Peter P.

Apply your cleaner to your brush and not directly to the dust cap. That will minimize any absorption issues.

Newark Electronics has them.

I agree it could be the voice coil over excursion. Since it's a horn loaded driver, I don't know what it uses in place of a spider to control excursion (maybe nothing?) but that's what I think is happening. I think the only remedy is to replace the driver. To prove it's not the electronics, connect the suspect speaker's wiring to the working speaker and see if the problem remains. Conversely, you could connect the working speaker's wires to the suspect speaker and see if the problem follows the wire (then the amp is at fault) or the speaker (then the speaker is bad). Be sure to shut off the amp while swapping wires and make sure the unused wires don't touch each other or anything metal.

I agree. Physically they'll fit in the room without dominating it. Add in your REL sub and you'll not want for anything.

Yes, the CD issue was caused by the speaker audio vibrating the wall which the CD player was attached to. The solution would be to either detach your speaker stand from the wall and make it freestanding but secure or vice versa, putting both the CD play and turntable on a stand NOT connected to the wall. As has already been suggested, the turntable needs to be grounded. Usually, turntables have a screw or other point of contact to attach a wire to. That wire is then connected to your preamp, amp, receiver, whatever, which typically has a ground screw as well. This should eliminate your hum. I'm mystified as to what caused your speaker to smoke, but I'm guessing it was 60Hz hum. You should have heard some awful noise which preceded your speaker's demise. A simple voltmeter test of each driver of the affected speaker will tell you which driver in the cabinet went belly up. A good technician, knowing what already happened, will test the output of the amp/receiver without a speaker connected to verify there is good output. That can be done with a simple voltmeter. Please report back with the technician's findings.

Are you capable of refurbishing the cabinets yourself? If it's a project within your skill range then yes, they are worth keeping. If you don't have the skills you can always have a local woodworking shop re-veneer the cabinets for you. The Heresy IV does have greater low end extension and efficiency so on paper it is a worthwhile upgrade. But if you don't need the extra output and you use a subwoofer, it's all a moot point. Let's see pics of your cabinets.

While the OP already found a solution, I just thought of another one. There's non-adhesive shelf liner which is usually a rubber like mat that can be cut to dimension. Works great under space rugs/mats that lie on slippery floors. I use one on my futon to keep the mattress from sliding. Should be available at most hardware and home stores.

Try Bostik Blu Tack, Loctite Mounting Putty, or DAP Blue Stik instead. For something perhaps even tackier, try what we call in the antenna industry "vapor wrap". Search for it from manufacturers such as CommScope, Decibel Products, or DB Spectra. Last suggestion; try an artist's kneaded eraser, available at most art supply stores.

One reason I believe is our built-in desire for order, organization, or symmetry. It's subconscious. Another reason is, it makes the room look like a shrine or altar, and we DO worship our equipment, don't we?! Seriously; it doesn't matter and might be better off to the side as you'll focus on the music rather than be mesmerized by all the LEDs. The only practical issue might be remote controls not working if the sensor doesn't see the remote. Best to test first to see how far off-axis you can get the remotes to work. Cable length is unimportant; the extra resistance is not worth discussing and the same goes if the lengths of the left vs. right speaker cable were non-equal. The signal is traveling at near the speed of light. You won't notice any left vs. right delay.

Duplicate post.

Duplicate post.

FYI; your photos of the voltmeter in the outlet show you've got your hot and neutral test leads backwards. While you may think it doesn't matter because it's AC, it's good practice to maintain proper polarity even when you think it doesn't matter. I know you said your outlet tester said the wiring was correct, but still... If the voltage is present but current isn't sufficient to drive appliances, I'd bet there's an outlet or fixture upstream from the "bad" outlet with a poor connection or a partially cut wire. Throw the affected circuit breaker and mark everything that is now dead. Then check each outlet and fixture for secure wire connections. One of the upstream outlets, switches, or fixtures could have gone bad. Is it possible critters have eaten through a wire, or one conductor has been partially cut? Is the wiring visible, perhaps in the basement?

I just learned about this horn loaded sub development and I think it's a brilliant idea. What's even more "innovative" or more like common sense, is the external amplification. I think the main reason for the high failure rate of subwoofer amplifiers is the vibration transferred to any built-in amplifiers. And all that necessary potting glue to hold the components in place has got to make servicing a pain. You would think some manufacturer would get the idea to sell their subs with outboard amps. Put it in your rack with the rest of your equipment, with all the controls on the front. There's no increase in wiring complication and the controls would be easy to reach. It's a no-brainer to me and I wonder why the idea never became popular. I look forward to the reviews of the horn loaded subs, especially the smaller models., which kind of reminds me of my kgsw subwoofer. One wonders what a horn loaded sub in that size package would sound like, even if it didn't reach below 30Hz.

Thanks for the update. Another test you could have performed would have been to connect a voltmeter set to AC, across the tweeter connections. Play some music and ramp up the volume. Bonus if your voltmeter has a Max Hold feature. As the volume goes up, the voltage reading goes up. That should tell you whether the crossover is working. Crossovers don't usually blow. Your conclusions about the "transistor radio sound" were correct. I bought a used pair of two-way speakers and heard very little sound from the tweeters. I heard very little sound from the tweeters even after performing the paper towel tube test but an AC voltmeter test confirmed signal was reaching the speaker inputs. I replaced the tweeters for reasons other than my suspicions and of course, the sound remained the same. I concluded the 2500Hz crossover was just what the engineers designed, and the 8" woofers were doing most of the sound reproduction.

I'll hazard a guess and suggest one of your channels' output transistors is beginning to short out. Or, if your speaker cables are running in an attic or wall, something has chewed on the wiring. If it were an open circuit issue it would be easy to prove; just disconnect one speaker and see if any message displays. What you can do is turn off your system and disconnect each speaker one at a time so you don't lose track of which wire goes where. Using a volt meter, measure the resistance of each pair of wires with the speaker attached. You should read something close to the speaker's rated impedance (4, 6, or 8 ohms perhaps), plus a little bit for the wire resistance. By comparing all the speakers' readings, you might find one unusually low or high.

The "crackly" effect is probably the Audio 4 output level being too high, driving it into distortion. The OP complained if the turntable is connected directly to the speakers then the input level sounds too low vs. Bluetooth. Sounds like he's trying to use his Bluetooth device as an overall volume control due to its convenience as a remote. He should set his Bluetooth device output to match his turntable, and use the speakers' remote for volume control.

You don't say why you don't like the sound. Telling us that would help in recommending solutions.

I agree with CWOReilly. The easiest path for someone with limited refinishing experience is to paint them black, after some wood filler and sanding on the blemishes. Duratex is a popular finish that hides a lot of scars, including the wood filler. Since it might be difficult to obtain a smooth finish on the the folded horn opening, I'd mask off the rest of the speaker then use flat black spray paint on just the folded horn opening. It would reach all the nooks and crannies there while leaving a uniform finish. Roll on Duratex for the rest of the speaker. Or, for a "classier" finish that would require more work, sand off the dark finish best effort, then use a black stain followed by the protective finish of your choice. Practice on the bottom or back of the cabinet, or a scrap of wood first until you're satisfied with your skills and techniques. Unless the capacitors are visibly leaking or have significantly changed their value, I wouldn't touch them. Put the original tweeters back in, as Paul himself intended! Oh; and show us your speakers after you've refinished them!

To me, the room is the leading factor affecting audio quality. I believe even a budget system can sound fantastic in the right room. And I believe there is no SINGLE right room, but a variety of room factors and not necessarily all of them together, can make for a great sound system.

There's no such thing as speakers of any brand incompatible with Receiver "X". If there were, the manufacturer of either component would post such information in their literature.

Google "how long does it take for a magnet to lose its power" and you'll learn it's a non-issue. We'd love to see more pictures of those Cornwalls!

I think what the OP experienced in the garage of his friend was a different listening environment that his 15 x 25 room. The Fortes likely overwhelmed the room vs. the garage, or at least the bass pressurized it differently. I can't vouch for the difference in sound between original Heresies and later versions, but it's clear that bigger (the Fortes) is not always better and the room's acoustics MATTER. Interesting discussion by the way, and I'm glad the OP found a Heritage speaker he likes!

Making any speaker in solid wood is too expensive. Besides, fastening a hardwood in a manufacturing environment would increase labor and engineering costs. Time has proven MDF and veneer is just fine.

After you put the Cornwalls in the room, is there any space left over for a chair? 😃 Yeah; I think the Cornwalls would be too imposing. Even the Heresy IV's would swallow up too much space since the manual says to leave 12" of space to the wall to accommodate the rear port. I agree with Flevoman; go for Heresy IIIs and add a subwoofer if you must.

Be satisfied with what you have. It ain't the equipment; it's the enjoyment of the movie.