Measuring working circuit to repair broken circuit

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Diamondj421

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Joined
Sep 24, 2016
Messages
163
I’ve been working on repairing an Adam A7X studio monitor but if I’m being honest, am just kind of throwing new parts into the board with no rhyme or reason. It then occurred to me that I have the other monitor which works. Could I take measurements from the working unit and compare those to the broken unit to identify the specific issue? I know this is a novice question but how would one go about doing that? Thanks in advance.
 
carefully so you don't inadvertently damage something from carelessly probing a working circuit.

The first step is generally visual inspection. Look for components possibly discolored from overheating. Also look for possible faulty solder connections.

A VOM measuring AC voltages can compare signal at similar nodes.

JR
 
You haven't said what the problem is, but finding out as much as you can without applying power would be wise.

It's an active speaker, and the picture here - PW/M - ADAM Audio - suggests it's a switch mode power supply. Typically these will have mains input rectified directly so you'll be getting ~ 400V DC on some of those capacitors. Please be scared by this.

Basic checks might include whether there is continuity (a few ohms) across the woofer and tweeter. In addition to @JohnRoberts' advice, look for any capacitors which are bulging or leaking gunk.
 
Sorry. To specify, whenever I turn the monitor on, there’s a static/crackling/buzzing sound for 30 seconds to a minute. I noticed one of the larger caps on the PCB (2200 35v) was bulging so replaced it along with the 5 others of the same size. Still had the problem. Looked around some more and noticed 2 other bulging caps (470uf 25v) so I replaced those as well. No dice. When ordering the 470uf caps, I went ahead and ordered replacements for every other electrolytic cap on the PCB. I just wanted to see if there was a simpler way to do this before inevitably replacing the whole circuit one part at a time. Lol.
 
Ah, fell into the 'replace all caps' story! A crackle is unlikely to be caps. Look for bad connections. On the ac side, a loose plug will often arc and cause crackles. Do the crackles stop? Its not caps.
 
static, crackling or buzzing sound which one is it? Does it happen with or without audio present? Does it happen at specific volume levels? Does it go away and not come back after the minute period? Is it consistent after every power up?
Is it the same speaker side every time?
 
I guess the most accurate way of describing the noise is it’s like a white/pink noise that seems to raise in pitch and get quieter until it stops after about a minute. This happens with or without audio present. I haven’t tried passing audio while the noise is happening though to see if that makes it stop, if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve only passed audio through it after the noise has subsided. Upon powering the monitor on, there’s about 5 seconds of silence before it starts. I haven’t left the speaker on for a prolonged period of time since replacing the caps out of fear of the problem getting worse. The input level on the speaker has no effect on the volume of the noise. I’m not sure what you mean by speaker side but if you’re referring to left or right, no other speakers are being used while I’m working on this. I also haven’t tried turning the power on and off with the noise still present. I typically wait a few minutes before powering it on again. Again, to avoid damaging things any further. Another detail that may be worth including is that this seemed to start after moving so perhaps it is just a loose connection, cracked solder joint, etc. I’ll look into these other scenarios when I get home from work though. Thanks much!
 
Thanks. So is the noise coming from both the woofer and tweeter, or just one?

(It's an active speaker so you'll have two power amplifiers, one for each driver. If one amplifier is faulty it will only affect one).

It might also help to post a photo of the electronics, next time you have it open.
 

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