Karaoke Forums

I noticed this past weekend that one of my Yamahas SV15 was cutting in and out on me during the beginning of the night.  I switched the inputs on the back and all seemed to settlte down without any problems.

I plan to take the set of Yamahas out of service and send them out for just a maintenece check and use my Peaveys in place of until back.

Does anyone regular send speakers out for "preventive" type maintence checks to make sure wires, in/out put connections are solid???

Or is the norm --When it breaks I'll fix it ?

Does the ACTUAL speaker have "wear and tear"  Since I'll have them in the shop should I look to replace the speakers  or just wait unitil they BLOW if they ever do ?

the guy that builds my speakers glued the outside 1/4" connection that tightens and untightens. Everything else is soldered. I always run the speakrs thru a pre-test of highs and lows, left to right... when I'm setting up. I also check my speaker wires connected to my amp and my speakers every time. They're what I have the most problems with.

Just sounds like a loose wire somewhere, that's what i'd check first.  Since you said you switched inputs & things started working (settled down).  Maybe be a loose wire internally - easy fix.

As far as speakers wear & tear, well sure, they are moving components, the more they work the looser they become over time.  Also depending on the amp power if it's not enough for the driver or just enough or more than enough will also determine how long they will last as well.  If the driver is being underdriven all the time, the voice coil will be the first thing to go.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Well, that's kind of a double whammy question. Normally it's an external component that fails, like the cable or plugs. Those I always check before and after a show/gig. The speakers themselves, well, I'll fix them when they break (so to speak) but usually there will be an advanced warning, like a crackle or so, unless you really play loud, then they might go without notice. Only had that once happening, and it was the internal X-Over that blew up. Never had to replace a speaker basket or coil yet (touch wood)

Thanks all!    I think what I'll do is put the set of Yam's in for a check up and have the tech check all internal connections etc.  When they come back I might do the same for the Peaveys.   The Yamahas I've been keeping at my weekly gig and
although out of site , I'm not sure if anyone could have been fooling around with them... Who knows.  The Peaveys have been in my trailer for the last 6 months and hopefully with the cold weather - won't have a problem warming up.

I might make the switch on Friday so they get warmed up over a 24hr period instead of the usual 45 mins.

Thanks

If yours have 1/4" jacks then you need to keep an eye on them... They use little spring like metal fingers to contact the male plugs...Those fingers lose their tension eventually or get damaged real easy if the plug gets bumped...They also just wear out from use...Especially if you setup tear down for each gig....I converted all mine to Banana plugs and took care of the problem.

1/4" speaker jacks are a bad idea anyway because they just can't handle much power even when new.....Peavey uses special heavy duty jacks, but even they never used them on inputs above 600 watts.....Most speaker makers are going to speak-on's for all those reasons.

Its not hard to check speaker connections The bass and horn coils measure close to 8 ohms dc.  Alligator the meter leads to the unput connectors and flex wires and rap to find intermittents.   If I was using passives and was having jack problems I would put these on in a minute...

Yep, that's exactly what I done...I installed nana plugs on my speaker cables and they just plug straight in...Those suckers remove any doubt of a reliable connection.

 The tech term is cherry and self cleaning...

Interesting about the Superior electric Co site that you found,  My dad used to be director of engineering before they downscaled.. They were big into motors... Now I guess they've downscaled to about 30 employee's, and subdivided the plant they were in, so it's shared with about 5 other manufacturers.... I just called my dad because I thought about 10 years ago Superior electric was bought by the larger Michigan, Ohio Company Dana, They are big into auto stuff, and my dad ended up going with them... Thought for awhile it was Dana/Warner that bought out Superior...Yet apparently Superior still is chugging along...and still in Bristol CT... I was surprised to see that Karyoker...I thought they were long gone. Yet they aren't.. Still manufacturing..

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

That just happened to be one that googled and I recognized the name.  I vaugely remember seeing their motors I forget if they were big 220 blower motors or they even have been antenna rotator motors But I have used their connectors maybe even mil specs stuff in the service..   I didnt know they were still around either alot of them aint....Their quality control has always been A-1 If they made xlr's Id be using them

I don't really know Karyoker, I just asked my dad if they were still in existance in any capacity, and they are.  They were bought by Dana/Warner back in the 1990's and at that point were channeled predominantly towards the auto industry, Did alot of work for the GM, and he was always up in Michigan doing something. Warner closed down I think, and Dana started channeling less energy into hybrid vehicles.. My Dad does that on his own now with a few other Northeasterner's who are still working on this stuff.  But most of the executives with Superior Electric were laid off, he was lucky that the new parent company wanted him...He's one of the types that can't retire.... Free time aint good for all...

What really destroyed me is when one of his younger engineers (who happened to collect vintage Gibson Guitars, and Hammarlund radio equip) had to relocate out west... That was what I recall about the whole process. Pretty traumatic !

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I actually had more problems with banana plugs than I've EVER had with 1/4"... but to each their own.

I had a 'slight' rattle from one speaker, could only hear it from behind, not with the music.  I checked with a local dealer, and his advice was to check and torque down all the screws, as the Peavey Impulse line tends to work loose over time.  That was all it took.  

They advised me that there was not much else to do on those speakers, except to keep the 1/4 plugs/jacks clean - and whater you do, DON'T do as one of their (not so bright) customers had done.  They had someone bring in a pair of speakers that the guy had decided to use WD-40 on the 1/4 plugs and sprayed on the inside the jacks...