low volumes.


----------



## CulinaryGod (Jun 5, 2008)

If I can remember correct, I'm the one that sold you the Focal's.. Ironically my front right tweeter is doing the exact same thing. Sounds kind of staticy at low volumes, but at higher it sounds perfectly fine. Both sets were bought at a local audio shop and they're authorized so I'm going to see what hey can do for me as far as replacements. I will let you know when I find out.


----------



## ikoolguy (Oct 23, 2009)

sounds blown...its a comp set right?
i have a pair of boston pros...for awhile passanger side was louder than the drive side
and i thought it was blown then i wasn't getting any mid bass from the driver side as well
so i was really upset and decided to check all the wires
come to find out the mid bass was unplugged
when i plugged it back in....the tweeters was at the same level as the other tweeters
thank goodness that worked out lol
check all the wires and amp
could be a little mistake
hope everything is okay


----------



## rc10mike (Mar 27, 2008)

CulinaryGod said:


> If I can remember correct, I'm the one that sold you the Focal's.. Ironically my front right tweeter is doing the exact same thing. Sounds kind of staticy at low volumes, but at higher it sounds perfectly fine. Both sets were bought at a local audio shop and they're authorized so I'm going to see what hey can do for me as far as replacements. I will let you know when I find out.


You're correct I got them from you. Thanks for the help. I checked the wiring and resistance of the tweeter and it read 6.0ohms. 

So for now I removed the tweeter and crossover.


----------



## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

It might make noise and when louder you just don't hear it, meaning the noise does not increase that much with volume.


----------



## ungo4 (Jun 5, 2009)

What your experiencing is a separated voicecoil. The voicecoil is no longer securely attached to the dome of the tweeter. At low volumes the vc doesn't move enough to stay in contact w/ the dome and makes that static sound your hearing as it touches the dome then moves away. At higher volumes the vc moves more and tends to stay in more contact w/ the dome so you hear the static less or not at all. Also the music may mask the sound at higher volumes as was mentioned earlier. 

If this was a subwoofer the sound would be a very distinct rattle or vibration at lower volume levels. The vc is not burned up so you will still get the same ohm load reading. This is a mechanical failure of the speaker. You could keep playing the speaker but eventually it will stop working all together. You might as well start looking for another speaker.


----------



## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Suitable replacement thoughts...what about the TB ceramic neos?


----------



## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> Suitable replacement thoughts...what about the TB ceramic neos?


I give those thumbs up. Installed them off axis recently in a buddy's element. Sounded really good. Got my eyes on the new SB Acoustics and the new Vifa series. The Vifa's look really really good on paper at least.


----------



## UNBROKEN (Sep 25, 2009)

Contact JM Labs...they have replaced a blown, out of warranty Focal driver for me before. No reciept, no nothing...just sent me another one no questions asked.


----------



## havieri23 (Jul 19, 2006)

tvrift said:


> Im running Focal 165K2P passive with a bridged Diamond 700.4. Recently I noticed some distortion on the front/right side which sounds like static while the music is playing. Not a constant static, but one that seems to go along with the music.
> 
> I t/s the amp and crossovers out of the equation by swapping sides. This leaves the wire running to the tweeter or the tweeter itself.
> 
> ...


actually my tn51 has the similar problem. it sounds like distortion but at the same time dont, but only once it awhile..it sound like a loose tweeter cover, when i hold down the cover there's less of it, but i don't know....


----------



## titansfan (Jan 27, 2009)

I have the same problem with my tweeters. The static sound doesn't occur continuously, only at certain frequencies. The weird thing is that I don't play my stereo loud, or have my tweeter gains set high. I haven't checked the speaker wires, but last Summer, I did notice that the wire was oxidizing...not good. I replaced the wire, but maybe it is oxidizing again. Could the static be related to the source material being played?


----------



## rc10mike (Mar 27, 2008)

I have a good feeling its what ungo4 said. The coils read perfect and the tweeter looks perfect. I have a set of Focal TNK tweets on the way for now...Its weird so may others are having similar issues!


----------



## BMWturbo (Apr 11, 2008)

I once chased a static sounding tweeter for a good few hours, until I realised that it was in the material I was playing 

Try the material on another system or decent set of headphones to confirm it's not the cause


----------



## rc10mike (Mar 27, 2008)

BMWturbo said:


> I once chased a static sounding tweeter for a good few hours, until I realised that it was in the material I was playing
> 
> Try the material on another system or decent set of headphones to confirm it's not the cause


I did try that first. Some songs I heard MANY MANY times before suddenly had a high amount of hiss crap playing along with it. I couldnt hear it on my nice headphones.


----------



## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Like others mentioned, typically, a scratchy/static noise indicates a mechanical issue w/the VC. I have a pair of large format Northcreek tweets in my dash and have noticed the passenger side making the same noise at certain frequencies (primarily). However in my case, I bought a backup set long ago...


----------



## rc10mike (Mar 27, 2008)

So I decided to throw in my Zapco 9.0xd just to see what its like running full-range. Much to my surprise all the stupid noise the tweeter was making is now gone. I put on all the tracks that was most noticeable and could no longer detect it.

I guess my next step would be to reinstall my D6 and see if I could re-create what I heard before.

I already went a bought a new set of tweets


----------



## CulinaryGod (Jun 5, 2008)

Hrmm that's strange. I tried to see what I could do but the audio place is jerking me around a lot so I think I'll just take the advice of someone that posted earlier in contacting JM Lab and see what they can do. What tweeters did you end up getting?


----------



## rc10mike (Mar 27, 2008)

I got the new TNK tweets for now..


----------



## jupsa (Mar 14, 2011)

I am trying to find a couple pairs of TNK tweets to replace my TN47's. Where were you able to find yours?

Thanks



tvrift said:


> I have a good feeling its what ungo4 said. The coils read perfect and the tweeter looks perfect. I have a set of Focal TNK tweets on the way for now...Its weird so may others are having similar issues!


----------

