[sublimeade]

Hi all,

I brought in my AV123 x-sub into my local hi-fi shop. It often emits a strange organic sound, almost like there is a rodent or crawling around inside it, but amplified. He said that the sub has an integrated design, and that it was not repairable.



It is such a beautiful sub, I hate to throw it out. I'm located in Toronto, Canada, if that matters.

Another site suggested I post here as someone named Danny may have some insight.

[mlundy57]

Do you know if the problem is the amp or the driver?

[sublimeade]

I don't know. Sadly, I have no skill. Coincidentally, in a different room I was hooking up some speakers today and heard a similar sound when the speaker cable was not connected properly. I wonder if it's just a loose connection on the inside. It looks pretty accessible, but I haven't cracked it open yet.

[thunderbrick]

Might be a rubbing voice coil, and they are fairly easy to fix.  Cost me $75 each to have my old Dahlquist DQ-1W drivers rebuilt.  Had a similar symptom to yours.

[mojave]

My X-Sub had an issue where the hole for the cables from the amp to the driver wasn't properly sealed. This made some weird noises. It was supposed to have a piece of foam, but the foam fell out or was omitted during assembly. The solution was to use some caulk in the hole.

[sandbagger]

If needed I might have a driver for it, have to double check

My guess is it has bad caps in the power supply section of the amp.
Does it sound like a hum or a buzz?   the caps can be replaced

Sounds like the hifi shop didnt want to deal with it.   find a tv repair shop

[Brendan]

Contact Kevin as they have kits for upgrading or upgrading many of their products.

http://www.seaton-sound-forum.com/?forum=154357

I know Mark personally and will vouch for him.

[gab]

Do not throw it out! There are only 2 things to go wrong - the plate amp or the driver. I would think the most likely situation is a bad plate amp. But even the driver can most likely be repaired by a competent speaker repair company in Toronto (surely they have at least one shop to repair all the PA speakers in the numerous clubs in the area). A quick google popped these guys up: http://www.fabaudio.com/ . I am sure they have competition.

Consider one of the Yung plate amps that Parts Express sells (I have no idea what plate amp you currently have on this sub so I can't make a recommendation without further investigation). Mount it in a external box (ref post 19 here: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=135972.0 for an example and picture).

Remove the existing plate amp and bypass the wiring to the driver to a new set of binding posts you add. Replace the inop plate amp to keep the unit sealed up.

Then if you still have the problem, pull the woofer and see if it can be repaired. If it can't you can surely find a replacement woofer to fit in the cutout (people here on this circle will be happy to help you).

The cabinet is beautiful and you should try to salvage this sub if you are up to a little DIY. Best of luck!

gab

[mlundy57]

I built an X-Sub awhile back. This is the amp I used http://www.parts-express.com/yung-sd300-6-300w-class-d-subwoofer-plate-amplifier-module-with-6-db-at-30-hz--301-510

The amp is physically bigger than the one that came with the sub. Enough so that I had to make the cabinet taller and turn the amp sideways.

Gab's suggestion of building an external box for the amp would work. Then you could either make a plate to cover the opening and remove the old amp or just leave the old amp in place.

[Captainhemo]

and if you need to bring something into Canada from PE, shoot me a PM.  I know a guy (Canadian dealer) who brings   orders in from PE weekly.  Getting  "it" from him  may  save you a lot in shipping

-jay

[Danny Richie]

You got some really good advice here. It sure makes me appreciate the good community of people that are here.

I still have a couple of replacement drivers if that is the problem.

Pull the driver out and push it in and out with your fingers and check the range of motion. If there is no rubbing of the voice coil then it is likely just fine.

[mbco]

I have a bad amp too. Any opinions on the the Dayton SPA250?  http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-spa250-250-watt-subwoofer-plate-amplifier--300-803   Most negative reviews show failures after a year or so.  Even with a mentioned 5 year warranty, still a PITA.  I went through three amps in the x-sub all replaced at AV123 since I lived close by.  Are they Yungs much better for similar cost and does anyone know how much modification it will take to the cabinet?

[mlundy57]

I have a bad amp too. Any opinions on the the Dayton SPA250?  http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-spa250-250-watt-subwoofer-plate-amplifier--300-803   Most negative reviews show failures after a year or so.  Even with a mentioned 5 year warranty, still a PITA.  I went through three amps in the x-sub all replaced at AV123 since I lived close by.  Are they Yungs much better for similar cost and does anyone know how much modification it will take to the cabinet?

The amp you are talking about is wider than the X-Sub cabinet so it would not fit. The Yung amps I have used also don't fit the cabinet dimensions, even turned sideways, without blocking the port.  Since I built my cabinet from scratch, I was able to make it taller so the amp fit.

Since your sub is already built, unless you can find an amp that will physically fit your existing cabinet you will need to build an eternal box for the amp and add a pair of binding posts or a two pole Speakon connector to the cabinet.  You could remove the existing amp and install a cover plate with a gasket to seal off the amp opening, or leave the amp and let it seal the opening.

An external box is not hard to build. You really only need the four sides. The bottom can be left open and you can surface mount the amp.