2. speakers
  3. 191514-187529

Proac Response 3.8 stereo imaging is not centered

I picked up a pristine pair of Proac Response 3.8 speakers recently. They sound lovely, however the sound on one side seemed slightly weaker than the other side with the stereo image or soundstage offset to the louder side. This has never been an issue with my other speakers. Speaker cables are the same length. Switching the speaker wires at the amp output doesn't change the asymmetry. Switching the speakers from left to right and vice versa does change the asymmetry. So my conclusion is that the one speaker is slightly louder than the other? The individual speaker drivers are performing fine and the musical presentation is otherwise fine. Could the crossover components be the problem? Any other ideas to troubleshoot this?

kb3
kb3 OP
5 posts
 

OK, driver removed. It is original with the ProAc logo on the chassis/basket. Measured across the terminals and got open circuit. 9V battery test is moot if I've got an open circuit voice coil. I confirmed I am able to purchase a factory replacement through ProAc. They claim it is different from the Scan Speak replacement because it has a different chassis. A Scan Speak replacement 18W-8545 is about $225, the factory replacement is $500. Think I will stick with factory to stay as close to original as possible. BTW there was a lot of information on line since the DIY'ers in the early 2000's spent a lot of effort trying to reverse engineer and replicate this speaker. Thank you to all who participated in the dicussion!

soix
9,456 posts
 

Congrats on finding the issue — must be a relief knowing what it is and that there is a replacement available.  Great idea to go with factory unit just for peace of mind and especially if you might wanna resell them down the road.

sounds_real_audio
998 posts
 

I am sure you have tried this however you might reverse the speaker wires, left.to right and right to left just to rule out upstream  issues.

sounds_real_audio
998 posts
 

I am sure you have tried this however you might reverse the speaker wires, left.to right and right to left just to rule out upstream  issues.

larryi
3,948 posts
 

This is a very good speaker that is very much worth fixing.  A factory supplied driver is the best approach.  Even if an off-the-shelf ScanSpeak driver would work, you will have some lingering doubts that might hurt your ability to enjoy this fine epeaker.

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