Pierre T

After having a nightmare installing my system, I finally got everything up and running ok. Sound proofed all four doors, installed components in the front doors (with the butchered corsa spacers as well as 6mm MDF spacers), coaxials in the back doors, a new HU and shuttle! Sounded great.

Now, a day later I am noticing that the left hand front speaker (think it's the tweeter), seems to buzz a little when the volume is cranked up? The right hand speakers sound fine at the same volume?

This is fustrating to say the least as I had a nightmare installing it all in the first place.

The only thing I can think of is whether I connected the positives and negatives to the correct terminals? There were no indications on the new speakers, so I just went plugged them in as the diagram (not very informative).

Any suggestions as to what could cause this buzzing?

The speakers sound fine at lower volumes. No muffling or distortion. Can you damge the kit by getting the + and - the wrong way around?

Pierre

audio g man

Hi Pierre.
So the installation went well then!

Reversing the polarity on the speakers won't damage them but can mess up the sound stage or in some cases improve the sound stage depending on where the speakers are fitted.
Were the speakers brand new when you purchased them?

nom

For the buzzing, even if the sound is coming from the tweeter (area), it's likely it's being caused by the woofer doobie - vibrating the door & so the tweeter vibrates. It's worth checking that it's not simply the new speakers 'rubbing' the door. Also, screws tends to buzz & so does the main unit in it's holder thingy (the plastic jobbie - to use the technical term - between the speaker & the door) or, well, any of the other bits. A thin card gasket can do wonders for this - or you can use more sound deadening carefully cut round the holes...
I don't think I've been very clear here, have I? In short, I think it's probably the fitting rather than the speaker

Pierre T

Yes they were.
Apparently quality tested. I don't know a great deal about Ground Zero but the product looks good. The left hand front speaker definitely isn't right. I am guessing that it may be the tweeter as it seems to buzz (crackle)a little on vocals and high pitch horns. I am sure that all the connections are sound so it couldn't be anything loose.

I would be surprised if the speaker is faulty, hence my asking about the wiring. How will the sound differ if the polarity is reversed?

How can you tell which wire is + or -?

I am sure that the mid/bass speakers have the negatives on the left. This is how the original speakers were and this is how the wiring diagram shows it. I have thus wired the tweeters in the same way.

Do speekers need to wear in? This may sound like a stupid question, but I am currently inclined to wait and see if the sound improves. I may pull the door card off at the weekend to check everything. It might be worth my connecting each component individually to try and determine the culprit.

Sorry. Just edited to reply to Nom. I HAVE used sound deadening cut around the back of the woofers to create a gasket sort of thing between the speaker and the spacer/door.

Any ideas on the + - thing? How to tell?

[Edited by Pierre T - 1/29/2002 10:43:24 AM]

TBMeech

You shouldnt have a problem if you wire the tweeters the wrong way, it won't cause them to buzz or crackle, won't damage them either, I have Rockford Fosgate Components which you cannot tell which way is which on them either, have wired them in fine, you may have shorted the cable somewhere along the way, make sure the cable is not too tight or compressed against the door frame or something

nom

Ah, OK, crackly sounds like THAT from the tweeter.
Tweeters can make that sound when they are distorting, probably due to being fed too-low frequencies - not good! Can be a loose connection as well, or even something dodgy in the head-unit. Only thing to do (as you say) is to test each part on its own to try to see what's going on. If you swap the left & right channels at the back of the head-unit & the crackle stays in the same place, it's the speaker. If it swaps, it's the head-unit. If it stays in the same place, trying using different cabling to get to the speaker - if it stops crackling, the current cable is at fault. If it still carries on, it's the speaker. Not sure if these are co-axes or components? If components, swap the tweeters over & see where the crackling goes. If they're co-axes, check to see that no cable is rubbing betwwen the cap of the woofer & the tweeter mounting - might vibrate a not-very-good connection & produce the crackle.

Rather long-winded, that, but I was trying to cover everything

Next... Yes, speakers need to 'bed in'. Somewhere between 10 hours & 200, depending on the manufacturer... the first 10 hours makes the biggest difference, though, but this won't be the cause of the crackling! Or I hope not, anyway...

To check for polarity, it simply sounds wrong when reversed. Best (or most obvious) check is with bass - wired the wrong way round, there will be less bass with both speakers playing than with one only. Swap it over if you need to check - should show itself easily!

Pierre T

Thanks people. I'll try that.

They are components by the way, so I'll be trying them individually.

audio g man

I found some info about Ground zero on the net but only bad info,
it seems the company has gone bust.
It's just a process of elimination, and speakers do need time to run in as already suggested so good luck.
You say they look good, no offence pierre but don't judge a book by it's cover.
If your still not sure about the polarity's, use the continuity buzzer of a multimeter.
Good luck once again.

[Edited by audio g man - 1/29/2002 11:33:25 PM]

Pierre T

Sorry. When I said that they looked good I meant that I liked the sound. Slightly more bass than others but still very clear.
Not a good sign though, them going bust!

After closer inspection it seems the buzzing is coming from the woofer during horns .It is possible that this could just be a vibration between the speaker and the door card.

They were a very tight fit, and although I put sound proofing between the speaker and door, the card may be in contact with the rim of the woofer. More inspection needed as it definitely sounds like the speaker producing this noise.

With any luck I'll have all my problems solved by easter.
Then I'll start considering an amp and it will all start over.

Thanks for your help everyone.

Pierre