Thank you Scott :-)

When a little time drops by, I'll do as you suggest.

It's great to have a genius around who is happy to offer so much help :-)

Many thanks again.

RF

"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...
RedFox wrote:
Kludge writes:

Yes, this is cheap consumer gear. It's supposed to last about two
years,
so you got about the expected lifetime from it.

This sure is a surprise to me. What similar speaker systems are expected
to
have a
lifetime of about 10 years or thereabouts?

For the most part you probably want to go with seperates if you're looking
for something that sounds good and is solid.

If you want something solid with an integrated amplifier, you're going to
have to pay for it. The NHT M-00 is maybe a good starter unit, or
something
like the Tannoy powered Reveal speakers. You will pay money, however.

The problem is that quality electronics have now become a very small
niche market and most folks are happy buying junk that falls apart.
This just drives up the price of the good gear since the economies of
scale are no longer there.

You could, but more likely something has gone wrong with the amplifier
module. Get out the scope, see if you have signal at the driver...
then
work your way back one stage at a time until you find where it's gone
wrong. Could well be a bad cable or connector, but you need to measure
signal level at each point and see.

Unfortunately I don't have a scope. I do have a multimeter. I'll take the
back off the
woofer and look for any signs of loose cables or burnouts.

How about a signal tracer? A signal tracer won't cost much and will
probably be the most convenient tool. Worst case you can take a pair
of dollar-store headphones, attach an alligator clip to the ground and
a test probe to the center pin. Tie the clip to the chassis ground
and now you can go poking around with the probe listening for signal.

Don't do this on hot chassis gear, but on the multimedia speakers you
are probably fine.

Any other suggestions for trouble shooting?

The problem is that it will cost less to replace it than to get a tech
for a couple hours to fix it. That's the way disposable gear is.

This is amazing. The woofer, that contains the circuitry, is very heavy.
I
would guess
about 20 lbs. Is that just concrete ballast? ;-) The four small speakers
appear to work ok.

Open it up and see.

Is there any such thing as a standard circuit board for speaker systems?

No, although with the standardization of Chinese stuff, we may soon be
getting there. Note that the manufacturer will probably laugh at you
if you try and get a service manual or schematic for this sort of gear
today.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."