Cracking sound from speakers

Posted by: David Young on 02 January 2005

During loud passage (ie: explodion scene) from the movie, I always get the cracking sound from my front speakers especially in DTS mode. Is the cracking sound due to clipping of the amplifer or inability of the speaker drivers to handle the low frequency channel? Will the cracking sound cause any damage to the speaker? Will it solve the problem by adding the subwoofer like n-Sub in the system? Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks

David
Posted on: 02 January 2005 by John G.
David,

Without a sub, any of the large speakers in the system gets the LFE signal which puts a lot of stress on the amps and speakers. A sub in an AV system is quite significant and the n-Sub looks like a real nice one.

Can you describe your system?

John

[This message was edited by John Gilleran on Mon 03 January 2005 at 1:08.]
Posted on: 02 January 2005 by David Young
John,

Thanks for your reply, my system is AV2/135/Isobariks. I do not have the centre and rear speakers yet. Do you think n-Sub will solve the problem?

Thanks

David
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by Jez Quigley
I get a cracking sound early into the first LOTR DVD, no other disc does it and I have LOTS of DVDs. Like you I have 135/briks
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by John G.
quote:
Originally posted by David Young:
John,

Do you think n-Sub will solve the problem?

David


Yes, most amps and speakers can handle the non-LFE channels just fine, it's the LFE signal where you need a good sub.

Found this link that has a listing of movies with great bass effects.

http://www.svsubwoofers.com/faq.htm

[This message was edited by John Gilleran on Mon 03 January 2005 at 14:08.]
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by Paul Ranson
'cracking sound' implies that you are bottoming out your woofers, or perhaps there's a wire flapping about inside, or the cones have 'drooped' slightly and rub during larger excursions.

Clipping will sound like mid and treble distortion rather than 'cracking' I think.

Isobariks are very capable in the bass but given loud stunt bass they can run out of travel and 'crack'. I have a couple of Plain Old CDs where I can provoke this on an Aktiv system that has bass equalisation. A DVD played loud will have deliberately over blown bass stuff, so bang.

The expensive answer is a sub the free one to turn it down...

Are there any settings on the AV2 to allow the LFE channel to be tamed?

Paul
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by David Young
Thanks guys for all the reply. It is likely that my volume is too high as I get the cracking sound with most thriller titles with DTS. I just want to make sure that the cracking sound caused by LFE signal not by aging woofers of the briks before committing to buy the n-Sub. There is no cracking sound when listening to music. I am not sure if the n-Sub will match the Briks as freqency response is a bit too high at 250 Hz.

Thanks

David
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by Juliandowd
I have the same cracks with my SBLs. Only on DTS mode. The hell, I think, the only solution is a n-sub. That costs me another 2,5k€.
Where is the end???????????

JD
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by John G.
quote:
Originally posted by David Young:
I am not sure if the n-Sub will match the Briks as freqency response is a bit too high at 250 Hz.

Thanks

David


The sub has a crossover setting so it can be set to only produce frequencies below any given frequency. I have mine set at 60 cycles which is where most of the sub bass effects are.
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by David Young
John,

Which sub are you using,SVS? Could you elaborate the model and your impression?

Thanks

David
Posted on: 03 January 2005 by John G.
quote:
Originally posted by David Young:
John,

Which sub are you using,SVS? Could you elaborate the model and your impression?

Thanks

David


I just replaced all the front speakers in my A/V system, L,R,Center with ATC Concept One speakers and also added the matching sub. I'm very pleased with the setup. I have all the speakers set to large(no bass management) and the sub crossover is set to 60. The sub adds a lot to the experience.

I believe we are truly in the golden age of A/V right now with Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 sound as well as high definition television, quite an exciting time! Many of the concert DVD's being released are superb as well and I have many to check out on the new rig.

Cheers,
John

[This message was edited by John Gilleran on Mon 03 January 2005 at 22:33.]
Posted on: 04 January 2005 by Johns Naim
John, out of interest, what front end are you using with your ATC speakers, as regards DVD player, processor and amps etc?

Best regards

John... Cool

This is my last upgrade.... after this my system will be finished...:-)
Posted on: 05 January 2005 by John G.
quote:
Originally posted by Johns Naim:
John, out of interest, what front end are you using with your ATC speakers, as regards DVD player, processor and amps etc?

Best regards

John... Cool



Hi John,

I'm using a Rotel RDV-1080 DVD player and RSX-1055 AV Receiver on a Sound Organisation AV stand. The center channel speaker is on the top shelf of the stand about the same height as the left and right speakers which are on Sound Organisation speaker stands. The receiver is rated at a real 75watts X 5 and really handles the speakers well.

I was using Linn Tukans and a Paradigm CC-370 center channel speaker in a 5.0 setup and though this setup sounded pretty good, the ATC speakers are more dynamic, detailed, tuneful and integrate a whole lot better with one another than what I had before. The sub also adds the sub-bass information that I was missing before and matches perfectly with the L,R and center channel speakers and takes some strain away from the other speakers because they don't have to try and process the LFE signal. Very satisfied. Smile

Good to see others from the Naim forum getting into A/V, my family has gotten many hours of enjoyment watching movies, concerts and now with HDTV, some of the PBS and sporting events that are broadcast in HD. It's taken three years to get where I'm at with the Home Theatre but I feel I'm where I want to be with it for the next several years.

Best,
John

[This message was edited by John Gilleran on Wed 05 January 2005 at 16:47.]
Posted on: 05 January 2005 by Johns Naim
Thanks for sharing that John. It sounds a very nice system indeed - I know what you mean about it taking a few years to get to where you want to be with HT - I spent all my money on 2 channel... Winker

I take it you're running a separate 2 channel Naim setup as well I assume?

Best Regards

John.. Cool

This is my last upgrade.... after this my system will be finished...:-)
Posted on: 05 January 2005 by John G.
quote:
Originally posted by Johns Naim:
Thanks for sharing that John. It sounds a very nice system indeed - I know what you mean about it taking a few years to get to where you want to be with HT - I spent all my money on 2 channel... Winker


It does take some time to get there but it's still fun getting there. I started with a basic two channel Marantz receiver and a pair of NHT speakers properly supported and it was still fun for the occassional movie on VHS on a small 20 inch TV.

quote:
I take it you're running a separate 2 channel Naim setup as well I assume?


I have a multi-room setup using LP12, Exposure amps, ATC and Quad ESL speakers and the Marantz receiver and Tukans in the third room all linked together to the same source. Music everywhere and anywhere. Smile

Regards,
John