Posted by Steven Evanson on October 26, 2003 at 13:07:03:
Thanks to you good folks at this site, I had solved problem #1 with my new (demo) M-3's purchased directly from the factory. I am taking delivery on a new Innersound amp in a week or so to replace my McIntosh MC352, which put out 2x350 watts but insufficient voltage/amps.
As I was walking by one of the M-3's this morning I heard a hissing and spitting sound coming from one of the lower left panels, shined a flashlight through the speaker cloth, and it looks like a triangular hole has developed in the membrane, about 1" per side on the triangle in one panel. From time to time my old Acoustats would hiss a bit and I'd blow some dust off and they'd be fine. This looks like a more serious matter and I'm leaving the speaker unplugged and plan to call SoundLab first thing tomorrow. The sound occurs with the amp and system off but goes away when the speaker is unplugged. The bias is set below any level where the speaker spontaneously crackles.
I'd be interested in the general experience of SL owners with the durability and reliability of their speakers. My Acoustats worked for 20 years with nary a problem. I'm getting wary of SL's. First I have to sell an expensive high quality McIntosh amp I liked, now my guess is that the SL needs to be shipped back to the factory for repairs. My first experience with SL was in the early 1980's when a friend bought a pair and had recurring problems with them. As I inspected the mylar in all the panels, I noticed that the top of the malfunctioning speaker is missing a crossbar/wood support which sits about an inch down and runs horizontally across the top panels of the other speaker. They are not perfect matches. I would think they should be. Any thoughts?
I'm getting a little tired of fussing with the SL's. They have to my ears the unquestionable best sound of any speaker I've heard but I'm not an engineer and I don't like to tweak with my system. If this is the SoundLab experience, I think I'll just tell the factory to keep them and get a pair of high quality dynamic speakers or pick up a pair of used Acoustats since I've sold mine. If I do, I'll have a new, unused Innersound for sale. Thanks for the previous help and I'd appreciate your thoughts and experience with SL reliability.