Help Tweeter Dome Broken What To Do ?

[misterdoggy]

HELP

Im having a streak of poor Hifi Luck. I just discovered the tweeter broken in my 802D. It looks like it could be fixed easily and is kept in place by 3 screws.

Anybody have any experience replacing this.

[jericho]

what happened???Tweeter is very expensive!!!I was told about 600 euro!!!

[misterdoggy]

whoa,

i just spoke with someone at B&W and found out itwill cost $1100 to replace, because you can't just replace the cover as the diamond dust or particles will get sucked in to the piston and they can never come out.

I am sick..............

[dyazdani]

:E Looks like it's replacement time...

I believe they're fairly easy to replace (though I haven't had to myself). Remove the 3 screws, pop out the tweeter, and unclip the wires. Reverse the process with the replacement.

[Karma]

HI diggy,
Please excuse my ignorance, but the broken part looks like it is shattered. Like glass. Or like diamond. What ever it is made from, it is not metal. Metal does not usually shatter like that. I fear you are in for a new tweeter. I hope I'm wrong.

Spoken by someone who has never seen a diamond tweeter undressed.

Sparky

[tboooe]

wow...my condolensces misterdoggy...

[misterdoggy]

I've ordered the part. The whole diaphram $1085.

I need to install video cameras to see who is busting up my tweeters

Tuff week for me and stereos. Fist the lexicon blows up, then i discover this

I thought once i bought everything there wasn't going to be any more expenses
boy was i wrong

[goffriller]

The damage looks so radical! What happened?
G

[Gump]

whoa,

i just spoke with someone at B&W and found out itwill cost $1100 to replace, because you can't just replace the cover as the diamond dust or particles will get sucked in to the piston and they can never come out.

I am sick..............

Anyone with a diamond tweeter has to get a litle queasy looking at that picture...I know I did.

Did the B&W rep's have any kind of a guess what may have caused that to occur?

[EastCoaster]

HELP

It sort of looks like someone really busted up this tweeter - I can clearly see about three pretty deep scratches on the black ball - how did these scratches happen?

[EAmin]

It sort of looks like someone really busted up this tweeter - I can clearly see about three pretty deep scratches on the black ball - how did these scratches happen?

When you order the new tweeter, get a pair of the grilles given to dealers. I believe anyone can order them. There is more room between the tweeter and the inside of the grille. Sorry about this. Good luck!

[misterdoggy]

Guys,

There are NO scratches on the speaker. They are so perfect they mirror reflections of things in the room. The outside of the speaker is perfect.

I now think that the dome blew when the lexicon's power supply blew. I remember distinctly hearing a sound like a rock hitting a windshield. I originally thought it was the lexicon, but in retrospect now realize that noise was the tweeter dome blowing. !!

[SRT-10 Viper]

Mistredoggy; What happened to your Lexicon? Was either unit under warranty?

[misterdoggy]

Mistredoggy; What happened to your Lexicon? Was either unit under warranty?

The Lexicon would not be under Guarantee because I bought it used. I'm not sure what happened, but the noise I thought was the Lexicon was actually the tweeter popping.

As you can see from the foto below there are no scratches on the 802 it was just refections. It would seem a spike or something electrical set off the lexicon and blew the tweeter at the same time.

I am now looking into good power supply like ps audio p500 or Power director 4.7. Anybody know these products ? Watch out , if you pop a tweeter it will set you back $1100. I am trying to see if its under guarantee as it popped of its own accord.

[worldys]

if you bought the speakers from an authorised dealer, there is a good chance b&w will fix it under warranty, i had a woofer on my 803s blow after several years of use, probably due to a spike when i stupidlly switched cables with the amp still on, b&w sent me a new one under warranty no questions asked, i would think they should do with same for you

please keep us posted on whether b&w fixes it under warranty, i bet many of us currently dreaming of buying a diamond series speaker are apprehensive about having to pay $1000 out of pocket for a blow tweeter (compared the the nautilus which were about $100), it would be comforting to know that b&w will cover the repair if purchased from a dealer

sasha

[Karma]

HI doggy,
IF the tweeter blew as a result of the Lexicon failure you have no ethical warranty claim. It was not B&W's fault. If anything I would try to get Lexicon to cover the expense even if not under warranty.

Of course, you can handle it any way you want. I'm sorry for your problems.

Sparky

[PewterTA]

I'm sooooo sorry to hear that.

That just looks painful enough as it sits there in that picture. I definitely agree the Lexicon damaged that, when it blue it probably sent a very high current that shattered it. I've seen it happen with another amp and a tweeter (not diamond B&Ws).

It's a shame you hadn't bought the Lexicon new, you could've given them some heat about paying for the replaced tweeter (and they probably would've done it)...but used...you can't go after them unless they do the transferrible warranty thing (which I'd doubt).

I definitely didn't think you miss treated your 802Ds... I don't know why people would even bring that into question. It does look in perfect condition! Very nice!

Sorry to hear about the tweeter, please let us know how it goes with replacing it!

[ShadowZA]

Am sorry to read what happened, misterdoggy. Sending you encouragement and strength from this part of the world.

[misterdoggy]

thanks Shadow

[RNKC]

Ow.


Ouch.



Speechless.



Sad for misterdoggy.

[misterdoggy]

I've been on the phone with the technical people at B&W and I need to keep an eye out on how the new tweeter sounds. It the Resistance got effected or not. If the Resistors got damaged I would have to change something.

One of the things to search for is if the sound doesn't sound centered or the tweeter is too loud, then I would need to solder in a new resistor. They are found at the bottom underpanel of the 802D.

The feeling I got was that probably it will be ok, but to keep an eye on it.

[george_k]

misterdoggy, what about the rest of the cross-over network leading up to the tweeter could that have been damaged as well?

[misterdoggy]

misterdoggy, what about the rest of the cross-over network leading up to the tweeter could that have been damaged as well?

There seem to be 2 distinct networks or Cards with seperation of midrange and tweeter and bass. I was running Amp biwire. Everything sounds fine.

I'm not sure what else could have happened I would not notice

[Cowanrg]

thankfully, the 802D's used a very simple crossover, its a first-order xover, so just a single cap. maybe you will get lucky.

[DrJRapp]

Sorry to hear of your disaster. Unfortunatly, this is one of several I have heard of. It seems that the "diamond" tweeter, unlike a real diamond, is very fragile and easily damaged either from within, or by people bulling off the magnetic ring that holds it in place and dropping it.

Its stories like yours and others that were a major deterrant to my buying a diamond series. High end gear needs to be far more durable than that, or the manufacturer needs to stand behind it, no matter what the cause.

[misterdoggy]

Sorry to hear of your disaster. Unfortunatly, this is one of several I have heard of. It seems that the "diamond" tweeter, unlike a real diamond, is very fragile and easily damaged either from within, or by people bulling off the magnetic ring that holds it in place and dropping it.

Its stories like yours and others that were a major deterrant to my buying a diamond series. High end gear needs to be far more durable than that, or the manufacturer needs to stand behind it, no matter what the cause.

DrJRapp

You are right. Its like buying a mercedes benz. Even if you get an older model it still costs a bundle to fix or replace anything.

However, I just got a line conditioner - regulator and if my problems came from the current, I now have protection in place

[Joey_V]

MDoggy,

I hope you get your tweeter fixed soon so you can go back to listening to some great tunes! Your system is far too sweet to be only ogled at and not heard.

Good luck with the tweeter replacement!

Joey

[RNKC]

One would think that B&W would build in some sort of overload protection especially in the 800 series. While the cause of this calamity was extreme, I personally would have though a relatively cheap, semi-easy to replace part in the speaker would have blown first rather than the prize part of the whole thing.

[Ronel S]

Isn't that diamond thing is hard metal and is not easy to break? However, as the material gets very thin, when subjected to pressure it could become brittle and easily breaks, like a glass. I'm thinking that this could be B&W's design drawback and it could happen to any speaker with diamond tweeters. Unlike alumimum or other metals, not hard as diamond but it could be stretched like plastic.

Has anyone thought this idea as a serious problem with B&W considering the metalurgical properties of diamond being used as the tweeter?

[Lex]

Crapola, that's just bumb luck all the way around. I would have thought Lexicon may authorize a second owner- They did on my Mark Levinson here.

Doug

[plangco]

Repair Kit Available

Try getting ahold of a repair kit from B&W. Go through a dealer or contact B&W.

[RebelMan]

Sorry to hear about your recent misfortunes involving your MC12b and 802D's, doggy. Are you certain that it is not a B&W defect? One of the dealers I know swears that the diamond tweater is tough enough to tolerate direct "thumb" pressure to the dome with out incurring any damage. In fact he says that it is so strong that the supporting ring structure will fall apart before the dome gives way. I think B&W should have covered this expense unless deliberate damage was inflicted by you or someone with easy access which I seriously doubt to be the case.

If the Lexicon was culprit what are you going to do? What if your replacement tweeter pop's again? I think I would be a little nervous replacing the tweeter without some reassurance (from the dealer or B&W) that it won't happen again.

[Ronel S]

I'm sorry, but I have to post my humble opinion on this matter since I have also plans to get 803d in the near future. If b&w claims that the tweeter is strong enough that the supporting structure will fall ahead before the dome, I don't think so. As I see it on what happened, is that, that thin diamond dome was unable to resist the pressure. The pressure might not be strong enough but it was so fast that the surrounding supports did not even feel the pressure. The diamond structure absorbs all the pressures before it shattered into pieces.

If b&w is ashamed on what they claim is not true, then, they should cover this with warranty, rather than blaming the user for stupid misuse and abuse.

[Kobus]

I think B&W should have covered this expense unless ....

100%

Not so good for B&W's image.

Kobus

[misterdoggy]

Wow

Lots of strong feelings out there for B&W and for me. I appreciate it it

We will see. I am working on a couple of angles which will take some time.

[chinets]

Sorry Misterdoggy for your unfortunate disaster.
I know many friends of mine that have Diamond tweeters, and they all had these experiences you are stating. I think the Diamond tweeters are not as solid as B & W want us to believe.
Most of these freak accidents that happened had to do with power serges and just high volume In HT, so I would not consider this abuse to a tweeter. I reall believe that B & W are hiding the fact that their NEW Diamond series are too fragile and cannot cope with normal usage.
I feel very Sorry misterdoggy for your inconvenience and I hope you solve your problem soon.
Chinets

[ZX10 Guy]

Some of you all are making the assumption that the diamond dome used in the tweeter is a solid piece. It is not. The diamond material is laid on a forming material by vapor deposition based off of what I seem to recall from B&W's literature. I don't know what bonding material B&W is using to hold the diamond material together as I suspect it's sort of like concrete where there is a bonding material cement and some aggregate.

[james_dmi]

I’m a little worried by all this too as I'm just about to order my 802D’s but unless I’m mistaken this is the first report of a broken diamond dome on this forum which must mean there are lots of other 802D's out there that have no problems. It’s also something that has broken out side normal circumstances (another piece of equipment failing and causing a large spike). I'm thinking if this problem was quite wide spread there would be more coverage, at least I hope this is the case.

[PavelL]

BUT what about B&W claims that these speakers/801D & 800D/ can handle upto 1000W/channel?!?!? Most tweeters get fried by 1000W

[misterdoggy]

You would think that the diamond tweeter would not be so vulnerable.

Its something to suggest to B&W about a protection in the way of an inexpensive fuse you would think (that is without degrading the signal)

[Karma]

HI doggy,
I'm confused after following this thread with interest. Didn't you say that there was a dent in the tweeter cover. I was under the impression that there was physical trauma to the tweeter that may have caused the problem. It seems everybody is assuming that the problem with the Lexicon caused the tweeter damage. Could spend a few words discussing your take on the issue? Thanks.

Sparky

[aphexist]

You wouldn't want to add a fast-blow fuse to your signal chain. I think that might be contrary to your goal of Audio Nirvana as it would almost certainly degrade the signal and possibly blow all the other drivers as well.

[misterdoggy]

HI doggy,
I'm confused after following this thread with interest. Didn't you say that there was a dent in the tweeter cover. I was under the impression that there was physical trauma to the tweeter that may have caused the problem. It seems everybody is assuming that the problem with the Lexicon caused the tweeter damage. Could spend a few words discussing your take on the issue? Thanks.

Sparky

Hey Sparky,

In fact, in the beginning when it first happened, I thought searching for explanations how things happened that the only way it could have happened was a "frontal blow" and "assumed" the the grill looked slightly off.

If you look below, I published fotos taken just days before the incident and the day after, not more than 10 days between the 2 shows the tweeter in tact after buying the Lexicon and blown after the incident.

The possibility of error is NONE. This happened when I heard the noise and corresponds with pictures and eyewitness acounts. The tweeter absolutely blew with the Lexicon power supply.

It was my dis-belief that was searching for a physical explanation like why the headlight got smashed. Then realized it was internal.

In retrospect, a less hard surface, less air-tight, less "piston like" would have probably been more flexible and not "burst" from pressure like this did.

So the same quality that gives us the great sound, piston like compression can also be a liability under strain.

Here's a foto just a few days before the tweeter blew. You can see its intact. No coincidence. The second foto is after I installed the Pass Labs Pream with it blown. This closes the books on where and why investigation.

[Karma]

HI doggy,
Thanks. That explains it.

Sparky

[Djas_Puhr]

I really believe that B & W are hiding the fact that their NEW Diamond series are too fragile and cannot cope with normal usage.
Chinets

Sorry to hear that many people are having problems with the diamond tweeter. As part of this discussion, let's not forget that B&W spent *years* developing and testing this new tweeter. I'm sure that their research and development effort included some form of stress testing on the new tweeter material. I don't think that they would release the product to market if it was known that the tweeter dome was too fragile to be used as intended.

Mj