Speakers Crackling?

Question

i have a set of kenwood speakers that are at about 25 years old. they have always put out wonderful sound.

recently, and since i connected them to a new receiver/amplifier, they have been crackling. the crackling is intermitent, but increasing and is most noticable at low/quiet points in the music or when tv volume is low... but it's getting worse. i've recut the speaker wire to expose fresh wire for the connections to the back of the speakers and the new receiver. all wires are hooked up correctly, nothing crossing, not even the speaker wires are crossed.

i have taken the cover off the front to inspect them and there is no cracking or deterioration on any of the surfaces.

any idea what's going on and what i should do?

i don't have any other speakers to test the new rec/amp with, and the old rec/amp stopped working altogether (that why it was replaced).

Answer 1

I think I answered this question earlier telling to check the speaker surround. You mentioned when the TV was low. it might be the connection of your TV to your receiver. It might be a problem inside your TV. I don't remember if you said this happened with other courses. Does this phenomenon occur when you listen to Cd's?Check to see if this happens with the tuner on your receiver and your CD player. If this crackling does not rear its ugly head with these sources then the problem could very well be in your TV.
Check your TV connection.
Barring any issues with your TV, TV connections, or receiver. I am sorry to say it is probably the crossovers inside the speakers which may be bad or your speakers are just worn out. Speakers are electric and mechanical they can and do wear out. 25 years is a good long life for a speaker. Replace them if you don't find anything else.

Answer 2

Have you tried using different speakers? Unless the speakers are blown or have somehow developed a bad internal connection, they wouldn't cause a crackling sound. I would say the problem is most likely the new amplifier.

Check all of your audio connections, particularly the way the speaker wires are connected to the terminals on the receiver. If the problem still persists, try hooking up your old receiver (if you still have it) and see if the problem is still there. If the problem goes away, it's the receiver (you might have gotten a defective unit). If it's still there, you might have something in your house that's generating electromagnetic interference that's being picked up by the audio circuit of your receiver.

Answer 3

mine does that when i connect it to phono but when I use cd or video it works good