Drivers die, and Focal has had issues with tweeters when pushed very hard.I'm surprised passive speakers can die, I was sure they last forever
The dead one remains silent. The living one had a "pop" in the mid driver but not the bassesGet an AA battery and hook it up to the terminals. Positive to positive. If the speaker is working it will click and the cone will move outwards.
So I configured the receiver to full band front speakers and still no bass. So there is actually loose connector in there. Damn itWho to trust now lol
Hey Amir, this post right here
Now I have another problem. The "good" one actually has no bass. i was too focused on the "working" part so only now I realize it only has mid and treble. But that could be a problem with the receiver...
No you are right. The reason I bought new was because it is easier to buy new, and cheaper than used I can buy locally (if i can find used). However I bought from France and return will be a nightmare. I took a gamble and lost (apparently), and then made another mistakeI so dont understand any of this.
The reason to buy brand new is for warranty and support. DOA happens and it gets replaced.
Things must be very different in Europe.
No I just took a very quick look. Curiousity, desperate and poor judgment got the better of me.Wait. These are a $7000 pair of speakers purchased new, and they don't work, and you're taking them apart trying to fix them? I'm confused.
So I tried to contact Focal directly and let's see what they have to say. Most likely they will ask me to contact the dealer in France. But maybe they be nice and send me to a local dealer.
So much for all the excitement and anticipation . Now I have one broken and one partly broken speakers.
Life is good, huh
No I just took a very quick look. Curiousity, desperate and poor judgment got the better of me.
They are a package. Sending by a company they can get very cheap rate (I paid 20$). But sending as a private person it could easily cost 400 or 500$. Not to mention the trouble of repacking them securely now the boxes are broken (and one is thrown away).If it was easier to buy them from France why is it so hard to return them? Serious question? I think you said you're in the EU? Just curious about how all that works over there.
Regardless, sorry for all your troubles.
They look very new. It could be the carrier that treated them harshly ( as the boxes are heavy and bulky). You know that the drivers could be very careless ...ooh boy, sorry to hear about the second speaker, looks like you maybe received a pair that had previously been returned after some abuse or something. Hopefully the dealer stands behind them and you're able to get it resolved.
maybe, but at the point where rough handling causes an internal wire break I would expect obvious external damage. Internal wire breaks with no external damage are more likely from repeated vibration or a manufacturing error.They look very new. It could be the carrier that treated them harshly ( as the boxes are heavy and bulky). You know that the drivers could be very careless ...
Just when I decided I should stop keeping the boxes. But I though a careful bubble wrap is even better?maybe, but at the point where rough handling causes an internal wire break I would expect obvious external damage. Internal wire breaks with no external damage are more likely from repeated vibration or a manufacturing error.
Too late to learn this now, but ALWAYS save the boxes on speakers, at least for those at that price point. I still have the boxes my Snells came in and I've moved them so many times I've lost count and they still look mint because the boxes are the absolute best way to transport them. Cheap speakers and bookshelves are a different story, but for quality towers they are just so hard to move without damaging them.
that'd be a lot of bubble wrap, lol. Of course something can be "engineered" at the time of moving but even packing materials cost money these days.Just when I decided I should stop keeping the boxes. But I though a careful bubble wrap is even better?
So, was there evidence of the speakers being dropped or banged around?Just want to report back that, my neighbor who is a hardware engineer commented that the crossover of the focal aria 948 is very well built (yet they are still broken for some reasons, most likely due to transport).
Lessons learned from my part: if you order from overseas (Even within EU), make sure you can ship back to the seller at reasonable price. The only option I can find is more expensive than all of my speakers, combined. this particularly true for big and bulky speakers like floorstanding ones. And of course, keep the boxes at least until you made sure everything is fine.
I got my speakers fixed by my good neighbor, forfeiting warranty for them. He did his magic on one crossover which was snapped in half (ouch), but I plan to order a replacement. Well, life is not always the way you wanted it to be. But for the money I spent and the sound I'm getting, I'm still happy.