speaker problem, no tweeter sound

[Lt. Aldo Raine]

ok so, my grandpa has a pair of bookshelf speakers that are just sitting there, audiosphere research,ive never heard of this company, so i thought i would hook them up as my surrounds and see if they sound better than my htib sonys that im currently using, so i hooked them up, and there is no sound coming out of the tweeter, everything's coming from the woofer,if that's even possible..., it doesn't have four binding posts on the back like most bookshelf's now a days, just two spring loaded ones, whats the problem, is there something not connected inside properly?, or are they just crappy speakers?, i was looking forward to using these cuz they look alot nice then my current ones
even tho they are not fully working i thought they sounded pretty good....
thanx

[SlmShdy1]

The tweeter might be blown. I have found that with older speakers with spring clip terminals, you really have to shove the speaker wire in just to get sound. Well, you're getting sound, just not all of it. My girlfriend's uncle has a speaker like that. I hooked it up for him and at first I thought it wasn't working, but after listening to it, I noticed that it was just the tweeter that didn't work. He also has some nice Polk speakers with blown woofers.

[Lt. Aldo Raine]

both tweeters arnt working so u really think that both tweeters may be blown?
there are 3 screws the hold the tweeter there and i can take it out, if i decide too take a look, anything i should look for too see if its connected properly or sumthing..
u sound right about maybe the tweeter being blown, but i dunno the chance of both of them being blown, i dunnoo..

[curse]

it would make more sense if both where blown vs one.

[Yautja]

Take them to the manufacturer & have it replaced !

[Rob J in WNY]

It's likely that the tweeters are blown. To be sure, it's relatively easy to burn out speakers by overdriving them with low-power amplifers, well beneath the speakers' power handing rating, which are cranked up to clipping levels (raising volume past what the amplifer is capable of producing). Not surprisingly, both tweeters in a pair of overdriven speakers can blow out simultaneously.

If the speakers are really, really old, then factory replacement tweeters may not be available, as researching and contacting the manufacturer may not easy. I Googled "Audiosphere Research speakers" and only find references to speakers made in the 1970s through the 1990s, and they may have gone under or were acquired by another company before they had any major online presence. They did not appear to be a high-end speaker manufacturer. Perhaps you can Google the specific model of your speakers (should be on a label on the back) and maybe find some technical specs, such as the crossover type/frequency, and the woofer/tweeter type/specs.

If that comes up short, you can certainly try aftermarket replacement tweeters. Sites such as Parts Express offer a number of component tweeter drivers ranging from very inexpensive to some high-end stuff. I would recommend looking for a tweeter rated with a frequency response lower than, say, 2,000Hz (2KHz) to make sure its lower end falls below the crossover/frequency response of the woofer. This way, you won't have any "holes" in the overall speaker response. Also, make sure the replacement tweeter's mounting size will work with your speakers as well.

If the speakers are older, they may not have higher power handling. I would say that for average home theater use, if they are rated for less than 100 watts (8-ohms), then it may not be suitable for home theater use (at least if you like to crank the volume up frequently). Make sure you run the speakers as "small" in your receiver/processor setup as well. Also, if the speakers are less than 8-ohms, check to see if your receiver/amplifer can be used with it. Lastly, there is the issue of whether the tweeter's crossover was burned out. It may be as simple as a small capacitor to filter out low frequencies, but it could be more complex than that. Properly crossed-over tweeters don't need to have as high a power handling capacity as the woofers, but choose replacment tweeters with at least a 40 to 50 watt RMS power handling rating.

Projects like the on you are facing can be fun. Good luck with it!

[Lt. Aldo Raine]

wow thanx alot rob, lots of helpful info, i really appreciate it, im gonna look into replacing the tweeter, and see how much it will cost, cuz these are really nice looking speakers, i was planning on saving money and buying new surrounds, but if this works out then i'll save alot of money in the end
thanx again

[Big Daddy]

If you need tweeters for your speakers, search the following sites and find something that is a close match.

http://www.parts-express.com/woofers-tweeters-mids.cfm

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=45_229

http://www.speakerrepair.com/

http://www.speakerex.com/tweeters.html

http://www.simplyspeakers.com/14replacements.htm

http://www.speakercity.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?

http://www.oldsoundequipment.com/index.html