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Does anyone want to list the symptoms of a blown speaker (or malfunctioning amp)? Obviously, distorted crackle may top the list for a speaker, but can they do other things? I have an active FOH speaker that suddenly decided to be much quieter than the other two. It is flown at around 20ft and not very accessible so it wasn't just turned down. The FOH mixer runs stereo into a Peavey DSP and then splits into 3 balanced mono output channels to the FOH speakers. Suddenly the right speaker went very quiet while the left and center remained good. Any help in troubleshooting would be appreciated here.

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Boswell Tue, 04/26/2011 - 09:36

What's the make and model of the speaker? Is it just quiet or is there a grating sound from the problem speaker? Have you tried interchanging the output cables from the Peavey unit to check that the fault stays with that speaker?

Some PA speakers have a switchable attenuator next to the input socket, and I have known the switch contacts to go dry on those, bringing it into circuit when the dolly is not in the attenuation postion. A squirt of switch cleaner and some physical operation of the dolly can show the problem and get it working again for a short while, but is not a permanent cure.

moonbaby Tue, 04/26/2011 - 09:41

Well, I guess that first thing that I would check would be the output from the Peavey DSP box. Perhaps you can secure some sort of powered monitor, headphone amp, etc. to test that output against the other 2 for this problem. Make sure that this may be a simple connectivity issue, so check all of the connections in the rear of the PV box. Frankly, this does not sound like a blown speaker, usually that will yield a change in the frequency balance of the box (i.e., no high's or weak lows), as 1 or the other driver blows first. Once you've eliminated the PV and connections as the culprit, then you can rent a scissor-lift to yank the cab from the sky...

mdb Thu, 04/28/2011 - 12:41

All connections on the output of the DSP were good. So here's the funny verdict...

There was a "work bee" at the church and the scaffolding was erected under the speakers and they somehow got manhandled during the day. The left speaker got turned so it was no longer in proper alignment and the right speaker had the gain turned way down. How, I do not know. I can only assume someone was wiping dust off the top and turned the gain down. All is good.