Help with my Tannoys

[farflungstar]

Something weird has happened. I have the kensingtons and have been running them with the front controls set at Treble output Flat. Frequency cut off at +2db. All positions worked before but tonight I thought I'd drop the frequency cut off to flat - nada, no output on one speaker. I tried all positions - nada. Only the +2db is working. But they used to. What the hell has happened and how? Any ideas guys....

Something happened last night which prompted my messing. I was playing Dead Can Dance Into the Labyrinth - final track Wind among the Barley and there was a buzzing in sympathy as a certain very very high note was sung. I put this down to end of side distortion and adjusted anti skate - I didn't recheck it. After all I was playing at around 25w and the tweeters are supposed to take huge amounts of power. And no way was the audio research into clipping.

[walpurgis]

Try some Deoxit on the treble adjusters.

[farflungstar]

Try some Deoxit on the treble adjusters.Just seems weird that all of them except the one I've been using have packed up. Can't believe my house is that mucky lol.

[Jazid]

Are you saying one tweeter is playing up or the whole of the speaker?
I would suggest a loose wire internally is more likely to explain the buzzing and silence than oxidation, though agree that cleaning the contacts can only help and is a sensible first step. If the oxidation built up on all the contacts exposed to air then only the one that was plugged (ie the one you had been using) would be last to suffer. But I thought this generation of Tannoys had gold plated plugs &c?

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

[anthonyTD]

Hi Adrian,
If the high frequency unit is still working on the+2db, then I seriously doubt you have damaged it.
Its probably something to do with the terminals behind the plate, just remove the plate and have a look behind to see if you can see anything obvious, I have had my Kensingtons for years and have run all sorts of amps through them including some high power ones, without a problem.
Hope you get it sorted.
Let me know if I can help further.
A...
Something weird has happened. I have the kensingtons and have been running them with the front controls set at Treble output Flat. Frequency cut off at +2db. All positions worked before but tonight I thought I'd drop the frequency cut off to flat - nada, no output on one speaker. I tried all positions - nada. Only the +2db is working. But they used to. What the hell has happened and how? Any ideas guys....

Something happened last night which prompted my messing. I was playing Dead Can Dance Into the Labyrinth - final track Wind among the Barley and there was a buzzing in sympathy as a certain very very high note was sung. I put this down to end of side distortion and adjusted anti skate - I didn't recheck it. After all I was playing at around 25w and the tweeters are supposed to take huge amounts of power. And no way was the audio research into clipping.

[farflungstar]

Hi Adrian,
If the high frequency unit is still working on the+2db, then I seriously doubt you have damaged it.
Its probably something to do with the terminals behind the plate, just remove the plate and have a look behind to see if you can see anything obvious, I have had my Kensingtons for years and have run all sorts of amps through them including some high power ones, without a problem.
Hope you get it sorted.
Let me know if I can help further.
A...Will take a look behind the plate today if I find time.

As for sound it sounds great - I can easily test the buzzing but am wary of it as am scared of finding a problem!

[farflungstar]

Had the front control panel off - the crossover is sooooo complex and the biggest caps I've seen - but I cannot see anything wrong. Have emailed Tannoy in the hope I can speak to a techie.

[walpurgis]

My money is on dirty contact faces in the treble adjusters, especially as you say they work in one position.

If you've got no access to Deoxit. Try alcohol but only use a little. Use cotton buds in the sockets and a bit of cotton wool or soft cloth on the pins. Make sure no cotton wool debris is left behind and never be tempted to use anything abrasive.

[farflungstar]

My money is on dirty contact faces in the treble adjusters, especially as you say they work in one position.

If you've got no access to Deoxit. Try alcohol but only use a little. Use cotton buds in the sockets and a bit of cotton wool or soft cloth on the pins. Make sure no cotton wool debris is left behind and never be tempted to use anything abrasive.I cannot believe it. For all of them to be dead? And I mean dead - no crackle when jiggling the key into place, nada. The other speaker is fine. Same ambient exposure etc. I will try it.

I cannot get in touch with Tannoy - it's a joke. Their online form asks for firmware version and software - as Compulsory Fields. Don't they make speakers - and bloody expensive speakers? I'd call them if i could find a bloody number - although I have music im not a happy bunny and need to understand what has happened.

[montesquieu]

I cannot believe it. For all of them to be dead? And I mean dead - no crackle when jiggling the key into place, nada. The other speaker is fine. Same ambient exposure etc. I will try it.

I cannot get in touch with Tannoy - it's a joke. Their online form asks for firmware version and software - as Compulsory Fields. Don't they make speakers - and bloody expensive speakers? I'd call them if i could find a bloody number - although I have music im not a happy bunny and need to understand what has happened.

I've been trying to call Tannoy for a few days as well, all you get is some German woman with a recorded message, then regardless of what button you press it just rings out.

Been trying to source a set of boxes for Eatons. In the old days if you called Coatbridge, someone in Coatbridge picked up the phone.

[struth]

if whole speaker is dead check amp for a line fuse or trip

[farflungstar]

I've been trying to call Tannoy for a few days as well, all you get is some German woman with a recorded message, then regardless of what button you press it just rings out.

Been trying to source a set of boxes for Eatons. In the old days if you called Coatbridge, someone in Coatbridge picked up the phone.Do you have a number Tom?

[montesquieu]

Do you have a number Tom?

All you get is the same switchboard regardless which option you press - the number I'd been trying is 01236 420199

[walpurgis]

Try contacting them via their official Facebook page.

[anthonyTD]

I've been having a think about this;
It could be a resistor in the cross-over which has gone open circuit, due posibly through high power distortion, or some kind of parasitic oscillation, I seem to remember you saying you had a noise in the system prior to switching the high frequency unit back to its Neutral position ?
Just a thought.
A...

[farflungstar]

8 minutes waiting. Gave up. Not cheap calling from Spain.

[farflungstar]

I've been having a think about this;
It could be a resistor in the cross-over which has gone open circuit, due posibly through high power distortion, or some kind of parasitic oscillation, I seem to remember you saying you had a noise in the system prior to switching the high frequency unit back to its Neutral position ?
Just a thought.
A...Yes - Lisa Gerrard, two certain notes incredibly powerful and at the same time a buzz from the tweeter. Looking at the crossover the level control isnt resistors it's an autoformer - but I couldn't quite understand the rolloff circuit. I will take it out again tomorrow and photo it and upload it.

But, how could the resistors (?) Have gone open if they were not in circuit (supposedly as the rolloff wouldn't be using those).

Bugger.

[walpurgis]

Could be a dodgy soldered joint. If you have a meter, checking continuity and component values should be easy enough.

[montesquieu]

Try contacting them via their official Facebook page.

Fine if you have facebook.

[farflungstar]

Fine if you have facebook.Tom you can't message them on Facebook either.

[Roy S]

You can

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171218/951b4d88d9455911706aa4b8dfd07c6d.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171218/33e9590c0992a961e18835d2a1889257.jpg

[cooky]

Are the energy controls still functioning or is it just on the roll off section?

Diagram here;https://www.hi-fi.ru/forum/forum44/topic74831/message2295317/#message2295317

[farflungstar]

Are the energy controls still functioning or is it just on the roll off section?

Diagram here;https://www.hi-fi.ru/forum/forum44/topic74831/message2295317/#message2295317Haven't tried the energy levels - will try tomorrow. The diagrams are great thanks but for the GR not the SE so I'm not sure they're the same.... scratch

[farflungstar]

You can

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171218/951b4d88d9455911706aa4b8dfd07c6d.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171218/33e9590c0992a961e18835d2a1889257.jpgHow did you do that Roy?

[Roy S]

How did you do that Roy?

Think you have to 'like' or 'join' the group (vaguely recall doing something of the sort in the past?) then you can message them :)

[farflungstar]

I have to say that on many occasions when I've had a problem or a query I've called companies with ease and spoken to the boss, Dominic at NWA, Peter at Audio Note etc... But trying to contact Tannoy is a bloody nightmare - and considering the price of mine and other speakers this isn't acceptable. I love my Tannoys but equally I value service above and beyond all else - for this reason even if I won the lottery I wouldn't buy Tannoy again.

I'll get Paul at RFC to build me some top of the line external crossovers but that means taking out the old ones and sending them to him .... No speakers... Wait I have the trusty ane's.

[bobvfr]

Think you have to 'like' or 'join' the group (vaguely recall doing something of the sort in the past?) then you can message them :)

Looks like a "Pop up" so make sure you allow these for the page you are on.

[farflungstar]

Got the ' get back to you in one working day' blurb.... Still waiting....

[montesquieu]

I'm 4 days (two working days) and counting.

[farflungstar]

Tried calling numerous times - nada. I got an email - bearing in mind i had explained everything and given serial numbers they asked what the problem was and for photos of the serial numbers.

The communication is with Music Tribe - their parent company. I find ity unbelievable that at the prices of their prestige range you can't speak to anyone.

[anubisgrau]

is tannoy chinese these days?

[Cycleallday]

is tannoy chinese these days?

No its parent is a Phillipnes based company but production is in China

[hifi_dave]

I have to say that on many occasions when I've had a problem or a query I've called companies with ease and spoken to the boss, Dominic at NWA, Peter at Audio Note etc... But trying to contact Tannoy is a bloody nightmare - and considering the price of mine and other speakers this isn't acceptable. I love my Tannoys but equally I value service above and beyond all else - for this reason even if I won the lottery I wouldn't buy Tannoy again.


That's one of the reasons I stopped being a Tannoy retailer. The company was sold, to a Danish company IIRC and the sales staff were sacked right away. So, the rep I knew for years was gone and all contact with the company ceased. They really weren't interested in selling 'proper' Tannoys in the UK, just lorry loads of 'Home Cinema' packages. Since then they have been sold on again, so goodness knows what their service is like now.

[montesquieu]

No its parent is a Phillipnes based company but production is in China

Not all the new Legacy products are still made in Coatbridge.

[farflungstar]

Tom - I'll give you the correct number, the one on the web is obsolete.

01562732299*

Trying to describe my problem to the guy was impossible really - he said he'd spoken to a techie but not Tannoy who said it was the voice coil rubbing. But no mention of the control panel problems. He's promised he will speak to Scotland as 'they make them' - well duh!

I just wish I could talk to one of them. I couldn't make him understand so if he does speak to them god knows what he'll tell them.

Paul at RFC says it's most likely a cap gone open circuit as it's the roll off section but why the actual cap in circuit at the time of the buzzing is ok who knows.

I don't know. Unhappy bunny.

[farflungstar]

Does the pepper pot have a voice coil?

[walpurgis]

Does the pepper pot have a voice coil?

The compression driver diaphragm driving it does.

[montesquieu]

Does the pepper pot have a voice coil?

It's not a voice coil rubbing. I think Paul is correct, a cap gone or a dry joint in a critical place.

Fantastic well done getting that number I finally spoke to someone myself!

[walpurgis]

It's not a voice coil rubbing

Probably not, but it can happen. I've had it occur.

[walpurgis]

If I had those speakers in front of me I'd suss the problem, but it's tricky working out what's wrong from descriptions. Did you clean the treble controls?

[anubisgrau]

do you have a señor with a simple meter nearby to quickly see where does the signal stop

[farflungstar]

Tom can you clear your inbox.

[montesquieu]

done :)

[anthonyTD]

I Did mention in an earlier post that it could be a component in the signal path gone open circuit, although I presumed there was a resistor in that part of the circuit to cut the high frequency output.
Either way, Hope you get it sorted.
Its a shame its been so difficult to speak with someone at Tannoy, not sure what's going on there these days.:(
A...

[farflungstar]

Paul at RFC says it's a cap that's most likely gone open circuit though I still don't understand a) the buzzing b) why the cap that was in circuit at the time is okay.

Solution would be to send the driver and control panel to Tannoy - 10 year warranty but I'm not the original owner. I have another number for Tannoy and will try that.

Another would be to get Paul to make me a pair of his great crossovers - but if the driver does have a fault then no point in that. Never had a problem with speakers before!

[walpurgis]

I doubt it's a driver issue. The obvious thing, to me at least, would be to swap components from one speaker to the other. If the problem moves to the other speaker after moving say the crossover. Then you know where to look. I'd still start with a meter though and go all the way through checking continuity and components. It could be something as simple as a dodgy connection on the input terminals.

[farflungstar]

I doubt it's a driver issue. The obvious thing, to me at least, would be to swap components from one speaker to the other. If the problem moves to the other speaker after moving say the crossover. Then you know where to look. I'd still start with a meter though and go all the way through checking continuity and components. It could be something as simple as a dodgy connection on the input terminals.Thanks for the suggestion. But I'm not sure what swapping control panels will show. The driver works fine on its +2 roll off setting just not on the rest - I would imagine this has nothing to do with the driver so swapping shouldn't have an effect except transfer the problem.

I've never heard a tweeter voice coil rubbing so can't say that's what I heard - but buzzing is a very good description of it - not like a woofer rubbing which I've heard before.

Its Christmas so I'll have some time and will take out the control and post pics - bloody messy in my opinion.

[farflungstar]

Good news. The driver is fine. The energy levels also work fine - just the roll off. So.... Get Tannoy to fix or go with Paul's....

[cooky]

The crossover is hard wired, I'd reflow all the soldered joints on that part of the circuit-5 minute job. If that doesn't fix it then could well be a component gone kaput.

[farflungstar]

The crossover is hard wired, I'd reflow all the soldered joints on that part of the circuit-5 minute job. If that doesn't fix it then could well be a component gone kaput.I'll pull the control board out and post a pic - it is so cramped, messy, and the actual connectors for adjustment are encased. Cant imagine tinkering will be easy.

Tannoy customer care (Music Tribe) have asked me to test the speaker with test tones - hmmmm what is the point of that? It's broke end of story. However they have said I can send it to Kidderminster, not Coatbridge where they are made but a (from what I can gather) general technical service used by Music Tribe, the parent company. Or a technician they 'think' can fix it in Andorra!

So, you win the lottery, buy into the advertising hype about old fashioned build and service and buy a pair of £65k speakers - which end up on Joe Blogs work bench if they go wrong.

I'm damned sure if I could just speak to one of the engineers at Coatbridge he'd be able to explain what happened and why.

The pic below is for the Kensington GR, mine are the SE but I'm sure they will be similar.

Looking at the roll off section I just don't get how the +2 can be working but all others including flat are dead. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171223/782b1ca249a822a9e561953bf5fea2e1.jpg

[farflungstar]

Two broken solder joints. This has been very badly repaired before. Getting in to solder is going to be difficult. Don't know if you can see.... The plate is bent backwards and I can't bend it back into place as it's fixed to the circuit board. So wires are short.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171224/f49f60920b1f531dffb3d5b7ee5d0672.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171224/6b3e04a29a61e92c09863f4e16fca060.jpg

[walpurgis]

Lengthen the wires by adding pieces to extend them. Sleeve any joints.

[Ammonite Audio]

It would be interesting to know if that was due to a user repair/bodge, or whether it's indicative of Tannoy's original work (I hope not).

[farflungstar]

It would be interesting to know if that was due to a user repair/bodge, or whether it's indicative of Tannoy's original work (I hope not).I dont know but it's a bitch to resolder. Not happy!

[Firebottle]

At least you have found the problem :thumbsup:

[cooky]

As Geoff says, I'd either (systematically so as not to get muddled up)replace those wires or at least extend them, I'd also use a decent power soldering iron too. But that's a result and you can now fix 'em.
Frank

[YNWaN]

I doubt that the silver in Teflon wire is standard (the clear sheathed stuff - looks very like that which Hi-Fi collective sell).

To me it looks like someone has tried to upgrade the wiring but used an underpowered soldering iron.

[YNWaN]

Hmm... I’ve just read the original post and I can see why you were asked to run a series of test tones through them. I’m afraid I do suspect drive unit damage. To be specific I suspect the voicecoil and it’s former have become partially disconnected from the cone (the mid/bass, not the tweeter). This manifests as exactly the problem you describe.

[farflungstar]

Hmm... I’ve just read the original post and I can see why you were asked to run a series of test tones through them. I’m afraid I do suspect drive unit damage. To be specific I suspect the voicecoil and it’s former have become partially disconnected from the cone (the mid/bass, not the tweeter). This manifests as exactly the problem you describe.No the driver is fine. I should have tried switching outputs to see if it was replicated on the other channel before jumping to conclusions. It switched channels, buzzing replicated. So driver is fine.

I'm bloody angry with the tw*t that tried rewiring them. I can't imagine what they might have done to the bass crossovers but I'm hoping they did nothing as they are pretty inaccessible.

The quality of the job is shocking. Yes I have the problem solved - all options work as they should but it really needs someone who knows what they're doing to sort them out.

I will ask (if I can get through to them) how much a new pair of crossovers would be - though the idiot has heard wired some and not other cables of the drive units.

I can't do it - my soldering iron, and my skills, are not up to the job.

[farflungstar]

Have spoken wth Paul at RFC - he will sort them out for me so will be shipping then out to him as soon as this Christmas lark is over with.

[anthonyTD]

Glad you found the problem, yes, shocking workmanship, who ever did this should be ashamed!
Paul will I am sure sort them out for you, they should then be at least as good as they were when they came from the factory, unless you ask him to do some upgrades while he has them, I know from speaking with Paul that there is at least one modification that he thinks is worthwhile doing on the SE versions, ask him about this when you have agreed to send them.
Good luck with them.:)
A...
Have spoken wth Paul at RFC - he will sort them out for me so will be shipping then out to him as soon as this Christmas lark is over with.

[farflungstar]

Glad you found the problem, yes, shocking workmanship, who ever did this should be ashamed!
Paul will I am sure sort them out for you, they should then be at least as good as they were when they came from the factory, unless you ask him to do some upgrades while he has them, I know from speaking with Paul that there is at least one modification that he thinks is worthwhile doing on the SE versions, ask him about this when you have agreed to send them.
Good luck with them.:)
A...Yup they will be with Paul soon as. I cannot trust Tannoy. According to customer services they cannot provide replacement control panels (crossovers), only repair them - does this extend to drivers? I'm truly flummoxed by Tannoy - speakers the price of a house and zero be back up.

[Lawrence001]

When you bought these a few months ago weren't you concerned about the 2 tweeters being different colours? Did you pay PayPal in the end? I would contact the seller first to see what he says. He might have done the repair/upgrade himself. Is he on ebay, would be interesting to see what else he is selling, does it all look kosher?

Sent from my NEM-L51 using Tapatalk

[Macca]

Yup they will be with Paul soon as. I cannot trust Tannoy. According to customer services they cannot provide replacement control panels (crossovers), only repair them - does this extend to drivers? I'm truly flummoxed by Tannoy - speakers the price of a house and zero be back up.

It is surprising. On the other hand if the previous owner had just left them alone I would bet they would have still been working perfectly a hundred years from now.

[anthonyTD]

Quite agree!
It is surprising. On the other hand if the previous owner had just left them alone I would bet they would have still been working perfectly a hundred years from now.

[farflungstar]

When you bought these a few months ago weren't you concerned about the 2 tweeters being different colours? Did you pay PayPal in the end? I would contact the seller first to see what he says. He might have done the repair/upgrade himself. Is he on ebay, would be interesting to see what else he is selling, does it all look kosher?

Sent from my NEM-L51 using TapatalkYes I was but I spoke to folks in the know who said this was not that unusual.

Don't know what you mean about PayPal...

It's obvious the guy tried upgrading the panels - all is working well now but they are going to Paul end of the month when I can bear to be without them.