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Wilson Maxx II problem

I have a pair of Wilson Maxx II's that I have thoroughly enjoyed, until a couple of days ago.  I developed a crackle in one of my woofers.  The replacement cost is over $1K for the woofer.  I'm told, the woofer is specifically designed to the crossover, in the particular speaker, that's why I can't simply replace it with a used one, from another Maxx.  Does anyone have any suggestions, for a replacement woofer, other than shelling out over a thousand bucks?  Here's some component info:  I'm running krell KV-600 monoblocks as my power, and Aesthetix Calypso as my preamp.  The Krells are rated at 1200 watts into 4 ohms, which is what the impedance is for the Wilson's.  The Calypso tops out at 88 on the "dial", and I usually top out at 62, but the other night I went to 67.  I don't have a graph, but I would think I was well under 1K wattage.  I have always been told, that a driver can take a lot of power, as long as it's clean.  Did I simply put too much power in, or should I put an oscilloscope on my amps?  Is there another option, besides shelling out a thousand bucks, and still have the speaker match it's original specs?
handymann
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
I would agree with many of the comments above. One thought I had would be to disconnect the woofer to eliminate the noise. Do the same with the other speaker. You might find you like  the sound. If so you could find yourself listening to them for years to come. If of course you were or are considering a new pair then no other option then to purchase a new one. Really no options but to purchase one from Wilson. The efficiency has to be spot on along with the speed of the driver or you will not enjoy the sound. 

As a side note I had a customer who had a pair of Vandersteen 5's and never could listen to the woofer which even though it was powered and adjustable was just to much and not cohesive. 
handymann OP
383 posts
 
Thanks Peter.  I will be moving soon, so I'm going to get it done, while I'm otherwise occupied.  I can still play it at 3/4 power and hear any problem, so I will keep it down, while I'm waiting.
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Get a woofer from Wilson don't play around.
erik_squires
16,059 posts
 
Sub/woofer integration is a monster, so bass limited speakers often play better in room than larger.

Bass traps, eq and room design are our friends.

Erik

pmiller115's avatar
pmiller115
96 posts
 
I would check every aspect of why this driver failed. It is not at all common for a driver to fail under normal conditions. I am not familiar with your source components but is there a "gain" adjustment? If so, if the gain is set too high this can blow a driver. I had a friend who blew JBL driver after driver until he realized that the gain on his pre-pro was set close to max. It I believe you are correct when you say that a driver should be able to accept considerable amouns of "clean" power -I have LInn Accurate speakers and the fronts each receive 600 watts of power. As I said, I would get to the source of why the driver failed or I believe you will be replacing drivers until the cause is determined. Hopefully this is helpful and good luck. BTW, sounds like a nice system.
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