B&W Nautilus Tweeter blown adhesive failure design fault

[azazel]

B&W Nautilus Tweeter blown adhesive failure design fault

My tweeters failed on my N802. After examining them carefully I discovered that the foam surround is stuck onto its plastic mounting, and the adhesive had failed which allowed the voice coil to come out the gaps and overheat as it was not being cooled by the ferro fluid. The replacement tweeters are modified so that the foam surround is bigger and is trapped under the outer tweeter housing so is not relying on the adhesive alone. To be fair on B&W, the speakers are about 15 years old, as I bought them used from a guy on ebay about 2 years after they were launched. B&W gave me a refund for the parts after I explained my case. The only other company with such a great service and commitment is Meridian and its a fine attitude such as this that makes me a life long fan of their products and will keep me buying their products for years to come. Well done B&W. ;x(


The new tweeter is on the right, the blown one on the left. Note how the foam surround is larger on the right.

[scanido]

Did you deal with B&W NA or UK?

[Race Car Driver]

Ive owned a pair of N802s, N803, N804, 2-3 NHTM1s, NHTM2s, SCM1s and SCMs I can say that I have replaced more than my share of N tweeters. This design fault is true as I more than one of mine have failed this way on the N802s and NHTM1s.

Pretty crappy way to fail over and over again IMO. It got to the point to where I wont even replace them anymore unless I can absolutely hear the problem.

I am just waiting for the day for my HTM1D tweeter to fail. (or "explode" like others have experienced) :roll:

[emig5m]

Ive owned a pair of N802s, N803, N804, 2-3 NHTM1s, NHTM2s, SCM1s and SCMs I can say that I have replaced more than my share of N tweeters. This design fault is true as I more than one of mine have failed this way on the N802s and NHTM1s.

Pretty crappy way to fail over and over again IMO. It got to the point to where I wont even replace them anymore unless I can absolutely hear the problem.

I am just waiting for the day for my HTM1D tweeter to fail. (or "explode" like others have experienced) :roll:

Woah!~ Does this apply to the S tweeters? (805S, 804S, 803S, HTM3S) :E



Wait a minute... My S series looks like it has a total different surround than the pics above. So they probably updated the S tweeter to alleviate this problem?

[Race Car Driver]

The only S Ive owned is an SCMS, so tweeter design is different as its in the cabinet.

At least they are not terribly expensive, $109 shipped last time I replaced the N tweeter on my 802.

[azazel]

Woah!~ Does this apply to the S tweeters? (805S, 804S, 803S, HTM3S) :E



Wait a minute... My S series looks like it has a total different surround than the pics above. So they probably updated the S tweeter to alleviate this problem?

My guess is that B&W modified the design about 1998 or earlier. If you have some early nautilus speakers, check that the foam tweeter surround is not coming away as it is bound to reduce the output of the tweeter. I remember mine always looking slightly not right ever since I had them. I also listen at high levels with big mono amps. If you discover that you have the same problem as I had, you could fix it quite easily. Ask if you want me to suggest how to fix it.

[emig5m]

My guess is that B&W modified the design about 1998 or earlier. If you have some early nautilus speakers, check that the foam tweeter surround is not coming away as it is bound to reduce the output of the tweeter. I remember mine always looking slightly not right ever since I had them. I also listen at high levels with big mono amps. If you discover that you have the same problem as I had, you could fix it quite easily. Ask if you want me to suggest how to fix it.

Yea the S tweeter doesn't even look the same, mine looks like a thin rubber O-ring surround instead of flat/thick foam surround.