could my preschooler have damaged my speakers?

post #1 of 7

2/26/11 at 7:09am

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10 Posts. Joined 11/2007
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Hello,
I have a pair of Polk RC80i in-ceiling speakers in my dining room that are connected to my receiver by a 100ft or so run, with a Radio Shack in-wall volume control.

I spliced the speaker wire to reach the receiver in a new spot (long story). The speakers sounded fantastic through the splice. Then two things happened:

1. I soldered the spliced wires to make the connection more durable (I hoped). AND
2. my four year old had a temper fit that involved turning the receiver's volume ALL THE WAY UP. In a panic, I turned the in-wall vol control to "off", but the receiver eventually got super-hot and then quit. I assume this was the protective circuit being triggered.

Now, my Polk speakers sound muddy and muffled. Help! Is this the fault of bad soldering, could the receiver be broken somehow, or is it possible my four year old blew out the volume control, or even the speakers, with his little episode?

The receiver still makes nice sound through my outdoor speakers AFAICT, but I am not skilled about knowing sound quality (or soldering for that matter). All i know is that the Polks used to take my breath away with clear, balanced music and now they just sound blah/muffled..
Help!!!
Thanks much
Mary

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post #2 of 7

2/26/11 at 7:12am

4,043 Posts. Joined 7/2002
Location: Ontario, Canada
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seems like the speakers have been damaged by excessive power

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post #3 of 7

2/26/11 at 7:26am

2,123 Posts. Joined 3/2009
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I would also agree. The speakers are most likely blown or damaged from that full volume accident. I don't think your solder job has anything to do with it. Unless the two wires where not covered by heat shrink at the solder joint and made contact causing a short. This can also be very bad and cause damage to equipment. Many AVR's have a max volume limiter that can be set to eliminate accidents like this. It would be a good idea to set it if your receiver has this function.

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post #4 of 7

2/26/11 at 7:32am

buzzy_
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There are some tests you could do. (Though finding time when you have a 4 year old is another matter ...)

- Switch the wires on the outdoor speakers to the outputs for the in-walls and confirm that the receiver still sounds good on those channels. And/or, vice versa - put the indoors on the outdoor channels that you know are good.

- Double-check all the receiver settings. Dials and switches are really fascinating to kids.

- Take the volume control out of the circuit, if you really want to be sure, by taking it out of the box and connecting the speaker wires without it.

RC80is go on sale often, not a huge cost. $122 shipped at Amazon.

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post #5 of 7

2/26/11 at 11:24am

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Arrgh, sounds like he damaged the speakers ... I suspected as much. Thanks for the advice ... you're right Buzzy, there is not a lot of time for me to experiment and troubleshoot.

Now, does anyone have suggestion for debugging a challenging 4 year old? I guess that's a different forum.

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post #6 of 7

2/26/11 at 12:33pm

1,368 Posts. Joined 1/2011
Location: Nevada
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Quote:

Now, does anyone have suggestion for debugging a challenging 4 year old? I guess that's a different forum.

It involves speaker wire across the posterior. At least that's what my old man would have done to me. I hear Hot Wheel tracks work pretty good, too.

Seriously though, take the precautions mentioned here. That's why I waited until my daughter turned eight before attempting my HT. Just remember that mixing children with an expensive hobby is like chess...you have to think three moves ahead.

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post #7 of 7

2/26/11 at 12:43pm