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Did I damage my speakers?

Group,
Need your expertise: I own a pair of Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand SE's.

I recently paired them with a new-to-me set of Bel Canto REF600M monos, which replace a Bel Canto REF500S dual mono stereo amp. My preamp is a Bel Canto Pre3VB with the battery power unit.

This weekend the tweeters and upper mids, vocals (mostly female), piano,  sound hazy, at times somewhat distorted, grainy. My listening level is typically between 60-75db. I don't push these speakers hard, but I'm also getting acquainted with an amp now giving 100wpc more than I'm used to. Recently I may have pushed these speakers a bit too hard, getting up into the 80db range a few times. Could I have over-driven the tweeters with this more powerful amplifier?

I've owned the REF600M's for about two months; until this weekend, never heard this kind of distortion/congestion at the top end. Doesn't happen on everything I play (mostly CD's). Before this weekend the sound has been wonderful.

I've had these speakers for almost 7 years and have never noticed something like this before.

Wondering how to troubleshoot this.

Thanks in advance for your insight/perspective.

J


arcamguy
speakermaster
738 posts
 
I do not think the problem is in the speakers because you have not played them loud at all it is some kind of electronics issue somewhere in the system i would say a bad connection somewhere check every connection closely.
rbstehno
1,437 posts
 
You just put new amp in, can you put the old amp back in to see if the distortion goes away? Eliminate the last change 1st
rozbel
6 posts
 
I agree with rocray I've just had a similar problem after a cartridge change on my lp12. It was great to begin with but then I noticed a very slight hiss on the right hand channel and slight distortion during loud passages I didn't think it was the brand new cartridge so I thought back to what I had done when the problem started and I had moved the phono stage, so I checked the connections, the leads are quite short, and The black cable had come loose and wasn't fully attached so I swapped it out for a pair that I wasn't using and made sure both cables were secure now the problem appears to be solved. Hope you solve your issue as easily.
itsjustme
681 posts
 
Do some trouble isolation. Is it both speakers? If no, begin swapping leads to isolate.  If not, can you replace any components with something you have int he closet? It matters not if its all that good - just that its in working order.
I concur that this sounds to me much more like a dying power supply (early onset clipping) than a damaged speaker.  I would immediately suspect that battery pack -- but dont know much about your specific components (except that I own a pair of Viennas -- and love them)
coffee-jerk
73 posts
 
I have those amps, but don’t have anything helpful to say except to leave them on all the time. I turn mine off when I go out of town, and they definitely sound the most ’natural’ the second day after powering up. But it doesn't sound like the problem you are having.  I notice it as an improvement, rather than a massive change.
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