Slight ticking sound with new Quest panels

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Questy

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Hello everybody.

I am new here and am happy to have found this site.

I have a set of ML Quests that I bought last year and they were from a friend that introduced me to these wonderful speakers. They were in brand new condition other than 15 year old Panels that actually were in very good shape as they were not used very often the last 10 years and always covered. However, I decided to change them to more modern technology and had the woofers checked out which were in perfect shape. He did install the auto shut off power supply some 10 years ago which supposedly helps keep the panels from gathering dust when not in use.

My comment is that since I have installed the new panels, one of them has a slight ticking sound about mid panel on one side only! I contacted ML and talked to Jim Power. He informed me that I should vacuum them since they may have developed a static charge during shipping. I did this and there was no change. He then informed me that it may be one of my power supplies so I swapped them and there was also no change as the same panel made the same ticking sound. I also checked for any damage that shipping may have caused and can't see anything wrong on the panel itself. Next came wires and electrical power which also made no difference. My old panels did not do this by the way.

The speakers sound wonderful besides this slight ticking in between songs. I have noticed that after about 30 seconds it seems to decrease after a song is complete which I find a little odd!

Do any of you know what this may be?

Thank you
 
I am not by any means an expert on these panels but what I would do is take the speaker that is giving you problems and put it into a well lit area then I would get a magnifying glass and search both sides for a stuck piece of dust or dirt that may have gotten really stuck between the stator and maybe one of the spars that your vacuum just did not suck out.it sounds like something is stuck in a precarious spot is your panel.
 
That is a good idea. I will try this as I thought that maybe this is the problem.

Thank you
 
I am not by any means an expert on these panels but what I would do is take the speaker that is giving you problems and put it into a well lit area then I would get a magnifying glass and search both sides for a stuck piece of dust or dirt that may have gotten really stuck between the stator and maybe one of the spars that your vacuum just did not suck out.it sounds like something is stuck in a precarious spot is your panel.

I would agree with this comment. I once had a whistling sound coming from a particular spot on a Quest panel. I vacuumed it a number of times and it did not go away. On closer inspection with a torch I found that a small moth had lodged itself behind the stator. I removed it and the sound was gone.
 
Fish is right, but it would be easier just to unplug them for the night and give them a really good vacuum. That'll make sure you get all the dust and dirt out.
 
I did do that initially but it had no change. I am out of town right now and as soon as I can get back, I will look into closely checking with a light of some sort to see if I can pin point the problem. I don't believe it is serious but more of a pain! I may even take off the panel to clean and verify since it is so easy to do.

Thanks everybody so far for your help.
 
Hi Questy,
I had a similar experience with one of my Vantages a while back. There was a knocking noise coming from the cabinet. Playing the CD on a second system revealed that the noise was embedded in the recording (!) (although barely audible let alone convincing on the second system)

It must have been the music sheet frame or some other mechanical interference around the piano (the instrument being reproduced) which was causing the effect, not unlike what happens when one of the spikes loosens due to vibration :D :D

Quite a relief in the end but testament to how convincing MLs can be sometimes ! :music:
Best regards.......hope you get this sorted...............Victor.
 
I am away right now but once I get back I am going to take off the panel and go over it with a fine tooth comb! If this does not fix the ticking I will ask my dealer to get me another one.
 
I did do that initially but it had no change.

How did you vacuum? You've got to get good pressure up between the vacuum and the panel. Best way is to cup your hand(s) over the end of the nozzle and move over every part of the panel.
 
I use a special nozzle on my shop-vac that I have wrapped in felt so it won't scratch the stator. There is always a constant pressure on the panel so I should be covering it fully.
 
After trying all methods to remedy the problem, I contacted Plurison which is the distributor in Canada after talking to Jim Power. I received an email that they have decided to replace my panels free of charge!!!!!!!!! How amazing is that! I did not think it was a big problem but I guess after doing everything that they told me to do and it is still ticking, there must be something wrong that can't be fixed even though they are brand new and sound incredible otherwise!

I am completely blown away with the service as these costs 1799$ in Canada and I don't even have to return them!!! I was told to keep them even if they should not be mismatched as there may be a slight balance difference. I would have a couple of spares I guess!

I thought if anything they would just send one but I guess they can't. So, they are now in the process of building me a new set and I should have them in a couple of weeks or so! How many companies do that????:bowdown:
 
We've heard nothing but great stories about Martin Logan's customer service. For me, it was a free replacement power supply, after one of mine finally gave up the ghost after thirteen years!
 
Is the ticking intermittant, or is it like a clock, rhythmic and constant? If its intermitant, it's a static electricity issue. But if it's constant, then maybe you have a similar problem to what I had, and it took me MONTHS to figure it out...

If you have a DVR or TIVO or a hard-disc based music server on the same circuit as your amps or speakers, EVEN if it plugged into a power strip, you will almost certainly get a tick. It is a form of RF generated in the AC lines by the action of the HD motor and head-positioning mechanism. The ONLY way to get rid of it is to either put the HD-containing device on a completely seperate circuit, or put it on a dedicated AC line regenerator, or put a transformer between th edevice and all the other gear in your rig.

Having a dual-purpose rig is very cool when it works, but there are some SERIOUSLY messed up problems with RFI and EMI generated by video gear that will drive an audiophile completely bonkers...

--Richard
 
I did consider what you mention as a possible cause but after completely unplugging my computer based server all together the sound was still there. It is constant by the way.

I kept believing it was a static charge problem and we did try all possible solutions but the decision was taken by Jim and Plurison that I should not have to screw around so much with new panels and they are building me new ones!

To be completely honest, there must be some underlying cause that can be fixed as I have checked them over with a fine tooth comb and have found NO physical defects of any kind or dust build up. I even brought down the humidity level to my sound room to 35% and still heard the ticking! They are not even asking me to return them when I get the new ones! I paid 1799$ Canadian for them in June................amazing service just I can't bring myself to just throw them away!!!!!!!! I will keep them I guess until I figure out what to do with them as they are brand spanking new and otherwise the slight ticking in one, sound incredible!

Thank you all for your opinions.
 
I'm puzzled.Curious.

Why is it they told you not to mismatch the panels,since they are a matched pair??? When someone has not gotten unmatched serial numbers they say it is alright.This puzzles me,because shouldn't the matching serial number panels be matched.Hopefully someone will clarify this because it seems like Martin Logan has two differant stories.
 
Why is it they told you not to mismatch the panels,since they are a matched pair??? When someone has not gotten unmatched serial numbers they say it is alright.This puzzles me,because shouldn't the matching serial number panels be matched.Hopefully someone will clarify this because it seems like Martin Logan has two differant stories.

well his speakers are fifteen years old if jim gives him a new panel it may sound different just because of age and then he would have to send him yet another one.
 
They told me that during fabrication identical processes and methods are used at that present time making them balanced. It is only a possibility that there would be problem with proper balancing but to be sure this is how they do it. They also test them before leaving the factory for this and peace of mind is always nice as well.
 
FishMan, my speakers are 15 years old but the panels they are replacing are 2 months old! They were bought in June.
 
well his speakers are fifteen years old if jim gives him a new panel it may sound different just because of age and then he would have to send him yet another one.[


What are you talking about??? It is obvious that we were talking about his new panels and you cannot purchase just one panel anyway.My point was there have been a few people who have recieved non consecutive serial numbers on their speakers.Therefore the panels are not part of a matched set.Even though they had assured these people they are fine,there could be a huge differance in their panels.Questy was told he was sent a new pair because they are matched.This completely contradicts what they told the non-consecutive serial number speakers that were purchased from buyers.I am glad they resolved your issue,Questy.Happy listening.
 
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