Problem with dayton reference drivers

[subynube]

I recently built my NatP's, but realized there may be a problem with one of the RS 180's.

When I manually (gently) press in the cone on one of the drivers, I feel a crunch, and the other ones are smooth as butter. I was just feeling them to see how the excursion and stiffness of the suspension was, and felt a crunch on only one of them. Other than that, they work fine and sound fine. Any ideas?

Thanks for all the help folks

[sprint_9]

How far in are you pushing the cone?

[subynube]

How far in are you pushing the cone?

Hardly at all, maybe 2-3 mm.

[Dennis H]

Yup, bad driver. PE is pretty good about replacing them assuming you didn't break it.

[sprint_9]

You mention that they work and sound fine, does the one that cruches sound fine also?

[subynube]

You mention that they work and sound fine, does the one that cruches sound fine also?

From what I can tell it sounds fine. Thanks for all the help.

[joecarrow]

2-3 mm of excursion would be moderately loud for a lot of non-LFE material; does it crunch right away, or after a while? It might get abruptly worse at a drive level that you're not yet reaching during playback. I agree, it sounds like it would be good to replace.

[Landroval]

Sounds like the voice coil is hitting the magnet walls. Have you tried to play very low test tones (e.g. 20Hz) to make the cones move but with little sound coming from them? If you hear something unusual even with low volumes, it has a defect.

[sprint_9]

Sounds like the voice coil is hitting the magnet walls. Have you tried to play very low test tones (e.g. 20Hz) to make the cones move but with little sound coming from them? If you hear something unusual even with low volumes, it has a defect.

This is what I was thinking also with the voice coil. Id call PE and see what they say.

[AJINFLA]

During construction, did you take care to make sure no debris got down into the gap? Unlike a driver with a dust cap, phase plug drivers like the RS are susceptible to this, so care must be taken, especially with sawdust flying around.

cheers,

AJ

[subynube]

Well, I havent played low test tones to assess the problem. I just took out the driver and replaced it with another new one I had laying around. I boxed it up and will contact PE.
I also really doubt that saw dust or debris got into the driver, but I guess it is possible.
So, really, the only thing I know is that the "defective" one crunches with manual pressure and the other ones are totally smooth. So there must be a problem somewhere. Either way, not a big deal. Thanks again for all the help.