Blown? DA-175s in BAMTM...

[chibahawk]

So I've built my own HT using this design, Zaph's BAMTM set-up
Also have a 12" sub, and I've got everything hooked up to an Onkyo605 Receiver.

However I'm relatively noob-ish, and I need to know what's up with my Dayton Speakers (DA175s). I've had them crossed over no lower then 80Hz, and have never truly blasted them or tested them at high levels period.

Few months ago one of the speakers started to make noise around 60-80Hz I'd guess you'd call it bottoming out. So I went and just bought another Dayton woofer and left the other one hanging around my basement. Now I've got another woofer bottoming out which forces me to manage my bass precariously and the crossover settings.

How can I determine if this bottoming out of the speakers is being caused by my hand or if the woofers are just defective? Should I just contact Dayton and see if they will replace them?

Thanks,




Also- I recall someone mentioning the compatibility of the Onkyo to the Dayton woofers when I was deciding to build this DIY project. I wanted to build the stuff so bad that I never really put much time into finding the best match for the set-up.

So maybe someone could help me figure if the receiver is good for the set-up?

[chibahawk]

Actuallly, I think this might just be lead or tinsel slap. How can I fix that?

[dmalphur]

It doesn't sound like you have used them improperly; they have a five year warranty against manufacturer defects. I consider tinsel slap to be a manufacturing defect. I wouldn't bother with trying to fix them, call partsexpress for a RMA.

Regards,
David

[chibahawk]

Right,

I've also got to consider the following, I don't think my receiver is 4-ohm stable. So what are the odds that this is actually tied into the receiver pushing them inefficiently? I'd like to get a solution to the problem so in the future I won't have to worry about replacing drivers twice every 4 months...

Thanks,

[jkrutke]

If you feel like it, you can drop one of the blown woofers in the mail and I'll run a set of tests on it. Non destructive measurements first then a destructive look at the insides which will surely tell us exactly what happened.

Tinsel lead slap is normally not a problem with these woofers. Bottoming is however and these are not high power handling woofers. This happened to another guy, but it was because his mains were set to receive a full range signal even though his sub crossover was turned on.

[chibahawk]

Gotcha.. that's real nice of you to offer I appreciate it, (and check PM box!)

As of now I took the Audyssey settings of the receiver, and set the manual Equalizer and dropped the 80hz settings on the Center channel which has stopped all noise. However I'd have to worry that another speaker could go if it's the receiver's stability to blame.

[chibahawk]

Update here:

Think I figured out exactly what's going on...



Seems like the dustcaps aren't glued on real good... when the midbass cranks and I gently hold a finger against the dust cap the noise is gone. Plus you can actually see it on this driver that I took out of the speaker.

Question is does this require a recone? Or is it easy enough for me to fix without sending out?

[Jed]

I'm sure PE will replace it for you.

[chibahawk]

Cool... thing is theres 3 of these like this. Hate to lose out on my center channel while they're being replaced.

Any kind of special hot glue maybe?

[Jed]

Cool... thing is theres 3 of these like this. Hate to lose out on my center channel while they're being replaced.

Any kind of special hot glue maybe?

Nah, just give PE a call and they'll probably send you out some new ones or if you email them a pic of the dustcap and how you've used them with an explanation, they might not even require you to return them. On the return slip there is a place to check for defective products as well, with a 45 day satisfaction gaurentee, and most warantees are about a year.

Jed

[StewLG]

Apparently this is a known problem:

this build looks awesome. i loved the da-175s when i had a pair. the only weak point was the dust caps-they wouldnt stay on!

Post elsewhere

[Nichol1997]

I am in the process of building 5 of them based on Zaph's design. I sure hope my dustcaps don't come off. If they do, I will just glue them on myself. I would probably use automotive weatherstrip glue (it is black in color and stays rubbery) and I would try not to get too much on the cone as this may change the parameters of the speaker.