Question about putting speakers near Wega (1 Viewer)

[Sean Trask]

Hello,

I just purchased a new Sony Wega KV-32FS12. I am a bit concerned about placing my old Polk Monitor 5 speakers near it. I do have a shielded center speaker (also a Polk).

I have them about 2 feet away - but I am worried that over time they will discolor the TV.

I would like to know - will I notice the magnetic interference right away, or will it happen over time?

I am just asking, because I had a Sony Trinitron before, and after a while, it had some discoloration in the upper right corner of the screen. I think this happened because I moved the thing about 5 times - and I am sure that I banged it up while moving it. This discoleration tended to happen when there was blue on the screen, and it made the blues become red - quite annoying.

Thanks for your time - I hope this hasn't been convered, I did a search, and it didn't turn up my specific question.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Jim FC]

Sean,
You will notice magnetic interference instantly, and to my knowledge it will not do any permanent damage to the TV. As you noted, the same sort of distortion can be cause when a TV tube is banged against something or otherwise abused, but that kind is more permanent... magnet interference is the sort of thing that goes away as soon as you move the offending magnet.

 

[Sean Trask]

Thank you Jim - you have put my mind at ease.

 

[Jack Briggs]

...and to my knowledge it will not do any permanent damage to the TV.

Not to rain on the parade, but exposure to strong magnetic fields produced by a speaker system will cause permanent phosphor damage to the picture tube. Long before my home-theater days, I ruined two perfectly good Sony televisions because I simply placed them too close to large, high-end, non-shielded speaker systems. No amount of degaussing worked. And the discoloration was almost the same as your describe: a splotch of green (in my case) in the upper righthand corner of the screen--a splotch that grew over time.

Though two feet away on both sides is probably sufficient, I'd place the speakers one foot farther apart just to be safe. WEGAs ain't cheap, as you well know.

 

[Jim FC]

Jack,
Good info - prolonged exposure is apparently a bad idea. It makes sense that since magnetic fields can be passed on from one thing to another, that if you actually magnetize something in the TV itself, it will show up permanently on the screen. Brief exposure, though -- the type encountered while repositioning the speakers to find where they will not distort the picture -- should be OK, right?

 

[Sean Trask]

Thanks for the advice. It may be time to buy a new pair of shielded speakers - although I'm sure my wife will not approve . For the time being, I will move them three feet away from the TV.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Brief exposure? If no discolorations are showing up onscreen now, you're okay. But keep those speakers farther apart from the TV--or, sig. other notwithstanding--invest in some nice shielded speakers!

 

[Peter Kasting]

I have damaged a monitor by placing a strong magnetic field near it for a few weeks (I was on vacation). The damage was fairly permanent; however, you can try to fix similar problems using a "degaussing ring". These basically generate very strong magnetic fields and can be used to correct magnetized screens. We had one in the shop where I was a computer tech, if you can find one it can be very useful. You basically move the ring near to the set and then directly away in a straight line, and it corrects the problems. Do it a few times and most of the artifacts should be gone.

 

[Sean Trask]

Thanks again all! I have decided to buy some Polk RT 25i speakers to replace my old school Monitors. The RT 25i is a shielded speaker.

I had the Monitors near the TV for less than 24 hours - should I be concerened? The TV was unplugged for most of the time. I noticed no artifacts during that time.