I've spoken with the Dynaudio folks who were suprised to here that one of their drivers went down. The gentleman I talked to said it was the first he's known about. Lucky me.
The cost to replace is about $550 dollars. I'm hopeful they'll cut me a deal. I'm shipping the broken driver back to Dynaudio.
The prior owner I'm pretty certain had nothing to do with the problem of this speaker. They played fine for a month..
We sometimes play music pretty loud, especially my wife. I hope this isn't a pattern to continue. I would hate to feel shy turning up the volume on 7K dollar speakers for fear of breakage! That being said I'm wishful for a way to limit the low end excursion on these drivers and allow my JL Audio Fathom F113 to fill in the space below say 40-45Hz. I think this would have a positive effect on the C1's and perhaps ease my fears of broken drivers. |
I was running my C1's with a pair of Nuforce 9SEV2's and noted that on some material, I could hear the cone having issues that was not pleasant. Deciding that my little copper jewels didn't have the ba, ah, current to drive the C1's, I sold my Nuforces and bought the Pass 350.5. No more weird little issues now but maybe the damage was done earlier.
Still waiting for an email from the Dynaudio folks.
Would like to have a simple method of crossing the Dyn's higher like a change in the x-over. I would think it easily done but I'm no speaker designer. I did grab the values off the caps and still wonder about the platinum bypass caps. |
I haven't heard back from Dynaudio but I will give Millersound a call - thanks for the suggestion.
Having sold the LS6's I'm storing them for the gentleman who purchased them. I rolled them back into the room last night. I've been fighting a ground problem ever since I got the Pass but that's another thread. Suffice to say is that the balanced cable method seems to be the only method to kill the hummmm.
The C1's are great, no doubt but the LS6's have got to be the most unappreciated speaker around. The speed and control of these speakers make the C1's seem sluggish and veiled. Just listening to Neil Young's Harvest Moon last night, I was in awe at how deep I could here into the soundstage. It was as if I was walking into the layers of instruments and vocals, picking away at subtle nuances I NEVER remember hearing in these recordings. And this wasn't at the sacrifice of not being whole or analytical. I just kept shaking my head "whaduya doing disalvo". To make myself feel better I put The Verve "Forth" into the player. I remember it couldn't play this well in this setup. Well, it didn't and yet it did. With the C1's and their 85db efficiency, running single ended to the Cary, it took more balls from the amp and gain from the Cary which resulted in some very nice sounds on the C1's. Now with the LS6's 91db efficiency, running balanced, I can barely crack the throttle to get good volume. No doubt a mismatch. Regardless, the music was dynamic and detailed and still allowed for a nice midrange and smooth vocals. What I believe I was hearing was the actual recorded event. Neil Young is the master of recording even if you cannot appreciate the ancient tube preamp he uses when playing his electric guitar.
Although it didn't look it by a long shot, it's possible the Pass is still breaking in. It's easily the best amp I've heard besting the Nuforce 9SEV2's. I'm hopeful to hear a few more good amps in my room as there's another C1 owner nearby who promised to drop by with some stellar equipment.
Looks like I hijacked my thread... |
Rleff - Bill's a very nice guy. He doesn't think he can help me knowing the driver. He seemed shocked at the cost as was I. He wants to see a few pics before he can access damage and repair-ability.
I spoke with Amilios at Dynaudio. We had a nice conversation regarding the setup and power handling. He mentioned that the C1's really don't need the high power most folks talk about on the forums. I found that the Pass works far better than the Nuforces but then again I appear to have a meltdown from to much power or to loud a volume.
Now I'm more inclined to limit the C1's with a crossover.
My feeling is that Dynaudio will try to help me with this problem if I can produce a receipt. I bought them from an A-goner with stellar credentials so I'm hopeful he was a first time owner. I'll keep you posted. |
"If you can take the speaker apart, why did not you order the C1 woofer and replace the OEM woofer yourself? It is cheaper that way."
An OEM C1 woofer?
I did take the speaker apart. I pulled the driver myself and enquired about the repair as no one I know carries this exclusive driver.
The original owner is digging up the original receipt so it's possible to get some compensation from Dynaudio.
I've never had a driver failure and I've been doing this for 44 years. I was pretty amazed that the Dynaudio driver died without a clear cause such as miswire or runaway volume control.
My experience in the past with performance audio company's customer service is that they'll bend over backwards to make things right. I had blown up a Nuforce amp a few years ago. They took my amp, replaced the board the same day and charged me nothing even though it was entirely my fault. The same day!
We'll see how this turns out. |
The driver is burned. I am responsible for the damage so there will be no retribution.
There wasn't an "event" that took the driver out, nothing I can point to so that I can feel comfortable with these speakers in the future. Maybe it was simply US playing the wrong style of music. Do we play loud at times? Answer is yes. My wife really likes it loud but not unreasonably so IMHO.
We have the LS6's back in place. They are sold and are being stored until the new owner finds a place for them.
With the improvements in our system I don't know of a speaker that will perform much better than the LS6's. We are regretting BIG TIME selling these speakers. We can't keep the C1's for obvious reasons such as "be careful of that volume control honey, you know what can happen". So we are back in the market for speakers. Something close to the level of the LS6's.
Last night the sound coming from our living room was so amazing I couldn't sleep last night. We finished with Elton John self titled SACD. Stunning. I shook his hand, thanked the orchestra and went to bed. Unbelievable. Effin incredible. Porcupine Tree? Dinner was ready but I was glued to the couch. I had dropped in some Magic II balanced interconnects between Pass and Cary thinking "this is gonna sound like crap" as they are new cables. Not only did they smoke my current set right off the bat, they got better and better and better through the evening. The dynamics and shadings and subtle nuances were just laid bare. It was a mesmerizing 3D experience. I ate half a dinner and jumped right back into it.
Now the line arrays are sold. Where to go. |
Mapman, You're right on both accounts however my feeling is that these speakers were well cared for. I've been in contact with the former owner who's offered to help in any way he can.
Speaking with the Dynaudio folks, they mentioned that driving these speakers with a lot of bass information can overheat the bass driver. Anotherwards, don't play it loud enough to put the driver in harms way.
Again, it might be that Shiny Toy Guns, B-Tribe, Bryan Ferry, Porcupine Tree, Depeche Mode type of groups/music aren't friendly to these speakers.
Using an outboard active cross over is another solution and one that was in agreement with the Dynaudio folks. Limiting low bass to these speakers would probably cure any future mishaps.
But why would I want to spend another 3K dollars in x-over and all the associated cabling to protect these speakers from burning? I might as well buy some Wilsons and call it a day (and a credit card payment - NOT).
Now obviously folks here aren't burning up their C1's.
We did and we couldn't stomach another failure.
The speakers are (or will be when the new driver arrives)in pristine condition and do sound wonderful. Maybe just not for us. |
The guy was more than a little thrilled with the sound. He was blown away. He'll be back for the speakers. He just needs to find the right room. God Bless that lucky %$#*! |
Well, it's like this.
My wife loves and is in the same boat I am when it comes to this crazy hobby of ours. So, being scared of the Dyns, we search for another solution. The LS6's. I'd feel stupid and rightfully so to sell one for another, especially given the AV123 demise, and the work I'd done to my current set.
I'm freaking pissed though. I wanted to love the C1's. We liked them and with a lot of material they sounded better. Although slow and somewhat limited in ELF they worked.
But 1 driver smoked. Not knowing why we have this dilemma. Dynaudio points it's finger at us. Speaking with some engineers who know us well, they have a different opinion. Regardless, what's done is done, pay the bill and move on.
Nuforce they are not. Oppo they are not. Slim Devices not.
Hielule5 - My wanted the LS9's... |
Mr Hieuli Sir, :-)
1. Dynaudio does not return my calls
2. I removed the driver and sent it to them - they have it
3. They assummed wrong doing on my part. It was after all, a single midbass driver that failed. Kind of strange IMO
4. They have a transferable warranty and I can get the original receipt but since they decided I burned the driver, it's my fault.
5. I am doing the work on the speaker, not Dynaudio. Funny that no one questioned a failure in the x-over, but I guess x-overs never fail.
I'm at the point where I'm hopeful they will even SELL me a driver since I've placed 2 calls and no return.
Nuforce replaced a board on my amp performing the labor, suppling the parts, and not caring that it was me that smoked the amp, and I wasn't the original owner. They fixed this problem the same day I gave it to them.
I guess having been screwed by so many, this positive experience stands out ;-) |
