[friendswithdave]

As I continue my odyssey of the purchase of a used set of 6 AV213 speakers, I just did a calibration of my x-statics and verified my fear: I have a bad bass unit in one of the speakers. I did a bass test tone sweep  and the left speaker did not produce any movement in either driver. The right sounded fine.

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but either the crossover is bad, the drivers are bad, or both, correct? (Could it be anything else?)

Next, how do I fix it? I really like these speakers and am ready to take on a project if it is doable. I've not started to take it apart yet, but I see some allen screws that appear to connect the bass unit to the front of the speaker. If I remove those six screws, that should separate the bass unit from the front? Do the screws in the bottom need to be removed as well?

I've not soldered so that is a concern, but my son has so hopefully I can engage him if soldering is required.

Can two drivers plus the crossover be purchased?

TIA for your help, I'd really like to salvage this speaker.

[HAL]

If you swap the speakers, is the same one not producing sound?

That could be a speaker cable problem or connector problem that might be a simple fix.

[Jon L]

left speaker did not produce any movement in either driver. The right sounded fine.

It's unlikely that both bass drivers went bad at the same time. 
If lucky, it could something simple like wire disconnected from crossover board.  If a component in the crossover has failed, you may be able to find it by visual inspection and testing with a meter. 

I would unscrew the bass drivers from the front and test the DC resistance of all drivers (including the good ones) and confirm they all test similar.  If you don't have one, digital multimeters are cheap these days.  Put it in DC mode and voltage and test on the two tabs on the driver. 
If they all test within similar ranges, drivers are probably all right.
If you can't find the problem on the crossover board or connections yourself, you can try taking the bad speaker to a local speaker repair shop (or take just the crossover board) or mail the board to be repaired. 

[Hobbsmeerkat]

It's unlikely that both bass drivers went bad at the same time. 
If lucky, it could something simple like wire disconnected from crossover board.  If a component in the crossover has failed, you may be able to find it by visual inspection and testing with a meter. 

Id check driver connections, its possible that a connection came loose at the driver or crossover. If the connections are still good, youll need to test each driver individually to see if you have a bad driver.

[friendswithdave]

Thanks for the advice!

First, I switched speaker connections. It's not that, same issue in same speaker.

Next, I removed the bottom driver. It was connected. I looked to the crossover mounted to the bottom of the enclosure. It did not see any disconnected wires and no burn marks or anything else looking suspicious. I was going to switch that driver out to one on another speaker, but they are soldered so I can't do that without breaking the solder.

I don't have a multi-meter or know how to use one. That said, I can work with my son who will be here on Monday. If he doesn't have one, I can buy one and test the drivers.

I did notice two screws missing out of the base of the speaker - and two missing from the base of the working speaker as well. After removing the base, it appears the other two screws were never installed, because there isn't a hole where these screws would have gone through to start with.

I also removed all 8 screws from the lower unit which is attached to the base. The crossover is attached to  this. However, even with all 8 screws removed I could not remove this part and didn't want to force it (at this point).

Any other advice at this point? Still seems likely the drivers are bad (both blown at the same time?) or the crossover is bad, or both.

[Tyson]

It's unlikely both drivers are bad, more likely that you have a cold solder joint on the crossover or some other place were the electrical signal is getting blocked. 

[friendswithdave]

I seem to agree - both drivers being bad seems unlikely. Although if one went bad, would the other try to carry all the load then go bad too? Not sure if this logic holds.

Any idea how to check for a cold solder joint? First, I would need to remove the base where the crossover is. I'm still hesitant to attempt to force this out, and not sure how I would attempt that.

It's sounding like I may need to locate a speaker repair shop in Raleigh.

[Tyson]

Pull both speakers out and desolder them from the internal speaker wire.  Now hook each driver up to your stereo amp and play some music.  They should make sound.  If they make sound, then the drivers are fine and the problem is elsewhere. 

And you don't need to solder your stereo speaker wire to the drivers, just use a clip of some type to clamp your stereo speaker wire to the driver leads temporarily. 

[friendswithdave]

That sounds like a good idea. I'll work with my son on Monday on how to desolder them. Sounds easy enough, but I don't want to break anything.

[corndog71]

I would resolder everything.  Get a good soldering iron, good solder, and solder sucker.  Then remove the old solder and resolder every joint.  Speakers are easy and only have a dozen or so joints.  It’s a good way to practice soldering. 

To avoid cold solder joints do not blow on them after soldering.  Let them cool on their own which only takes a few seconds.

[Doublej]

Google X-Statik or X-Statik crossover and you should see some pictures. Or ask Chops how it comes out. Suction cups on the bottom to pull it straight off but who has suction cups? I would use a thin blade knife in the gap to gently coax it out.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=137417.0

[devious17]

Do the AA battery test to confirm the speakers connectivity.

[Danny Richie]

The guys that have responded are correct. Check the connections. Something is off somewhere.

[friendswithdave]

Thanks Danny! I have been holding off on calling GR Research. I was waiting to get the solder sucker I ordered, but if you think it is a connection, I may go ahead and try to remove the bottom to access the crossover. I pulled all the screws out but it did not seem to want to come out. After finding a picture of it removed, I think I'll be able to pry it out and then see if I can find a wire disconnected.

[friendswithdave]

So I got the courage to remove the bottom plate and it came out pretty quickly once I got the butter knife in the right place. That led me to find a white wire not connected above. Pulling out the lower bass driver led me to see where this white wire should be connected to the driver and the other white wire which leads to the upper bass driver. When my son gets home this evening he should be able to resolder this. Assuming there are no other issues, that should be it. I'll post a final update, but thanks everyone for your guidance.

[Tyson]

Nice!  Once you get over that initial hump, working on a speaker is pretty straightforward. 

[friendswithdave]

All done, resoldered the wire with few problems. Speaker works as new! Thanks again yall.

[Hobbsmeerkat]

Glad you got them working again! 

I've got a pair of AV123 X-Statik that should arrive in the next week or so too! I'm excited to hear them first hand & get a better understanding of OB speakers by doing some A/B with my XLS, & eventually once my Studios are finished.