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Bic venturi formula six issue

C

crisciceroe

New Member
Hello fellow audiophiles happy holidays! I would like to know why my tweeters and horns on my BIC Venturi Formula Six has stopped sounding. At first I thought it was the crossover, but the five inch speaker and the bass thumper are sounding perfectly. Please help... any one have any experience in dealing with Formula Sixes, and please do not say get another set those are horrible. These speakers have an immense sentimental value.
 
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Was this all of a sudden in the middle of a song, or a gradual thing?
The fact that the woofer is working isnt proving much beyond you are getting a signal inside the box. There still could be a problem at the crossover.
If you had a handheld meter you could pull the dead drivers and test them individually for continuity and resistance. 0 would indicate an open coil, fully deflected would indicate a dead short. For an 8 ohm driver you would see anywhere from 6-8 ohms displayed.
May also be the l pads (level control) for the tweeters..maybe oxidation..so those would need contact cleaner inside the control and spun about 30 times.
Not sure if there are fuses or breakers or some kind of protection circuit involved to protect the drivers. One would have to research that, and take a look inside to see whats there. I had some sevens here for awhile..didnt get into them, but seemed there was alot going on in there iirc.
Maybe something disconnected? Be too easy I suppose, but maybe....
It would seem odd that this is occurring on both speakers, unless they got cranked last time unmercifully, or the amp is sending alot of the wrong current.
 
Thanks for your reply! I would say it was a gradual thing because one day I was playing music on my set-up and the next day I noticed they were not sounding. Then I discovered, upon further inspection, the other one was not working either. Originally I was working with a NIKKO NR-815 and ended up switching for an ONKYO TX7000. I did play them rather loudly but not to the maximum that the speakers can handle. Maybe the switching of the amp? There is no oxidation inside I opened them up to inspect. In your opinion what is the best course of action? Thank you very much your insight is deeply appreciated.
 
Test each driver individually. Use an ohm meter or just hook them to the amp one at a time. You are only testing for signal so volume does not need to be much and you don't risk damage.

Your speakers also have a switch on the front that may be defective. Bypass the switch.
 
Np, just so you know, the oxidation that I referred to wouldnt be seen. It would be on the tiny parts inside the switch or control body (wiper and a coil, switch contacts etc..). Trick would be to find any kind of a tiny little hole to spray the cleaner inside and then work it alot as I mentioned. Otherwise we would have to take all of these little devices out of the speaker or amp or whatever, dismantle them, clean, then reassemble and re install.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207005
 
Oh! now that certainly changes things... I have been combing through the Audio Karma conversational archives searching for more wisdom but tomorrow I will begin dismantling the speaker again and inspecting the drivers I will take detailed pics for the site. I will certainly keep you posted
 
Just start simple. Test the switch first by bypassing it. It may be faulty or just have oxidation. If you bypass the switch and all the drivers work, you know what the next step should be. If the drivers still do not work, test one of those separately by wiring it straight to the amp at low volume. If the driver works, we can narrow down the problem even more. If I recall these also have a fuse on the back? Look at the fuse carefully. Even if the wire does not appear broken, it may be separated inside. The only way to be sure is to test or bypass the fuse. Again, use reasonable volume.

In general, we are following a logical path of tests. If none of the high drivers are working, we are suspecting the item that they all have in common. We are basically using a flow chart.
FWIW, I have the same speakers though they are stored in the attic and not easily accessible. One step at a time.
 
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jhtstone that is very good to know... I just finished opening up the speakers and removed the wiring schematics will be posting to the forum in a few minutes so that anyone who owns the Formula Six can have a wiring blueprint. After I repair these I would be interested in buying another pair.
 
posted up the wiring schematic for all of you guys it is under the heading BIC VENTURI FORMULA VI thought it would be a good reference for everyone
 
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