B&W DM110s Almost Blown By Monster Marantz Receiver!!!

crooner

Tube Marantzed
I really like my B&Ws. I bought them at the local Amvets a year ago. At 40 bucks a pair, it was the bargain of the year. I fixed a tweeter on one of them (no biggie, just a small voice coil wire, which I resoldered carefully). The speakers have performed perfectly until tonight when I used them to power a Marantz 4400 monster receiver that pumps 125 watts per side.

At first I noticed distortion at lower levels in the left speaker. Tweeter was fine. This seemed to come from the woofer.
Then the left channel was dead. The fuse from the speaker (a 2 amp european type) was blown. I replaced the fuse, but the distortion remained.

I ruled out the crossover network since the distortion tended to clear out at high volumes. I would assume that a failure of a capacitor or inductor would cause distortion at all levels.

I took the woofer out of the cabinet and inspected it. Everything appeared fine, no signs of overheating. Perhaps the coil suffered slight damage, but with audible consequences.

I had nothing to lose, so I experimented a bit. I sprayed Caig ProGold on the woofer's voice coil and reinstalled it in the cabinet.

Voila, the distortion is gone!!! I wonder what happened! Call me impressed.

So, these B&Ws survived the monster Marantz. I think I have learned to appreaciate them even more now.

Regards,
crooner
 
1. Turn it down.

3. Get a more capable amp.

D. Get the dust off those drivers, blasphemy!

Cheers,
Russ
 
hehee yes, the drivers are dusty. My speaker grilles are torn and ugly so I never use them. The woofers BTW, use a good quality surround that does not rot.

These are my "Test" speakers. That's why they were subject to the torture of the Marantz. However, I think I should appreciate them more. Thirft store purchase, yes, but these are Bowers & Wilkins!

Regards,
crooner
 
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Please sir, may I have...............that Fisher (500?)reciever sitting on the floor?

I feel like Oliver Twist!:pity:
 
Progold is much better than Q-tips! It removes all of the wax as opposed to just smearing it around. Now if I could only get the bleeding to stop.:eek:
 
You may laugh if you will, but the progold saved the speaker!!!
As I type this, I am listening to Belafonte @ Carnegie Hall with the Marantz 4400 hooked to the B&Ws. At low volume of course :D

As for the Fisher, :rolleyes: I spent many a night sleepless soldering those replacement caps. So much effort put into that unit. For the moment I'll hang on to it, but who knows?


Regards,
crooner
 
Yes, it can get pretty tricky getting into the cramped spaces under the hood of a Fisher Reciever to recap. I have done it myself, and I don't plan on letting loose of mine either.

You out of CaigLube?
 
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