# Tweeter no longer working



## walker17 (Sep 11, 2008)

I recently hooked up some speaker that had been stored for acouple of years. After careful checking , I discovered one tweeter was no working. My question is what is the best way to check a tweeter? Not sure if the problem is the tweeter or Xover, Wiring seems to be OK. Help!


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

That's a bit tricky. Actually, there isn't any good way of checking without taking the tweeter out of the enclosure. Chances are, it's the tweeter and not your crossover. It could be the crossover, but burned out tweeters are a common accident. In any case, you would have to remove the tweeter to replace it, and depending on the speaker, that might not be a cost effective solution. Replacing the entire speaker (pair) might be a more worthwhile solution unless it's a high-end speaker to begin with. If you can pop the tweeter out, it's a simple matter of unsoldering one wire and connecting an Ohmmeter across the speaker. If it reads open, it's dead. If not, you might want to connect it to a low level signal and see if it produces audio. Otherwise, it could have a short and still not be functional. You would need to replace it with a unit having similar characteristics, especially if it is paired with another speaker.


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## walker17 (Sep 11, 2008)

I think it would be worth replacing, the speakers are old but quite good, JSE model 1s. The Tweeter is Dynaudio D28. I havce no problem replacing it, just was not sure the best way to test, so checking for "open" is the best? If i need a replacement, do any of you know of a good place to ge a simular tweeter? Thanks for all your help.


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

First determine if it is a bad tweeter - you'll have to remove it to do that. Yes, an open voice coil is a gonner. However if it measures continuity, it's a little hard to say because a short can mimic that. You'd need to compare it to one that works. If it measures very low resistance (e.g., less than an ohm), it's probably shorted.

I doubt you'll find an exact replacement. You can Google your driver, but it's been out of production for a long time. Fortunately, tweeters aren't as fussy as woofers when it comes to finding a replacement and matching the box. You should be ok if you get a replacement with the same mounting and tweeter element diameters. Get the same impedance as the original if at all possible - to work properly with your crossover (specification impedance - not measured resistance). Make sure its power handling ability is equal or greater than your original. If you can't get the original and end up with a nearly original unit, you might want to consider replacing the tweeter in each of your speakers to assure a sonic match. Your other tweeter(s) might be on the way out anyway, if this one developed an open coil.

One source for drivers is: https://www.madisound.com/index.php.

They might have some suggestions for a replacement since they carried that driver at one time.

It might pay to get a second opinion from someone at one of the speaker forums as they have a lot of experienced folks that could very well help you with your quest.

Good luck!


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## fbov (Aug 28, 2008)

+1 on testing and sources. 

Very weak, full range signals will not damage a tweeter, so if resistance is good, give it a listen. However, don't discount things like bad caps or a loose connection. While you've got the tweeter out, check for AC voltage on the input side as well as resistance on the tweeter side. It looks like these will have plenty of access to the XO once the drivers are removed.
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?26828-JSE-Speakers

Have fun,
Frank


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## walker17 (Sep 11, 2008)

Thank you for your help! the tweeter is bad, hoe I can fin something close as a replacement, any suggestions?


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