SL3 Problems

[ssharma]

Hi Folks,

I've just had a problem with my SL3's. I love them but
the bass units no longer seem to work. I have a hefty
Musical Fidelity AMP, and have checked connections.
NO bass driver output at all on either speakers.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Sunit

 

[Bernard]

Seems unusual that you would have problems with BOTH speakers at the same time. Have you checked each speaker individually, or is it a problem with no bass at the listening position? If the latter, I suspect that one speaker is wired out of phase, so what you have is bass cancellation. I suggest that you check your connections again.

 

[Craig]

I don't know your background or history with these speakers so let's start with the basics and go from there.

Are the speaker wires connected to the upper speaker terminals and missing the jumper plate or wire? The jumper plate is essential for connecting both the woofer and panel to a single pair of speaker wire.

Although it is possible, it is highly unlikely that both speakers would become defective on both woofers at the same time unless they were overloaded. You would have to try really hard to overload the speaker. Recheck your connections at the speaker ends and at the amplifier. Make sure the positive and negative connections are not crossed on either the speaker or amp posts. Doing so will put the speakers out of phase and cancel each other out especially in the bass department. In this case you will hear some sound from both woofers but it will be weak.

Unplug both the speakers for a few minutes and then plug them back in. (not sure if this is needed to reset anything on the SL3s but can't hurt)

If you have another pair of speakers or another amp you can do some troubleshooting by swapping out components and narrowing down the source of the problem. To include faulty wiring.

Do these speakers have fuses? ( I don't know. Anyone else know? Do they have a thermal overload protective circuit?)

Faulty or overloaded crossover?

Disconnected woofer cable inside the cabinet? (not likely to happen on both woofers unless the cabinet was opened at some point in their lifetime and the connectors were loose)

If none of these steps help then I recommend calling Martin Logan's customer service. They will gladly help you trouble shoot your speaker and can provide any needed replacement parts at a very fair and reasonable price. Their phone number is on their website.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[CraigBjorkman]

SL3 Problem

I too had a problem with no sound coming out of the woofer. Turned out that my preamp was defective and apparently sent a low DC input to one channel. I swapped channels while troubleshooting, and ended up frying the other woofer as well. Taking the woofers out to inspect them is not difficult. You will know upon inspection if they are fried. ML was able to send me replacements with larger (that orignial) magnets, which makes for better low end.