I have these older monitors--Samson Rubicon 5s--and I'm having trouble with one speaker popping on and off. :cry: These are good but not great speakers, and I do plan on upgrading in the medium future, but for the time being I'd like to keep them working as long as possible.
In any case, here's what happens: Occasionally (a few times a day) the right speaker emits a noise and then stops emitting any sound. The noise is a loud, sharp, brief hum, rather like the sound one hears when plugging in a live cord to a guitar. The sound will then return to the speaker as spontaneously as it departs, but sometimes not for 10 minutes or so.
This sounds to me like a short somewhere inside the monitor cabinet. I checked all the cables and the sound card outputs, and everything works fine, so the problem has to be with the individual speaker.
So, my question: Would there be any point to opening up the speaker and taking a look inside? I know nothing about electronics, but I suppose I could spot a loose wire if there is one. Does anyone have a sense of whether the problem I'm describing is likely to be fixable by the likes of me?
Thanks!
I assume they are active monitors.....if so, perhaps the power sopurce is inadequate, too strong, or loose wire, damaged voice coil.....just guessing, sorry.
shop time.
Narrow it down...
Does it happen to BOTH speakers? If it does...swap speaker wires and see if the problem follows to the other speaker. If it does...it's the speaker...if it isn't...start by replacing the wire to the amp...then start looking inside your modules. 99% of the time it's bad plugs.
Vaguely...I remember a problem like this coming from the car ignition of a session client. Every time his girlfriend got bored and took off in his Ferrari you could hear the ignition clear as anything. He used to yell "God damn, woman! Let the oil get up on top of the motor!" You could actually hear her turn the key and zip off at 5000 rpm...
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
No, the problem happens only to one speaker. I've tried switching inputs and cables, and the problem stays with the speaker. I don't think the power cord is the issue, as the power light on the speaker stays lit even when the sound is dead.
Sigh.
Thanks for your responses.
check the stereo / mono switch.
long shot.
Those Rubicons have ribbon tweeters right? I would call tech support, or send them in right away. In fact I would unplug that speaker right now. Hopefully you haven't done any permanent damage. I some people who think very highly of the Rubicons for their price range. Anyway, I believe those ribbon tweeters are electro-static and are very sensitive.
The problem is getting worse, and I need to replace these speakers. I'm going to pick up ether a pair of M-Audio BX8s or a pair of KRK Rokit 8s. I'm leaning toward the latter, even though it's the pricier option.
But what to do about my Samson Resolv sub woofer, which is working fine? Do subs need to be matched to monitors or can any sub be matched with any set of monitors? If I get the Rokits, will the Samson sub be appropriate? The signal path has to be routed through the sub. Is there even a need for a sub?
I use these speakers for recreational listening as well as mixing, if that matters.
If the monitor is actually producing volume below 80Hz, yeah, I'd keep it. Sometimes though, tuned port subwoofers sound like monotone bass generators. So, if you're satisfied that the sub is giving you an accurate representation of what you need to hear great. If it's just pushing a 40Hz sine wave at you though, it's probably more of a hindrance than a help. If you can set the lowpass filter on the sub(you should be able to do this. Otherwise it's pointless.) make sure you match it to the frequency response of your new monitors. You don't want to be doubling your low mids unnecessarily. And, yeah, go for the KRKs I love mine.
