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Blown Speaker? Mackie HR824

The DirtMerchant

The DirtMerchant

Well-Known Member
Famous
Pretty sure I have a blown speaker. Friends were visiting and their son turned the volume WAY up
by accident while we were watching Star Wars. Didn't notice anything then, but the next day
watching a talk show, I could hear very gravelly voices coming from one speaker.

What do I do now? Is this something I can possibly fix? How do I find out what actually broke?
 
Well, the first thing I'd do is swap speakers to make sure that the problem is in the speaker itself, and not in the line, just to be sure. As to what do to about it... dunno, I doubt there's much user-repairable stuff within an active speaker like that, but maybe other folks here who own them might have some info.
 
Yeah... you look up local electronic repair shops and call them until someone says they will look at it and you take it in. It will likely cost less to repair it than to buy a new replacement.
 
I have no specific knowledge of the Mackies, however for any other speaker it's pretty easy to check whether it's a driver or not.

Unplug the speaker. Lie it on its back. Carefully remove the drivers. Leave them connected to their leads. Use a receiver (or pre/pro / amp). Turn its volume right down. Connect speaker leads from receiver / amp to a driver's leads. (I've attached banana clips to a single length of speaker cable for this purpose.) Slowly turn up the volume and see how it sounds. (As long as you keep the levels low you won't damage it with full-range sound.) If it's the driver you'll hear it pretty easily. Do a comparison with an "undamaged" speaker if you're not sure. Repeat with other driver(s).

Order a replacement driver from manufacturer if need be.

This confirms whether it's the driver or not. If not the driver then it's the amp / electronics (in the case of powered speakers; the Xover if not). Take it to a shop (unless the manufacturer will ship you a unit to swap out).

I assume you are past your warranty period. Would not do this if there's a chance it's still covered - even if the cause was "abuse".

Jeff
 
JeffMackwood said:
I have no specific knowledge of the Mackies, however for any other speaker it's pretty easy to check whether it's a driver or not.

Unplug the speaker. Lie it on its back. Carefully remove the drivers. Leave them connected to their leads. Use a receiver (or pre/pro / amp). Turn its volume right down. Connect speaker leads from receiver / amp to a driver's leads. (I've attached banana clips to a single length of speaker cable for this purpose.) Slowly turn up the volume and see how it sounds. (As long as you keep the levels low you won't damage it with full-range sound.) If it's the driver you'll hear it pretty easily. Do a comparison with an "undamaged" speaker if you're not sure. Repeat with other driver(s).

Order a replacement driver from manufacturer if need be.

This confirms whether it's the driver or not. If not the driver then it's the amp / electronics (in the case of powered speakers; the Xover if not). Take it to a shop (unless the manufacturer will ship you a unit to swap out).

I assume you are past your warranty period. Would not do this if there's a chance it's still covered - even if the cause was "abuse".

Jeff
Click to expand...

These are self-powered speakers. Do NOT leave the internal leads connected to the driver if planning on connecting another amp/receiver.
 
Flint said:
JeffMackwood said:
I have no specific knowledge of the Mackies, however for any other speaker it's pretty easy to check whether it's a driver or not.

Unplug the speaker. Lie it on its back. Carefully remove the drivers. Leave them connected to their leads. Use a receiver (or pre/pro / amp). Turn its volume right down. Connect speaker leads from receiver / amp to a driver's leads. (I've attached banana clips to a single length of speaker cable for this purpose.) Slowly turn up the volume and see how it sounds. (As long as you keep the levels low you won't damage it with full-range sound.) If it's the driver you'll hear it pretty easily. Do a comparison with an "undamaged" speaker if you're not sure. Repeat with other driver(s).

Order a replacement driver from manufacturer if need be.

This confirms whether it's the driver or not. If not the driver then it's the amp / electronics (in the case of powered speakers; the Xover if not). Take it to a shop (unless the manufacturer will ship you a unit to swap out).

I assume you are past your warranty period. Would not do this if there's a chance it's still covered - even if the cause was "abuse".

Jeff
Click to expand...

These are self-powered speakers. Do NOT leave the internal leads connected to the driver if planning on connecting another amp/receiver.
Click to expand...
Good advice. I had assumed that unplugging them would have been sufficient to prevent any problems. Also was not sure whether Mackie's leads are soldered onto driver leads, or not. If they are I might not recommend breaking the solder joint. But I suppose they are clipped, not soldered, in place.
 
It is never a good idea to hook the output of one amp to the output of another amp.
 
You can check for a voice coil rubbing against the magnet by simply (and carefully) pushing the woofer cone in and noting if you hear a scraping sound. If you don't hear anything, it doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with the speaker driver, but it can weed out a gross problem like a voice coil rub. Typically woofer problems are due to overheating which deforms the voice coil and its support bobbin, thus increasing the likelihood that it would rub against the magnet structure.

Tweeters also are prone to overheating, but they typically just have their voice coil open up.

Its unlikely that the sound you hear is coming from the power amplifier within the speaker, but without actually hearing it in person, I wouldn't be completely sure.
 
It is entirely possible that something was knocked loose and a cable got some slack and is bouncing on the passive radiator or the woofer. I've seen that before.

Given that the Mackie has a ton of electronic protection built into it, it is rare that they blow, but not impossible.
 
I've confirmed it is the speaker and not the line.

Thanks for the info everyone. This other stuff will require some additional free time and confidence that I won't just screw something up. Maybe on the weekend I'll try to open it up...MAYBE
 
When you find out which driver is blown contact Mackie customer support and see what'll it take to get a replacement driver. I know with Def Tech their customer support has taken care of its customers years and years after their warranty and maybe Mackie will take care of you. Doesn't hurt to ask.
 
Dirt,
I ,of course, have zero helpful information!! But I was reminded of a song!! :music-listening:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz2tZKAcAIY[/youtube]
 
Flint said:
Yeah... you look up local electronic repair shops and call them until someone says they will look at it and you take it in. It will likely cost less to repair it than to buy a new replacement.
Click to expand...

HEAR!! HEAR!!

When I had some trouble with one of my 624s my plan was to buy another and eventually get the faulty one replaced and keep it as a spare. Then I looked on eBay and decided and I needed to just get that one fixed and save $400 or $500.

John
 
yromj said:
Flint said:
Yeah... you look up local electronic repair shops and call them until someone says they will look at it and you take it in. It will likely cost less to repair it than to buy a new replacement.
Click to expand...

HEAR!! HEAR!!

When I had some trouble with one of my 624s my plan was to buy another and eventually get the faulty one replaced and keep it as a spare. Then I looked on eBay and decided and I needed to just get that one fixed and save $400 or $500.

John
Click to expand...

Mackie doesn't seem to have a customer service # and their "Contact" page does not send the email message
that I am trying to put in.

Found an authorized repair shop nearby. They require a $150 authorization to look at it. Up to $150
will be performed and if it is more, they will give me an estimate (which the $150 goes towards).
They bill @ $70/hour.

The other place I called bills at $100/hr.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to bring it in soon, think I need to let some funding accumulate first.
 
The DirtMerchant said:
Mackie doesn't seem to have a customer service # and their "Contact" page does not send the email message
that I am trying to put in.
Click to expand...

From -- http://mackie.com/support-contact
  • Contact our support team by filling out the form below. Be sure to provide as much information as possible to ensure quick response. All requests are answered in the order they are received.
    We also provide live phone support for more complex issues. Since this is often an in-depth discussion about your setup that can involve troubleshooting and testing, please be in front of your gear when you call.
    In the U.S. or Canada, call toll-free at (800) 898-3211
    Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-4pm Pacific Time
    All calls answered in the order they are received
    Outside the U.S. / Canada? Contact your local distributor for technical support/service
 
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