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A-Bus Russound in new home only partially working

post #1 of 14
7/25/11 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Hello all! My husband and I just bought a house that already has the A-Bus sound system installed with 3 A-KP2 interfaces, and an A-H1 hub. There are 5 sets of speakers. We hooked it up to my ipod dock, and it seems only one speaker from each set is working. 3 of the five sets have one speaker working, but is barely audible. Two of the sets (operated by different interfaces) have one speaker working well. I am assuming this system was installed by the builder, since there is another house in the neighborhood that has the same exact system. So I think it was professionally installed.
I have swapped out the Ipod, the hub, the CAT 5 cable, and the RCA cables, and keep having the exact same problem. I have also adjusted the gain of the non-working speaker on two of the interfaces, and that did not help. The connections on the punchdown connector seem to also be correct. Does anyone have any ideas? I know its possible that there is a speaker blown from each set, but I'm kind of hoping for a simpler solution. Thanks for any help!
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post #2 of 14
7/25/11 at 2:41pm
If you don't have the install manual(s), get them.

http://www.mislimited.co.uk/Uploads/..._H1_Manual.pdf

What cable are you using to connect the iPod to the Russound? You'll need a stereo mini-to-RCA cable, if you don't have one. Can you try it in the other house in the neighborhood, to see if it works there?


Try a single pair of speakers, disconnect the others.
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post #3 of 14
7/25/11 at 5:55pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you for responding. We are using a cable that we got with the dock. It plugs into the Ipod out and dock output, but there are three RCA cables. We only plugged in the red and white ones, and left the yellow out. Do you think that could be the problem? I found the mini-stereo RCA jack on the internet. It's cheap, so I would definitely try it. Thanks again.
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post #4 of 14
7/25/11 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 
I will also try the single pair of speakers. If they are shut off at the interface, does that count, or do I need to manually disconnect them from the system?
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post #5 of 14
7/25/11 at 8:59pm
Do you have any other audio source such as an old CD player with analog outputs you could plug into the A-bus instead of the I-pod for purposes of testing. It would quickly narrow down the possible causes of the problem.
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post #6 of 14
7/26/11 at 5:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CVanMeter View Post

Do you have any other audio source such as an old CD player with analog outputs you could plug into the A-bus instead of the I-pod for purposes of testing. It would quickly narrow down the possible causes of the problem.

This is a great idea.

Try everything you can, before buying anything.
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post #7 of 14
7/26/11 at 7:51am
Thread Starter 
Okay, so I found a stereo RCA cable in my husband's nest of "cables we may someday need." The sound out of the speaker that was working was definitely sounding better, but the same speakers that were not working before are still not working. I pulled off some more interfaces around the house, and found out that it wasn't the same side speakers that were or were not working in every set. Unfortunately, I do not have analog CD players or stereos anymore, but I did attach the audio of a DVD player to the system with RCA cables, and it was the same situation with that attached. I am thinking of going around to the speakers that don't work with a multimeter and seeing if the speakers that aren't working are getting any voltage, so I know if its the speakers. I don't know where to put the leads of the voltmeter to test the speakers though, and I'm kind of afraid to touch the wrong things. I may just look it up and give it a try when my husband is home though. Thanks for both of your help, and I am definitely open to anymore suggestions.
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post #8 of 14
7/26/11 at 8:19am
Thread Starter 
Oooh. I can ohm out the actual speaker...much safer. Think I'll try that.
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post #9 of 14
7/26/11 at 10:06am
Thread Starter 
speakers are not blown. I'm all out of ideas.
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post #10 of 14
7/26/11 at 11:26am
Looking at that A-H1 install manual (linked above), and the A-KP2 manual (http://www.leisuretech.com.au/PDF/AKP2.pdf), it looks like the punch down connections for the speakers or the hub, onto the A-KP2, may be connected wrong or are loose.

You said you replaced THE cat5 cable - shouldn't there be 3, one for each KP2?

And, you say you have 5 pairs of speakers. How are the other 2 pairs connected?

And, do you have a wall plate for the cat5 cables? If so, then the connections behind the wall plate may be loose or wired incorrectly.

Check the speaker connections, to make sure they're connected to Speaker Out of the A-KP2, and not Line Out.

I see again that you mentioned Volume Trim. That would be a good place to spend more time. Are the screws clearly marked? Can you adjust them while music/sound is playing from the DVD?
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post #11 of 14
7/26/11 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 
I mis-spoke the first time. I actually have 5 sets of speakers and 4 A-KP2 connectors. I can easily tell where 4 of the five sets are connected because there is some sound coming out of at least one speaker. The fifth set has nothing, so I have no idea which faceplate controls it. The CAT-5 that I replaced, I guess would actually be the CAT-5 Patch cable. It is the one that goes from the hub into the wall. There is a CAT-5 cable for each controller on the A-H4P and they are color-coded correctly and appear to be connected well. However, re-doing CAT-5 cable is kind of beyond my scope, so I don't want to mess around with it too much (I only know just anough to be dangerous).
I've been reading about speaker polarity. Is it possible that the polarity could be reversed on just one of the speakers or driver, and that could cause one speaker to only play quietly, while the other seemingly works fine?
I have played around with the trim on the back of the panels. The speaker that works better will react to it, and the speaker that does not work well will not react. Thank you for your help!
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post #12 of 14
7/26/11 at 12:46pm
If you call a pro, he can spend a few hours troubleshooting.

Or, he'll just replace the KP2s.

Prob bad trim potentiometers (trimpots) for the volume leveling. I don't know much about that, other than you reduce the level with the power off, turn it on, and then adjust the trimpot screw to increase the level.

I'd play with the trimpot screws more, redo all the speaker connections at the KP2s and redo the connections at the speakers. Re-read the manuals. Get a magnifying glass and visually inspect the punch-downs, if you don't feel like learning how to do it. The manual says it is a 110 punch down - fixed blade 110 punch down tool at HD/Lowes is $15, no wire stripping necessary. Don't let the fancy words fool you - once you see how it's done, you'll think 'oh, that's so simple.'

A 110 punch down uses an IDC - Insulation Displacement Connector. The wire, with insulation intact, is positioned over the IDC connector. The tool is then used to push the wire down into the connection, into a metal slot. The slot cuts into the insulation, making contact with the wire/conductor. The 110 tool includes a blade which cuts the extra wire which is hanging out of the side of the connector.



http://www.molex.com/tnotes/idtbm.html

How much is your time worth?
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post #13 of 14
1/17/13 at 12:44pm
Hi,

I'm having the exact same issue with the same equipment and set-up you describe.... I've read the thread, but do not see a solution. Did you finally correct the issue... and if so what worked/;?
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post #14 of 14
1/18/13 at 6:44am
Just traced the issue to the Greyfox distribution board which is used to send the audio signal through the house. Looks like the dist box causes one speaker in each room to fail. I bypassed the Greyfox box and they all work. Only think I can think of is the Greyfox box is somehow changing he pinout pattern for the CAT5. Looks like some trial and error with the CAT 5 until I get it right.
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