iFi Speaker Power Problem

[claychicken]

Hi all,

The other day when I went to turn on my 3 year old set of
iFi speakers, they wouldn't turn on and it appeared that no power was
going through the speakers. After trying different power sockets and
power cords, I decided there must be something wrong with the speaker.


I went to a speaker repair place and they said that the 'board'
inside the speaker had probably overheated due to leaving it on for
long periods of time (I would leave it on for weeks at a time because I
used the ipod dock as a charger).

I was just wondering if you guys think that it sounds like a
broken/burnt 'board', and if I could purchase another replacement
'board', or somehow get it repaired.

I opened up the speakers and I couldn't see any visuble signs of damage. But then again, I don't really know anything about speakers (as seen through my stupidity of leaving the speakers on for long periods of time).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Andy W]

What part of the "speaker" did you open up?

[andrewbasile]

Are you gonna tell him he voided the warranty by opening it??

lol

[Gringa]

What part of the "speaker" did you open up?

I have the same exact problem that the original post describes, though I have not taken it in to be fixed nor have I opened up the subwoofer. The subwoofer no longer powers on. I also left the iFi plugged in and powered "on", since it functions (er, functioned) as a charger. Since the unit claimed both speaker and a charging functions, leaving it plugged in is normal use of the product. (As with the original poster, I am part of the mass market this product was targeted towards: an iPod owner who appreciates good sound that can be purchased at Costco.)

I purchased the unit in July of 2006 and its use as an iPod speaker system was extremely light.

What is your suggestion for getting the unit fixed?

[keish]

inside the subwoofer itself there is a fuse that burns out after awhile. u have to unscrew the outer screws (10) of them then lift the cover off. If i'm not mistaken the fuse is close to the power source. i got the replacement fuse from radio shack. I am also having volume issues. before my speakers would alternate from left to right, if i played with the volume it sometimes would work. i love my ifi and i just want it to work. if anyone has any fixes please respond.

[BLSamuel]

Flaky volume controls are often the result of oxidation that builds up. I've had very good luck with Caig products. Usually Deoxit to really clean and Pro Gold to clean and protect. I think I also have some Pro Gold Deoxit Fader Lube recommended by Groomlakearea51 I think it was.

Beyond a fuse in the subwoofer though, I'm clueless. And be carefull if you don't know electronics. The power capacitors in even a modest amplifier like the iFi would have can probably still pack a pretty good punch and possibly even good old fashioned electrocution.

When using any cleaners, power off, and unplug, spray into the balky control and work it several times. Let it dry out thoroughly as the carriers in the spray are extremely flammable though do dry quickly. Then plug it in and test it out. Repeat as necessary. This can make a noise wasted sounded volume pot sound as good as new.

Caig products can be found at parts express online or I found a good supply at the "local" Fye's a little over an hour away in Indianapolis or maybe Fishers a suburb of Indianapolis Even a couple of little bottles of the liquid. Not sure if it's the pure stuff but in any case I think the sprays are like 5% solution. It's labeled Deoxit and Deoxit Gold (formerly Pro Gold?)

And if that fails. Call Klipsch support. I bought a ProMedia 2.1 from some filthy lyin cheatin' twit off eBay and it was dead on arrival. Bass drivers didn't work. I could test that the voice coils were burned out so ordered a new set, very affordable. Turned it all on and toasted one very quickly due to a loud hum. I still need to call and send the amplifier and/or subwoofer back in. It was pretty affordable back in September or October as I've still not gotten around to calling.... Next time we start with an old junk speaker....and another set of bass drivers as if I fried one the other may be all but shot unless the hum is only in one channel - I don't recall.

I now know what a fried voice coil smells like - just like what I smelled when I opened the box! And the twit tried to tell me they worked perfectly - yeah right. And wouldn't even tell me how to return them. I learned not to shop on eBay late at night as reading the description there were too many red flags. But they'll still be kick tush computer speakers when I get them repaired.

But not near as good as the iPod. Man I wish I could've afforded a set of those when they were on close out as my understanding is that they just flat out ROCK! And we won't even mention how they'll STOMP any other iPod speakers on the market. I think Klipsch introduced those too early and hope they reintroduce them after maybe making their operation a little more intuitive as I've read they are a bit quirky in their operation.

Be sure to call Klipsch support if you keep blowing fuses as that's a sign of serious issues (like hum that fries "bass"/midrange drivers).