Newbie with Infinity woofer problem :( Need help !

[codecougar]

Hi everyone. Today I noticed that the woofer of my right speaker is not working. The tweeter and mid range both seem OK, but there is no sound at all coming from the woofer. The left speaker seems OK.

These speakers are older. but not sure how old. They say "Studio Monitor 120" on them. I use them for my home theater set up as well as for listening to CD's and music.

I don't really have the cash at the moment for new speakers. Can this be fixed? Is it worth it? Any idea what might be wrong?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you !!

[Luvin Da Blues]

Have you tried swapping the right and left speakers? If the problems stay with the suspect speaker I have bad news for you....new woofer (or maybe a crossover).

[audio_dude]

Well, i'd search around for a new or used woofer of the same model to replace it with. Test a bit and make sure its not the crossover first...

Hopefully it might be just a small problem, but i doubt it. And yes, if you like the sound and are happy with the speakers, it would probably be good to fix 'em.

good luck!

[Mr Peabody]

The SM-120's gave way to the SM-122 around 1990 give or take a year or so. I'm sure Infinity wouldn't have a replacement. I tried to get a Kappa woofer for a speaker from the same era several years back and they couldn't help. If you really like the speakers you can have the woofers rebuilt from a local repair shop who offers that type of service.

You could take the opportunity to replace the SM's with a pair that matches your center for better HT sound.

The SM series were a highly sensitive speaker, big cabinet, large woofers, built for disco and R&R. Quite a bit different from their RS and Kappa sound. Made for a different target listener. If I remember correctly those also include controls for the mids & highs.

[herm0016]

check ebay for the woofer you need. i bet you will be able to find one. there are usually quite a few different old infinity drivers for sale.

[codecougar]

I seem to be in a pickle here. The house I bought has this huge, built in the wall entertainment center with cut outs for the front and center speakers. I don't really have room for a subwoofer so the large woofers on these Infinitys were basically taking the place of a separate subwoofer.

I can't seem to find anyone who will repair these speakers so I guess I will have to look for a new pair, but I don't have a ton to spend. Maybe $500 to $750 for the pair tops. The problem is that all the newer speakers seem to have very small woofers, like 7". The other MAJOR problem is that I need speakers 34" in height or less, which seems to be difficult to find these days.

There is NO WAY I can take down or reconfigure the built in entertainment center. You have no idea. My uncle had it custom built with all cherry hard wood back in the early 90's or so. Maybe some day I will take it out, but it would be a massive renovation.

So, I am kind of going crazy. I can't listen to music or watch movies on my new Blu-ray and tv until I get this worked out :(

[gruss72]

Why can't ya? I mean a little lopsided bass is better than nothing :)
Did you verify whether it was the driver or the xover? I'm sure you could throw any 12"r in there and be just fine if the Studio monitors are what I remember them being. or for 500 to 700 bucks in the used/vintage markets you could do waaayyy better anyway.

[codecougar]

Why can't ya? I mean a little lopsided bass is better than nothing :)
Did you verify whether it was the driver or the xover? I'm sure you could throw any 12"r in there and be just fine if the Studio monitors are what I remember them being. or for 500 to 700 bucks in the used/vintage markets you could do waaayyy better anyway.

Yeah, I mean I could, but I don't want to waste a movie with crappy sound. I'm just weird like that :)

I don't even know what a driver is. Does that mean the speaker itself? I am not sure how to test this stuff.

I guess I am going to keep making calls and hopefully someone can fix it for me.

[Mr Peabody]

Go do some listening instead of calling. First, you seem to be particular about your sound, that's a good thing, you will get better sound quality with a matching center and mains. To be honest with you, it wouldn't be hard to find a better sounding speaker than the SM's. They weren't terrible, but like I mentioned, they were built for kids to rock out with. If you really like that type of sound, listen to some Klipsch. Paradigm are much better and still above average sensitivity. B&W offer some decent budget speakers. I'd recommend a front firing port if you are putting them in a close quarters like the wall unit you described.

Don't let small woofers fool you. done properly you can get very good bass. Is there a place in your room for a sub? Or, I don't know if you can find any short enough but you could also look for amplified speakers.

Which receiver do you have?

[Mr Peabody]

A driver is the actual woofer/tweeter/mid. The crossover is the network (circuit) that divides the frequencies of the input signal and send them to the proper driver. For instance, 800Hz and below might go the woofer, and anything above 800Hz goes on to the other drivers.

[herm0016]

http://cgi.ebay.com/INFINITY-STUDIO-MONITOR-120-STEREO-SPEAKERS-AS-IS-NR_W0QQitemZ250168099827QQihZ015QQcategoryZ14993QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
here is an example of a set that needs a little work. you may be able to sell the ones your have for parts.
http://cgi.ebay.com/INFINITY-12-CAST-FRAME-IMG-WOOFERS-KAPPA-7-NEW-FOAM_W0QQitemZ290164519812QQihZ019QQcategoryZ50597 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
here is a pair of infinity woofers, though not from your particular model, they would work fine. it looks like they may not fit perfectly though.

good luck.

[Mr Peabody]

If you can get them cheap enough, buying the same model would be a good idea. You can use one and keep one pair for parts.

DO NOT use any other model of Infinity driver. The SM series were unique from any other Infinity line and using one of their other series in it's place would not work and could be disasterous. If you can't get the exact driver you might be able to have a technician cross reference to see what a close replacement might be in another brand woofer.

[codecougar]

If you can get them cheap enough, buying the same model would be a good idea. You can use one and keep one pair for parts.

DO NOT use any other model of Infinity driver. The SM series were unique from any other Infinity line and using one of their other series in it's place would not work and could be disasterous. If you can't get the exact driver you might be able to have a technician cross reference to see what a close replacement might be in another brand woofer.

Well, I found a place near me after doing some research and I spoke with this guy Bob Pelletier from this place:

http://www.atcaudio.com/index.htm

Bob Pelletier is listed as the Speaker & Electronic Repair Tech on the staff page.

He seemed pretty cool and did say that he would probably have difficulty finding the same woofer, but felt he could find a comprable woofer and replace it. He also said he could go through the speakers to make sure they were performing at optimal levels. I mean the company seems pretty legit and I don't think this guy would put in a woofer that would not work. By "disasterous" what do you mean? Like could it start a fire or something or just ruin the speaker?

My receiver is new, but fairly low end:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-5-1-Channel-Receiver-STR-DG510/sem/rpsm/oid/176878/catOid/-12949/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[Mr Peabody]

If you replace the woofer in one, you should replace both, so your speaker's sound will match.

Maybe disasterous was a bit strong, but a Kappa woofer would be much more difficult to drive than a SM and much less sensitive, in fact, if you put a Kappa or RS woofer in the SM cabinet, you may not even be able to hear it because the mids/tweet will be playing so loud. The Kappa woofers weren't made to be driven by mere receivers.

C'mon share what your other gear is. What are you using for Blu-ray?

[codecougar]

If you replace the woofer in one, you should replace both, so your speaker's sound will match.

Maybe disasterous was a bit strong, but a Kappa woofer would be much more difficult to drive than a SM and much less sensitive, in fact, if you put a Kappa or RS woofer in the SM cabinet, you may not even be able to hear it because the mids/tweet will be playing so loud. The Kappa woofers weren't made to be driven by mere receivers.

C'mon share what your other gear is. What are you using for Blu-ray?

well, I am still hoping it's something minor or at least not the woofer. I am bringing it in tomorrow.

I have a new JVC 1080p LCD:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/JVC-42-LCD-HDTV-LT-42X688/sem/rpsm/oid/185497/catOid/-12867/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

and a Sony Blu-ray:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/DVD-Players-Recorders/sem/rpsm/catOid/-12872/Ntk/All/Ntt/sony%20blu-ray/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do

I am getting a HD Direct TV satellite set up next week. My speakers right now are outdated. I have the Infinity Studio 120's for the front with an Infinity Bookshelf for the center and a pair of Realistic for the surrounds. They are all built ins so hard to just update. :(

[topspeed]

This may sound rather obvious, but have you bothered to remove the driver and make sure the wires are still attached? Over the years, it's possible for the vibrations, particulary on woofers, to shake or break the connection.

Just a thought.

[gruss72]

^^^
thats a good point, I've actually seen the clips just fall off the wires too (well not "seen" since its inside) but pull out the woofer and the clip is there but the wire isnt ;) crimped wrong at the factory and eventually just shake loose.

[Luvin Da Blues]

^^^
thats a good point, I've actually seen the clips just fall off the wires too (well not "seen" since its inside) but pull out the woofer and the clip is there but the wire isnt ;) crimped wrong at the factory and eventually just shake loose.

...and if the wire is attached, get yourself a cheepo continuity tester and test the voice coil.

[Mr Peabody]

That was a good price on the s300. It looks like prices are already dropping. You should have a great picture with that and the LCD.

You will be amazed at how much you sound quality improves with matching speakers.

* He sticks his tongue out at Topspeed for not liking Dyn's *

[codecougar]

That was a good price on the s300. It looks like prices are already dropping. You should have a great picture with that and the LCD.

You will be amazed at how much you sound quality improves with matching speakers.

* He sticks his tongue out at Topspeed for not liking Dyn's *

Oh the picture just rocks. Very impressive. Mpst of my friends say that 1080p and Blu-ray are not that big of a deal, but then when they come over they are floored.

Yeah, I would love to get a new set of fronts and center speaker. As it stands now, I have trouble hearing dialogue sometimes, which is a bummer. Maybe I will take some pics of my set up and everyone can see why it is basically impossible for me to update my speakers without tearing down an entire wall :(

I am going to drop off the speakers in about an hour. I already set up an appointment so I'm just going to let this guy look at it. I'll let you know what he says.

[gruss72]

I'm sure there are some used speakers out there that would still fit in the wall. My personal faves would be the old EPI 100's but I'm sure there are plenty more that would fit AND sound nice too.

[codecougar]

I'm sure there are some used speakers out there that would still fit in the wall. My personal faves would be the old EPI 100's but I'm sure there are plenty more that would fit AND sound nice too.

well, basically I would need a set of speakers that are 34" in height or lower. I could certainly find a pair of older speakers that would work, but I would love to get a new pair of speakers and they just are much taller these days.

I dropped off the speaker. I first pulled out the woofer and everything seemed to be wired, nothing loose. He said he would check it out and if the woofer was gone he would find a pair of woofers that would work in this set. I told him I was concerned that this set needed specific woofers. He said every speaker is built to specific specifications and, while the original woofers would be best, it would not be that big of a deal swapping them out to something close.

The place was pretty hard core with tons of high end gear and a huge warehouse full of stuff and the repair tech seemed really cool and to know what he was talking about, so we will see. I will have both woffers replaced if one is gone.

[Hashpot]

Im just curious why do you have that $200 dollar Sony reciever if you can afford 500-700 Dollar pair of speakers. I mean, You know Sony reciever aren't the best in the market the reciver is the heart of the Home theater If you really want to get the best out of our movies better recivers offer better amplifcation for your speakers ..Sony recivers just dont deliver that is all im saying. IF you want a reciver around 200 I would rather go with a Pioneer or a Yamaha

[codecougar]

Im just curious why do you have that $200 dollar Sony reciever if you can afford 500-700 Dollar pair of speakers. I mean, You know Sony reciever aren't the best in the market the reciver is the heart of the Home theater If you really want to get the best out of our movies better recivers offer better amplifcation for your speakers ..Sony recivers just dont deliver that is all im saying. IF you want a reciver around 200 I would rather go with a Pioneer or a Yamaha

Good point. I actually bought the receiver and the tv and the Blu-ray player at the same time and I was running out of cash and patience (after being at Circuit City for like 3 hours) and just grabbed a cheap receiver.

The receiver sounds good to my ears, but I will definitely upgrade down the road, probably to a nice Yamaha.