Hello /diy/
I'm trying to repair these threeway Realistic Optimus speakers I bought a few years ago. They have a slight rattle and don't sound great. I was going to use the website SimplySpeakers to get some replacements for it.
What should I get? I don't know how to check the size of the speakers or if I should get fullrange or a woofer for the larger one. Kind of new to it. Any help is appreciated.
They're 8-ohms.
Potato quality pics, my bad
the two look like completely differerent revisions, eg Optimius 1 and Optimus 1B (or similar, no expert in the things) - not got a plate at the back with Model/#/ID?
>>927398
First off, partsexpress
second off, are you sure your Crossovers dont need recapped
Third off, you dont even have a matched pair.
And finally, you cant just throw random speakers into random boxes and expect it to sound good, literally doesnt work that way
>>927445
>partsexpress
Parts Express... or as I like to call it Part Sex Press.
>>927398
You speakers don't match. Thats not good. What make/model are they? The left speaker looks okay. The right speaker looks like it has some cracking in the surrounds of the tweeters. Cheap to fix but requires a steady hand.
"Rattling" can be caused by disintegrating surrounds but can also be cause by debris inside the cabinets, damaged cones, a number of things. You really aren't giving us enough to go on here.
>>927473
They are both Optimus-1 speakers, made at different times I was told. You all are making me fear I was duped.
I know that they aren't guaranteed to sound better since the speaker box is generally designed around the speaker but it certainly couldn't hurt to try
>>927473
I am not really looking to repair the speakers, I am mainly looking to get them sounding better (they don't have a great tone either). Just looking for advice on new tweeters and woofers for them really. I'm a bit out of my element and talking out my ass.
>>928093
The speaker box does not hold speakers, it holds drives. Woofers, tweeters, etc, are drivers. The whole unit is the speaker. As for being duped, the person selling them probably didn't know any better either.
>>928095
>Just looking for advice on new tweeters and woofers for them really
My advice is to first find where the rattling is coming from. You could spend a bunch of money replacing stuff only to find its a loose screw rattling around in the bottom of the cabinet or something. Next, I wouldn't replace the drivers unless they are unrepairable. Its cheaper and better to repair what is in place then to replace it. Anything you replace in one speaker you will also have to replace in the other or it will sound unbalanced. So replacing one driver will double you cost cause you have to replace the other. Fixing a surround though is cheap. Worse case is you fuck it up and have to replace the driver anyway.
> Woofers, tweeters, etc, are drivers. The whole unit is the speaker.
fuck that noise. the thing that produces the sound is the speaker, and has been since its inception. the fact that some retarded self-taught audio amateurs came along and started renaming shit to sound mysterious, inventing idiotic terms like "head unit" and ''subs'', does not change that.
these fucking ''ass-units'' should be sterilized so as not to further pollute the gene pool
>>928179
Your autism is showing.
>>928095
re: rattle, try turning them upside down, see if it goes away (srsly) - if that works, you can try rotating the woofer 180 degrees. You also have a 3-way switch on the back of these? try different settings (dont matter a fuck which you use, to save technicalities) see if that helps. Also, what amp you using with these? Opinion varies, but these are prob around 50w max.
Basically, long-range diagnose and replacement suggestions is near impossible, you def. have two different variations of the Optimus 1 here - like cars, a Golf MkI is not a Golf Mk III, etc. Maybe both Optimus I, but these were (with 95%+ certaintity) never sold new as a pair.
After that, to into troubleshooting, you need to get proactive, learn how to check speakers be a start:
http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Speaker-Impedance
or, with no multimeter (9v battery method)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpdKpnz8h64
Then we get into leaking caps in the crossovers, bits of metal in the airgap, and all sorts of other shit.
My honest advice? - check the drivers (big speakers) are 'working' via either of the methods above, then ebay them as 'Optimus I original' tested (if working) and the tweeters/crossovers as untested (if no multimeter) - get more for the parts than you would for the whole. Then, throw away the cabinets, and buy yourself a new pair, bookshelf, studio monitors, floor, Klipschorn, whatever the fuck you like. Because those wont repair themselves, and, current lack of knowledge aside, I doubt you have the enthusiasm for the task, personally. And suggesting replacements would be stupid, as no-one knows what the fuck is in these exactly (model # etc. helpfully marked on the back on the individual speaker, usually), or whether or not your crossovers are fucked as well. And you ain't helping yourself much here any either, desu.
I figured it out. The mother fucker who owned them last decided to salvage another Optimus speaker and shove the woofer in this one. Literally shove.
>>928914
I had something like this happen to me.
I bought some junker speakers at a garage sale.
Someone had thrown in a random woofer and tweeters in one box.
Turns out the speakers or the wiring or something was wrong, was wired for 4 ohms.
It blew the right channel out of my receiver because the current draw was too much for it.
Throwing cheap low quality parts into the box, hoping and praying they are balanced (never going to happen) will make them sound like shit. And you will most likely spend as much as a pair of brand new low end bookshelf or studio monitors.
Follow slick deals for a couple of weeks and wait for something to go on sale.
>>928914
>>928926
This recently happened to me buying a used amp from Amazon. Someone bought it, took the speaker out and threw a POS in there, and returned it. They didn't check it out and sold it to me used. Pissed me right the fugg off, especially because some kid could have been completey duped.
>>928937
Shady.
Parts Express is good though. Browse there long enough and you'll end up building speakers.
>>928943
I love pa'ts express! In fact I'm re-tolexing and re-grilling a couple amps and I'll be buying through them. Also building a couple microphones and I'll be getting the components from them as well. I was toying with building my own bass amp but the cost for me would far exceed that of just buying another combo. That place is the best.
>>928950
so, does 'no-one else' simply love the quality, choice and value of the above oft-mentioned, almost a minute after the last guy did - or, all we all done here now, maybe?
&SAGE
>>928914
>>928917
It's fucked OP. That one speaker will never sound right, and even if it did, those drivers aren't matched so your stereo image is probably garbage.
Actually you should just test that. Place your speakers on top of something in open air, a few feet apart and with the tweeters at ear level, point them at you. Listen to shit. The sound should sound like it's coming from in-between the speakers, a phantom speaker in the middle, except some effects that are panned exclusively on the left or right, depends on the song/media.
If the phantom speaker you hear is all over the place at different pitches of sound, instead of holding center, or one speakers is dominant, it's fucked.
>>929136
Oh i know, but I have better speakers for actual listening. Emotiva Airmotiv5s, they're wonderful.
