Revel F206 rattling sound

[starfly]

I was taking sweeps with REW to setup some RoomEQ stuff, and I noticed that one of F206 speakers had a slight rattling sound, almost like something loose inside. Have had them for several years now, so not under warranty anymore.

Any suggestions for how I can best troubleshoot what’s going on?

I’m pretty sure it’s just that one speaker and not something else rattling, as I’m also running sweeps through a sub right next to it and that doesn’t cause any rattling sound.

 

[amper42]

I was taking sweeps with REW to setup some RoomEQ stuff, and I noticed that one of F206 speakers had a slight rattling sound, almost like something loose inside. Have had them for several years now, so not under warranty anymore.

Any suggestions for how I can best troubleshoot what’s going on?

I’m pretty sure it’s just that one speaker and not something else rattling, as I’m also running sweeps through a sub right next to it and that doesn’t cause any rattling sound.

I would try to identify the frequency where the rattle takes place and use a signal generator or find that frequency on-line to play continuously while examining the speaker up close.
A. If it's a lower frequency examine the surrounds of the speakers to verify none are cracked.

B. If you don't hear it on the speaker look around the room. It's possible an AC vent, picture frame or something else nearby might be the cause.

It's possible it could be a tweeter but usually they just stop working and don't rattle.
A or B above would be my guess.

I had a VMPS 7' SuperTower with a 15" surround that dried up and cracked. When the pitch reached the exact frequency of the surround tear it offered a crazy loud rattle. Replaced the surround and it works fine again.

 

[starfly]

I would try to identify the frequency where the rattle takes place and use a signal generator or find that frequency on-line to play continuously while examining the speaker up close.
A. If it's a lower frequency examine the surrounds of the speakers to verify none are cracked.

B. If you don't hear it on the speaker look around the room. It's possible an AC vent, picture frame or something else nearby might be the cause.

It's possible it could be a tweeter but usually they just stop working and don't rattle.
A or B above would be my guess.

I had a VMPS 7' SuperTower with a 15" surround that dried up and cracked. When the pitch reached the exact frequency of the surround tear it offered a crazy loud rattle. Replaced the surround and it works fine again.

For A, do you mean the surrounds of the drivers? I’ll take a look at those.

 

[amper42]

For A, do you mean the surrounds of the drivers? I’ll take a look at those.

Yes, there is a foam or rubber ring typically around the driver where the cone connects to the frame. If those surrounds get hard or fragile they can crack.

 

[kemmler3D]

Good advice here from @amper42 . Try to trigger the rattle with the tone generator and then zero in on where it's coming from.

The surround is a likely culprit, also sometimes wires or other parts come loose inside the cabinet and start making noise.

A handy tone generator is here: https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

 

[tw 2022]

Surrounds or driver might be a bit loose, I agree that it might be something else in the room close to the speaker as well..good advice by @amper42 ... One other thought: check the binding post cup as well ...

 

[starfly]

Surrounds or driver might be a bit loose, I agree that it might be something else in the room close to the speaker as well..good advice by @amper42 ... One other thought: check the binding post cup as well ...

I don’t think it’s something else in the room, as there’s a sub right next to the rattling speaker that didn’t cause any rattling when I ran a sweep through it. I think it’s below 100hz that I hear the rattle (pretty early in the sweep).

I’ll try the suggested methods later this week and will report back.

 

[Looneybomber]

It’s not uncommon for the 3mm hex head mounting screws to come loose. I even had a few loose from the factory on my F228s. You may want to gently check them just to make sure.

Edit: Wow didn’t realize this was a 2mo old thread.

 

[Penelinfi]

It’s not uncommon for the 3mm hex head mounting screws to come loose. I even had a few loose from the factory on my F228s. You may want to gently check them just to make sure.

Edit: Wow didn’t realize this was a 2mo old thread.

To be fair, he never reported back, so you probably thought it was only a week old lol

To check the speaker, move it out to the floor and decouple if it's a wooden floor. Play around with sine waves, being careful.

Things to check : rear terminals. Using banana plugs but the nut is loose? It'll rattle
Port noise
Trim rings
Air leaks
Remove woofer from cabinet and sine wave it (use less volume than in cabinet)
Could be lead wires against cone
Check wiring that it's not resting on cabinet walls or port