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replacing blown boston acoustics speaker


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smashpdx 
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Joined: July 28, 2006
Posted: January 31, 2011 at 11:40 AM / IP Logged  
I have Boston Acoustics SL60s installed in the front of my car, SX60s in the rear, all powered by an Alpine PDX 4.150 amp.
Last week, one of my SL60s enjoyed some Gaelic Storm just a little too much and blew itself out in a blaze of happiness. Ok, no blaze. But yes, I blew the speaker.
From what I can tell, the SL60 has been superseded by the SR60. Two questions.
(1) Can I replace the single SL60 with an SR60? Or do I need to swap out the good SL60 as well?
(2) Although I remember getting the original speakers in individual boxes, suggesting that you could just buy *one*, all the SR60 pricing I'm seeing out there looks to me like they are exclusively sold in pairs. Can anyone provide some insight on this? I don't exactly run out and buy car speakers routinely, so this is new stuff to me.
Thanks!
stevdart 
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Posted: February 01, 2011 at 10:53 PM / IP Logged  

Audio stereo speaker systems are routinely sold and listened to in pairs...left and right channels.  Buy what you need to replace the pair when one speaker system fails.  The old good one is still good, it just doesn't have a mate.

They could very well have been packaged individually for their best protection during shipment, although intent was that they were sold in pairs.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
smashpdx 
Member - Posts: 24
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Joined: July 28, 2006
Posted: February 02, 2011 at 3:14 PM / IP Logged  
stevdart wrote:

Audio stereo speaker systems are routinely sold and listened to in pairs...left and right channels.  Buy what you need to replace the pair when one speaker system fails.  The old good one is still good, it just doesn't have a mate.

They could very well have been packaged individually for their best protection during shipment, although intent was that they were sold in pairs.

Cool. Thanks a lot. I always wondered about the packaging, makes sense.
One more question for you. I see the SR60s are packaged with standalone crossovers - and when I look up the old SL60s, I see the same. So far as I know I got every lick of packaging from when my original install was done, and there were no crossovers or boxes picturing crossovers. I also know every inch of the install in the car, and no external crossovers there either.
Best as I can determine the PDX4.150 amp has crossovers built in. With that in mind, is it safe to assume that I can do a straight swap-in of the SR60s with no wiring changes, given that they are what Boston Acoustics replaced the SL60 with in the lineup? In terms of the specs, the only variance I find is that the SR60 handles 5W more RMS and 30W more peak power.
stevdart 
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Posted: February 03, 2011 at 12:14 AM / IP Logged  

Your original front stage speaker sets must certainly have passive crossovers, located between the amplifier and each speaker (woofer and tweeter) on each side.  The crossovers use the available frequency band from the amplifier's high pass crossover to direct portions of the band to each of the system's drivers.  It likely also controls sound characteristics by "padding" (reducing input) to the tweeter, or other sound improvements, to complement the total sound from the system.  These crossover components are just hidden from view.

From that, you know there are two types of crossovers at work here.  The amplifier sends higher freqs to the frontstage speakers, which are, themselves, separated into components.  So the amplifier's job is to keep lower sub bass freqs from getting to the front speakers.  It sends those to the sub woofer, and that type of crossover is built within the amp and is called "active".  The front speaker components have to have their own crossover to separate the music signal and make whatever adjustments are necessary, and these crossovers are known as "passive".

Given all that, you are looking to make a swap.  After reading all materials you get with your new system, connect them in place of the original speaker systems directly to the amplifier.  Use the crossovers that are provided.  When you disconnect the original speakers, you are also disconnecting the original passive crossovers.  The flow is:  amplifier > passive crossover > speaker

You may want to run new wiring.  That's what I would do.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
smashpdx 
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Joined: July 28, 2006
Posted: February 03, 2011 at 10:53 AM / IP Logged  
Very informative post. Thank you so much! I thought that I had pretty much figured out where every hidden piece of this setup was - but it sounds like I need to take another look.
The crossovers pictured in the SL60 literature definitely aren't in the car -- they are sizeable, and I've been over every possible spot where something that big could be hidden - but it's certainly possible that the installer rigged up something smaller and I haven't found it yet. Based on what you've said and what I've read alike, it just doesn't make sense that there aren't some passive crossovers somewhere in here.
Looks like I need to order up those SR60s - will post when I have results (or questions)!
smashpdx 
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Posted: February 03, 2011 at 12:23 PM / IP Logged  
stevdart - look what I found! Took this photo of settings on the amp. Does this lend any insight?
The "Filter" setting, based on what I read in the manual of the PDX4.150, is a crossover mode switch - HP being high pass. It reads: "Set to the "HP" position when the amplifier is used to drive a tweeter/midrange system. The frequencies below the crossover point will be attenuated at 12 dB/octave."
For the dials to the right it says: "Permits adjustment of the crossover frequency, by rotating the knob to select any frequency between 30 to 400 Hz as the crossover point."
FYI there is no subwoofer in my system.
replacing blown boston acoustics speaker -- posted image.
stevdart 
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Posted: February 04, 2011 at 2:35 PM / IP Logged  

What you're looking at on that amp is the standard 12db / octave active crossover.  You can select either HP or LP on channels 1/2, and same choices on channels 3/4.  Typically, two channels will run front soundstage and the other two channels will power either a sub (by bridging the channels), or a second pair of speakers in the rear.  Either way, the crossover adjustment of "30 to 400 Hz" is typical of the selection range for adjusting between high pass and low pass.  It us usually set at 80 Hz or 100 Hz, but there are sometimes reasons to vary the mark a little lower or higher. 

FYI the crossover range from midrange woofer to tweeter is around 3,000 Hz, sometimes up to 5 kHz.  Simple systems such as coaxials use nothing but a small capacitor built directly onto the speaker to filter the range of music that reaches the tweeter.  The mid woofer has no help or limitations on this type.  These types are certainly not nearly as good as separate components with passive crossovers, which contain capacitors, inductors (coils) and usually also resistors.

If there is no passive crossover, then you might be talking about coaxials?  I didn't look up the speaker that is installed in your car, but if the pair have separate woofers and tweeters, follow the wiring from those components and the wires should lead directly to the passive crossover.  The crossover is also wired to the amplifier.  If the passives were left out, I don't know how the tweeters survived or how horrible the system sounded.

Do yourself a favor and read the help sections found on the left side of this page, starting with https://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/caraudio.asp

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
smashpdx 
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Joined: July 28, 2006
Posted: February 04, 2011 at 4:00 PM / IP Logged  
Thanks again for the post. You got me to open up the door and look around inside it to an extent that I had not done previously, and I understand crossovers better than before. So guess what I found?
(1) Wire had worked its way off of the negative terminal of the woofer. Hoo boy!
(2) Stuffed in an odd spot that I never would have seen if I wouldn't have been looking with a flashlight - crossover. Large, rectangular, and wrapped in... duct tape. Yeah, I wasn't expecting to find an audio component dressed up like that.
Mystery solved on that front.
The SL60s are component speakers, separate woofer and tweeter. Now that I've found the crossover, it jibes completely with everything I've read and I understand what I'm dealing with now for wiring.
Here's the rub though - tell me what you think of this. Seems the speaker isn't blown, at least not in the sense I thought. Rather, the backing that connects the surround to the frame is separating from from the metal frame:
replacing blown boston acoustics speaker -- posted image.
If you give the speaker power it works. But at specific low frequencies there is a vibration between the backing and the frame that sounds like a metallic buzz. If you hold the speaker in your hand while it's playing, you can feel it. If you pinch the very edge of the surround and the frame between your fingers, the vibration stops completely.
Given that a replacement set of speakers is going to set me back at least $200, I'm contemplating repair here. Do you think this is repairable with the right adhesive, or is it not worth the trouble?
stevdart 
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Posted: February 04, 2011 at 4:32 PM / IP Logged  

Repair it and give it a try.  I'd use adhesive caulk to glue it back in.  When it sets up, reinstall it and try it out.  If it plays okay, you may want to take this opportunity to do a little work on those two front doors, by damping the sheet metal with Dynamat or similar, and otherwise taping up and sealing any air gaps you can find.  You would experience a better bass response.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
smashpdx 
Member - Posts: 24
Member spacespace
Joined: July 28, 2006
Posted: February 05, 2011 at 8:13 AM / IP Logged  
My new best friend second only to stevdart: DAP Kwik Seal Plus Premium Kitchen & Bath Adhesive Sealant, clear, $3.98.
Works like a charm. I will look into the Dynamat. Thanks a ton!!!
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