Low sound quality / speaker sound problems (1 Viewer)

[kazubb]

I have an older SONY 750w system and I've having trouble with the sound quality.
Sometimes you can't hear anything out of 1 or two of the speakers. When I use
the systems "test tone", some speakers will be hard to hear (low sound level, even with the volume up) or a different tone
then the others. The are sometimes not the same speakers. It seems one will work great one day and the next time it won't. Does anyone know what might be causing my audio problems and
can you please offer your suggestions to help me troubleshoot and fix it?


Also I Changed the gauge of the wire to the thickest wire at HomeDepot a while back. It's about the same
thickness as lamp wire. Should I go back to the thinner wire?

 

[David Willow]

That's a tough one to diagnose. How old is older? Perhaps it is just getting old and has some internal problems.


As long as the speaker wire fits properly it should work fine. Just double check all your connections to make sure they are not coming loose (or touching each other or the back of your receiver).

 

[kazubb]

I bought it about 7 or 8 years ago from Best Buy. It's be moved around a bit
but it has been well taken care of for the most part. The receiver has been well
taken care of but the speakers I'm a little more worried about as two of them
have fallen and hit the solid floor. These problems were there before the fall
but I'm sure it didn't help them at all. If I was at home I would list the model
numbers on here if it helps any. I might just need new speaks but I don't know
what I can get for an older system now.

 

[JimatMilkyWay]

Originally Posted by kazubb

....These problems were there before the fall
but I'm sure it didn't help them at all.... I might just need new speaks but I don't know
what I can get for an older system now.

Hi Brent


I don't think I am going out on a limb with my next statement. Your speaker's voice coil is similar to a light bulb filament in the sense that once it is damaged, it won't work again, _ever_. You implied that your speakers fail intermittently. This leaves only connections or possibly amplifier issues as the root at your loss of audio. Listen, _a lot_, take close notes and "check" your connections by wiggling the wires while music is played back. Then get back to these guys with your careful observations. One thing I can say for sure is that connections and connectors do go bad and "intermittent" failure is almost always the case. Stay in touch.

Jim@MilkyWay

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[Iconoclast]

To troubleshoot speakers, try to swap them & see if the problem follows the speaker or the wire or the connector. If left speaker sounds bad & R is OK & you swap & now the R is bad, then it is either the wire (which you can also swap) or the speaker connector on the AVR.

You can buy 16 gage lamp cord cheaply which makes decent speaker wire. Make sure you have not reversed the black & red (positive &negative ) or your speakers will be out of phase. Most wire has one side hatched or colored & the other smooth or clear, etc.

I prefer to use 12 or 10 gage if possible but more expensive. Lower gage number is thicker & better wire. Unless there is a break or bad connection even very thin, cheap 20 or 22 gage wire will not cause the problems you describe. monoprice.com or bluejeans cable.com both have very good prices.