Why does only one of my speakers very badly distort?

[Nick Green]

I have two Klipsch speakers connected to a Sansui Amplifier. Why does only one of my speakers very, very badly distort when the bass comes in a song? It's really bad distortion. I've checked the wiring and made sure everything was good, and I don't see any other visible problems. Thanks for the help!

 

[Silentnet]

Either the speaker (crossover problems, driver issue) or the receiver (needs a recap / other component failure). Swap speakers and see if the distortion swaps with them or stays on that side.

 

[Nick Green]

Swap them in terms of placement (like just move the left speaker to the right and vice versa), or swap the wires?

 

[Silentnet]

Easier to swap wires I'd imagine.

 

[Nick Green]

I just swapped the wires but the same speaker is acting up. It doesn't distort at a really low volume but then it distorts really badly once i turn it up a bit.

 

[Silentnet]

Either bad crossover components, internal wiring, or a damaged voice coil, probably. Are the surrounds good?

 

[Nick Green]

The surrounds aren't great, but the other speaker is completely fine. Sorry if it's a dumb question, what are crossover components?

 

[Silentnet]

There's a circuit board with parts on it inside each speaker which help split the high and low signals between the woofers and tweeters, etc.

If they're failing it can lead to distortion.

 

[Silentnet]

Also, did they work fine before and only recently start distorting, or have they done this since you hooked them up?

 

[twiiii]

You didn't say which model but access the woofer and move the cone gently with all your fingers placed evenly around the cone. You should feel some dragging and hear scraping. If not it could be the crossover, or a bad midrange. Then disconnect the midrange and see if the scraping sound goes away after restoring the woofer to proper operating mode. You could take a piece of card board and cover each driver while listening to music, to determine which driver the noise is coming from.

 

[F1nut]

I think the spider is detached. Pull the driver to see if the spider moves with the cone.

 

[faber12]

If you are willing to post your location, there may even be a local who could help you.

 

[scoloheros]

I'd do what F1nut suggested first, I'd pull the driver out and inspect it. Most of the time it's a simple problem ...with anything. We tend to think the worst when something goes wrong. "What's wrong with this mower?, it worked yesterday. Gas!, oh yeah these things need gas to work." It could be as simple as the speaker mounting screws becoming a little loose.

 

[crazy-in-az]

Bad surrounds, even when partially intact, will cause all sorts of noise when the volume knob gets turned. If both speakers have their original surrounds you can expect the other one to start falling apart very soon.

 

[Ramseybella]

Take it out of the cab for inspection.
Put your ear close to the speaker in question put your with all your fingers placed evenly around the cone on each side of the dust cap and gently push it in and out.
If you hear a scratching noise or feel resistance voice coil could be off center or toast. in any case yo need to replace the surrounds.
Push the good speaker and feel if it is different. Voice coil or the spider.
On the other hand if they are the newer composite frame Klipsch speakers i had one that was cracked and shifted the voice coil sounded like what you are describing.
After slathering on some two part epoxy and clamping it for two days it was as new.