Malfunctioning speaker

[AmateurPCGuy]

My rig has a Creative Inspire 5300 5.1 speaker and I've been using it since my second rig (right around 2004-ish) Over the years of usage, Two speakers died, specifically the Center and the Front Right ones.

 

Then the volume control on this device is malfunctioning, the volume knob doesn't work anymore and it needs to be angled out for me to hear the speaker properly. if not placed properly, all i hear is the freaking bass.

 

So the request is, is there any way for me to revive the two speakers and fix the volume control?

 

Product Link: http://asia.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=4&subcategory=789&product=15999&nav=0&listby=usage

 

[CouchSloth]

A question or two before offering some help. Do you have access to a multimeter? If you do are you familiar measuring resistance? If you answer yes to both then I can offer some help with trying to diagnose the speaker problems. You'll also need a screwdriver to open up the speakers.

[AmateurPCGuy]

I have a multimeter and yes, I'm familiar on measuring resistance...

[AmateurPCGuy]

A question or two before offering some help. Do you have access to a multimeter? If you do are you familiar measuring resistance? If you answer yes to both then I can offer some help with trying to diagnose the speaker problems. You'll also need a screwdriver to open up the speakers.

 

I have a multimeter and yes, I'm familiar on measuring resistance...

[CouchSloth]

You report a couple of the speakers have 'died'. The best way to know if its the speakers themselves is to open up each speaker box and measure the resistance at the two contacts on the speaker itself where the wires of the speaker cable terminate. Make sure you disconnect the speaker cable else you may get a false reading. Each speaker will have a very low resistance which could be as little as 10 or 12 ohms and sometimes as high as 20 to 30 ohms. If a speaker is dead it will have an open circuit resistance and will likely be non repairable.

 

If you measure the individual speaker resistance and get a low reading then it is likely the speaker is ok. At this point the next logical place to look is with the cable that runs back to the central hub itself. Each speaker cable has two wires. Disconnect both ends and measure the resistance from one end of the cable to the other on each of the two wires, once at a time. Once again if there is a fault then its likely one or both of the wire will be open circuit and thus be the cause of your problem.

 

If both the speaker and the cable check out ok, the its likely the source of the sound from the central unit. If possible try to connect the speaker to another device. I am not sure if each of the speaker cables has bare wire ends or if they have small audio plugs on them. If they have plugs then it should be simple enough to find another audio device to plug them into. If its bare wires then you need to find another audio device that can support bare wire connections.

 

It's a little hard to know what advice to give you without know what you may have already tried. I am more than happy to offer further advice if you need. Good luck.

[AmateurPCGuy]

You report a couple of the speakers have 'died'. The best way to know if its the speakers themselves is to open up each speaker box and measure the resistance at the two contacts on the speaker itself where the wires of the speaker cable terminate. Make sure you disconnect the speaker cable else you may get a false reading. Each speaker will have a very low resistance which could be as little as 10 or 12 ohms and sometimes as high as 20 to 30 ohms. If a speaker is dead it will have an open circuit resistance and will likely be non repairable.

 

If you measure the individual speaker resistance and get a low reading then it is likely the speaker is ok. At this point the next logical place to look is with the cable that runs back to the central hub itself. Each speaker cable has two wires. Disconnect both ends and measure the resistance from one end of the cable to the other on each of the two wires, once at a time. Once again if there is a fault then its likely one or both of the wire will be open circuit and thus be the cause of your problem.

 

If both the speaker and the cable check out ok, the its likely the source of the sound from the central unit. If possible try to connect the speaker to another device. I am not sure if each of the speaker cables has bare wire ends or if they have small audio plugs on them. If they have plugs then it should be simple enough to find another audio device to plug them into. If its bare wires then you need to find another audio device that can support bare wire connections.

 

It's a little hard to know what advice to give you without know what you may have already tried. I am more than happy to offer further advice if you need. Good luck.

okay... i'm gonna try that in a few days... right now, the speakers are fixed on the wall so taking then off may take some time.

[CouchSloth]

You can also just disconnect the wires from the central box and measure the resistance of the speakers along the cable, but just keep in mind if there is more than one speaker in the box you will get a good reading if one of the two speakers is ok, so you cant be sure if they are both good or not. But it may help if the reading is bad then you know its worthwhile taking the speaker box off the wall.

[AmateurPCGuy]

You can also just disconnect the wires from the central box and measure the resistance of the speakers along the cable, but just keep in mind if there is more than one speaker in the box you will get a good reading if one of the two speakers is ok, so you cant be sure if they are both good or not. But it may help if the reading is bad then you know its worthwhile taking the speaker box off the wall.

I haven't done anything on the speakers since school just started but there's been improvements (and more observations)

 

1. When I connected the speaker to a laptop (the line in only) all 5 speakers play (or maybe its just me).

2. On the PC, the right speaker plays from time-to-time. Not sure on the center speaker's status...

[CouchSloth]

Perhaps its the actual connector/s from the speakers to the PC. I gather they are probably 3.5mm headphone type jacks. It may be there wires are intermittently making connections to the plug. This could give you different results when connecting to your laptop. Else the socket/s on the PC may be coming loose if they are old.