TRAGEDY STRIKES - relief on the way...

[GMichael]

TRAGEDY STRIKES - relief on the way...

This will be my 6000th post (not that post count means much).
Instead of placing it in the party thread that PS is kindly throwing, I thought I'd put it to better use here.
Long story short - I BLEW UP MY MINI's !!!!
Short story long -
I got in a Radio Shack test meter and a Rives test CD this week. I followed Rives' instructions of setting the 1k htz frequency to 80 db. Then ran the test from 20 to 20k. To say the least, my room needs help. Peaks and valleys like the rocky mountains. I made a few adjustments on the sub and powered woofers to start. Then I ran the Yamaha's auto calibration system to see if it would EQ out some of the problems. Then I re-tested. Step one is again to set 1k htz to 80 db. I should have noticed that the EQ had now cut about 6 db from the 1k htz area. I didn't notice until later that the volume was up to +3! So then I run through the rest of the test. Oh look! The numbers do look better. Fewer and smaller peaks & valleys. All was great till I got to 6300 htz. (The Yamaha had boosted this range) Suddenly the needle on the meter jumps as far right as possible. My ears still hurt from how loud this was (Wednesday night). Instead of shutting it all down at that point (which would have been the smart move) I turn the knob on the meter to the 90 db setting to see what the reading should be. At that point the volume dropped and the needle with it. I turned the knob back to the 80 db setting. Now it's at -9 db. Is something wrong? Duh butthead! Everything is wrong! I start back at 1 kHz again and work up from there. Gee, all the readings are lower this time. I'm thinking, this meter sucks! It wasn't the meter. As I got to higher frequencies, the readings got lower and lower. I turned off the test CD and switch to music. That's when I notice the volume at +3. I turn it all down. The highs are gone. Is it my ears? Maybe, but I go over to each speaker. Both tweeters are just OFF. Sound from the mid-ranges and mid-woofers but nothing from the tweeters. I could have died. Depressed, I just kind of sat there for several minutes looking at everything and listening to the muffled sound that was now coming from my system. How could it have come to this? And it was ALL MY OWN FAULT.
After a while, I got up and started an email to Mark L. Schifter, President and Founder of AV123. I told him how I screwed up and would like to BUY two tweeters to replaced the two I destroyed. I got an email back from him as well as several from Sean at AV. It seems that they will replace my tweeters at no charge under the warranty. Are they kidding? Isn't that like me buying a new car and driving it into a tree on the way home to have the dealer say, "no problem, we'll fix it at no charge?" Who does this kind of service anymore? Has anyone ever given this kind of service before? My tears are gone and life is coming back into my body. I can't believe that they are taking such good care of me. They even sent instructions on how to safely disassemble the Mini's for repair.
Mark, I don't know if you ever come to AR, but if you do; Thank you again! May you be rewarded for you more than fair business practices. You and your company are truely a class act.

[JohnMichael]

I am glad there will be a happy ending to a tragic event.

Congrats on you 6,000th post.

[GMichael]

I am glad there will be a happy ending to a tragic event.

Congrats on you 6,000th post.

Thanks, and thanks.
Hope all is well in O-hi-O.

[Rich-n-Texas]

BONEHEAD!!!

Mrs. GM, take all of his toys away and send him to bed without dinner!!!

BTW, That 6000th post had to have the most tragic start I've ever read, but fortunately a happy ending.

[GMichael]

BONEHEAD!!!

Mrs. GM, take all of his toys away and send him to bed without dinner!!!

BTW, That 6000th post had to have the most tragic start I've ever read, but fortunately a happy ending.

She already took the test CD out of the player and put it in the trash. Then she glared at me and told me not to touch it again.

I still get teary eyed thinking about my poor babies.

[Rich-n-Texas]

You know they'll never be the same right?

[kexodusc]

GM,
Glad to hear they're looking after you so well.
Not sure I followed exactly what you did? You had the volume knob at +3, while YPAO had also applied a boost at 6300 Hz? Then BANG, the tweeters died? Yeah, if those are sine wave test tones, you sent an awful surge of power through those speakers....
I hope none of the xo components are fried....That's not exactly good for you receiver either, though the voltage limiter should have kicked in and protected it - sounds like that's what happened when the volume dropped. Takes a couple of seconds. I thought I fried my RX-V1400 when we took it to the test bench. Nope, just the voltage limiter...

Don't feel bad, I have done far, far worse...

6 K and counting....I can't wait until you overtake me...You're definitely one of the busier posters. And in all those numbers I can think of only 1 person off the top of my head you've ever been less than a gentleman with...Watch out though, the rate PS is going he'll Barry Bonds you before long...

[GMichael]

GM,
Glad to hear they're looking after you so well.
Not sure I followed exactly what you did? You had the volume knob at +3, while YPAO had also applied a boost at 6300 Hz? Then BANG, the tweeters died? Yeah, if those are sine wave test tones, you sent an awful surge of power through those speakers....
I hope none of the xo components are fried....That's not exactly good for you receiver either, though the voltage limiter should have kicked in and protected it - sounds like that's what happened when the volume dropped. Takes a couple of seconds. I thought I fried my RX-V1400 when we took it to the test bench. Nope, just the voltage limiter...

Don't feel bad, I have done far, far worse...

6 K and counting....I can't wait until you overtake me...You're definitely one of the busier posters. And in all those numbers I can think of only 1 person off the top of my head you've ever been less than a gentleman with...Watch out though, the rate PS is going he'll Barry Bonds you before long...

I am worried about the cross-overs also. We'll see what happens when the new tweeters go in.
Yeah, sine waves. I think I may have damaged my ears as well. They are very sensitive to even moderately loud levels now.

Not sure who it was you remember I was mean to. But I have blasted a couple of people in my days here. Not many, but a few. No one's perfect right?

I don't think that I'll pass you before PS does. At 1k posts a week he'll be passing you before I get to 6050.

[kexodusc]

I am worried about the cross-overs also. We'll see what happens when the new tweeters go in.
Yeah, sine waves. I think I may have damaged my ears as well. They are very sensitive to even moderately loud levels now.

Not sure who it was you remember I was mean to. But I have blasted a couple of people in my days here. Not many, but a few. No one's perfect right?

I don't think that I'll pass you before PS does. At 1k posts a week he'll be passing you before I get to 6050.

Good news is if the woofer/mids are still working the xo components are probably okay for the most part - I think resistors would be your only worry, and they're cheap.
It wasn't that loud for long though was it? The protection kicked in seemingly, should be okay. You'll be back on your feet before you know it...

[SlumpBuster]

I'll be the first to say something jerky (with tongue in cheek):

This is why low class people should not have high class gear! You flew to close to the sun. Consequentially, its all Yammie and Paradigm for me.

EDIT: I bet they agreed to replace the tweeter b/c you were using the Rives CD. If it had been 2 Live Crew's "Fcuk Shop"....probably not so much.

[GMichael]

I'll be the first to say something jerky (with tongue in cheek):

This is why low class people should not have high class gear! You flew to close to the sun. Consequentially, its all Yammie and Paradigm for me.

EDIT: I bet they agreed to replace the tweeter b/c you were using the Rives CD. If it had been 2 Live Crew's "Fcuk Shop"....probably not so much.

You'll have to try harder than that to upset me.

[thekid]

GM,
Glad to hear they're looking after you so well.
Not sure I followed exactly what you did? You had the volume knob at +3, while YPAO had also applied a boost at 6300 Hz? Then BANG, the tweeters died? Yeah, if those are sine wave test tones, you sent an awful surge of power through those speakers....
I hope none of the xo components are fried....That's not exactly good for you receiver either, though the voltage limiter should have kicked in and protected it - sounds like that's what happened when the volume dropped. Takes a couple of seconds. I thought I fried my RX-V1400 when we took it to the test bench. Nope, just the voltage limiter...

Don't feel bad, I have done far, far worse...

6 K and counting....I can't wait until you overtake me...You're definitely one of the busier posters. And in all those numbers I can think of only 1 person off the top of my head you've ever been less than a gentleman with...Watch out though, the rate PS is going he'll Barry Bonds you before long...

Well Kex you sort of mention what many in the community have been suspecting about GM for sometime. He is about to pass you on the number of posts soon and when you look at when he joined this forum compared to you and others one has to wonder if he is not "juicing". Is he using Flaxseed oil, the "clear", or maybe 10,000 monkeys in a room to type/submit his posts? Who knows but maybe we need to put an * next to his 6,000.

Has anyone measured his hat size lately? Is he willing to submit to random drug tests? I mean resorting to blowing two perfectly good drivers just to generate his 6,000th post-has this man no shame??!! I know you can't compares era but with high-speed connections and wire-less connnections it just does not seem fair for people like GM and PS to come along and break the posting records of people like "Clueless Joe Jackson" or "Two-Finger Brown" who while hunting and pecking on their keyboards (which were actually boards back in those days!) used to dominate this forum with posts about the latest BIY crystal radio sets and classic wax recordings on an a 14000 baud modem!

Seriously GM congrats on your milestone and with members like you and Kex around we won't have to worry about the health of this site for sometime to come.

[pixelthis]

Congrats on your 6,000 post GM ,
And its amazing how much devotion People have for their gear.
Its the first thing you thought of.
I mean, are you going to have your ears checked?
They are the only part of your system you cant order replacements for over the net
(at least not yet)
get thee to a doctor, STAT

[GMichael]

Congrats on your 6,000 post GM ,
And its amazing how much devotion People have for their gear.
Its the first thing you thought of.
I mean, are you going to have your ears checked?
They are the only part of your system you cant order replacements for over the net
(at least not yet)
get thee to a doctor, STAT

Good point Pix. We get used to the idea that injuries are temporary. We expect our bodies to recover. But I have been worried about my ears. They are just starting to go back to normal. They hurt like he!! for a couple of days.

Rule one for test CD's. If it's hurting your ears, turn that sh.t down! NOW!!!

[westcott]

Glad to hear that AV123 is taking care of you. Not sure many other mfgs would do the same!!!!!

Have a great holiday weekend!!!!

[GMichael]

Well Kex you sort of mention what many in the community have been suspecting about GM for sometime. He is about to pass you on the number of posts soon and when you look at when he joined this forum compared to you and others one has to wonder if he is not "juicing". Is he using Flaxseed oil, the "clear", or maybe 10,000 monkeys in a room to type/submit his posts? Who knows but maybe we need to put an * next to his 6,000.

Has anyone measured his hat size lately? Is he willing to submit to random drug tests? I mean resorting to blowing two perfectly good drivers just to generate his 6,000th post-has this man no shame??!! I know you can't compares era but with high-speed connections and wire-less connnections it just does not seem fair for people like GM and PS to come along and break the posting records of people like "Clueless Joe Jackson" or "Two-Finger Brown" who while hunting and pecking on their keyboards (which were actually boards back in those days!) used to dominate this forum with posts about the latest BIY crystal radio sets and classic wax recordings on an a 14000 baud modem!

Seriously GM congrats on your milestone and with members like you and Kex around we won't have to worry about the health of this site for sometime to come.

Well, the reason I've been catching Kex is that he THINKS about what he's typing. He fills his posts with knowledgable information that helps everyone in our little community. My posts are 99.9% smart a$$ remarks. Those don't take as long to write up.

[thekid]

Well, the reason I've been catching Kex is that he THINKS about what he's typing. He fills his posts with knowledgable information that helps everyone in our little community. My posts are 99.9% smart a$$ remarks. Those don't take as long to write up.

Well as you can tell, my posts are also serious reflections on the human condition......

Congrats again!!

[Rich-n-Texas]

Well Kex you sort of mention what many in the community have been suspecting about GM for sometime. He is about to pass you on the number of posts soon and when you look at when he joined this forum compared to you and others one has to wonder if he is not "juicing". Is he using Flaxseed oil, the "clear", or maybe 10,000 monkeys in a room to type/submit his posts? Who knows but maybe we need to put an * next to his 6,000.

Huh???

Has anyone measured his hat size lately? Is he willing to submit to random drug tests? I mean resorting to blowing two perfectly good drivers just to generate his 6,000th post-has this man no shame??!! I know you can't compares era but with high-speed connections and wire-less connnections it just does not seem fair for people like GM and PS to come along and break the posting records of people like "Clueless Joe Jackson" or "Two-Finger Brown" who while hunting and pecking on their keyboards (which were actually boards back in those days!) used to dominate this forum with posts about the latest BIY crystal radio sets and classic wax recordings on an a 14000 baud modem!

You are F***ing joking right?

Seriously GM congrats on your milestone and with members like you and Kex around we won't have to worry about the health of this site for sometime to come.

I sure HOPE you were joking.

Where's my sarcasm detector?

[thekid]

Huh???


You are F***ing joking right?


I sure HOPE you were joking.

Where's my sarcasm detector?

Your detector must need new batteries......

Yes I am joking.......but you have to give me some credit for coming up with that at that time of the morning...

[bobsticks]

Well Kex you sort of mention what many in the community have been suspecting about GM for sometime. He is about to pass you on the number of posts soon and when you look at when he joined this forum compared to you and others one has to wonder if he is not "juicing". Is he using Flaxseed oil, the "clear", or maybe 10,000 monkeys in a room to type/submit his posts? Who knows but maybe we need to put an * next to his 6,000.

Has anyone measured his hat size lately? Is he willing to submit to random drug tests? I mean resorting to blowing two perfectly good drivers just to generate his 6,000th post-has this man no shame??!! I know you can't compares era but with high-speed connections and wire-less connnections it just does not seem fair for people like GM and PS to come along and break the posting records of people like "Clueless Joe Jackson" or "Two-Finger Brown" who while hunting and pecking on their keyboards (which were actually boards back in those days!) used to dominate this forum with posts about the latest BIY crystal radio sets and classic wax recordings on an a 14000 baud modem!

Seriously GM congrats on your milestone and with members like you and Kex around we won't have to worry about the health of this site for sometime to come.

Freakin' grade-A great stuff!

GM and Bert, nothing but best wishes from these parts for speedy recoveries for your babies. Solid play from the sellers in covering their goods though and that's a big plus in this world of seventeen year-olds "following policy" in the big box stores.

Peace

[GMichael]

They're here! UPS says that the two replacement tweeters have been delivered. Tonight, I get to see the insides of those two Mini's. I'll try to remember to take pictures.

[GMichael]

They're in! All fixed and they sound great.
Life is good again!

[L.J.]

Ouch!! Sorry to hear that GM. I've been meaning to pull out my meter and Rives disc. I'll make sure I'm careful. I've only used it for lower freq but wanted to toy around with making some manual adjustments. Anyways, glad to hear that everything will get worked out.

Congrats on 6k. Enjoy it while you can, PS should be passing you up by the end of next week

[basite]

a good ending with a bad post mike, but hey, you're not deaf yet, so everything's fine

btw, maybe the speakers were fused, so only a fuse needs to be replaced...

and:

Has anyone ever given this kind of service before?

well, kind of: tragedy also struck me, also with a happy ending. My beloved Mcintosh had a slightly weak left channel, so I took it back to the dealer (after letting him know what the problem was), there we listened to the Mac and they called to the distributor, asking what to do...

they had to send it over to the distributor, but since the screws attaching the amp to the box were missing, someone from the distributor is coming to pick it up personally, so no shipping companies are involved. Then, it's in for service, normally, for a 10 year old product, I would have to pay the costs, but since I got a warranty from the dealer, I get to pay nothing, the amp is being looked at & repaired at no charge

the dealer even asked me wether I needed an amp to temporarily replace the Mac

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[PeruvianSkies]

a good ending with a bad post mike, but hey, you're not deaf yet, so everything's fine

btw, maybe the speakers were fused, so only a fuse needs to be replaced...

and:


well, kind of: tragedy also struck me, also with a happy ending. My beloved Mcintosh had a slightly weak left channel, so I took it back to the dealer (after letting him know what the problem was), there we listened to the Mac and they called to the distributor, asking what to do...

they had to send it over to the distributor, but since the screws attaching the amp to the box were missing, someone from the distributor is coming to pick it up personally, so no shipping companies are involved. Then, it's in for service, normally, for a 10 year old product, I would have to pay the costs, but since I got a warranty from the dealer, I get to pay nothing, the amp is being looked at & repaired at no charge

the dealer even asked me wether I needed an amp to temporarily replace the Mac

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

Now that's good service...

Ok, 2 things:

1. GMichael I gotta give you respect for having the guts to even post your mishap. Most people would be too embarrassed or ashamed, even though I am sure we have all done stupid things in the world of audio.

2. Dang. GMichael....I can't believe that happened. Geesh. At least things are being taken care of, but I am sure you about had a heart attack.