I just took delivery of a pair of new Revel F208 speakers today from an online dealer and got the first one unpacked. The tweeter level switch is spinning freely. The boundary switch works as expected. I assume this is not normal behavior. I've reached out to the seller, but has anyone experienced this, do you know if Revel or the dealer have the option to replace the speaker binding post box? I'd rather not have to re-box this thing. Is it safe to use in this condition? I haven't attempted to power it up yet.
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Revel F208 delivered with bad tweeter level switch?
- Thread starter beren777
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Looks like you could easily remove the 6 screws and remove that part. Whether the dealer wants you do that is up to him to say.
As for being safe to use, depends on what is loose inside. As a first step, I'd put a multimeter across the connections of the good one and see if the bad one reads the same. If it doesn't, then I'd not power up the one with the bad switch.
As for being safe to use, depends on what is loose inside. As a first step, I'd put a multimeter across the connections of the good one and see if the bad one reads the same. If it doesn't, then I'd not power up the one with the bad switch.
denydog
Member
Sorry you had this happen with a new speaker. It's a real pain to have to return a defective speaker. The good news, as I see it, is that it seems to be a straight forward problem.
I'm having a hard time picturing how the switch could actually fail this way. I assume the tweeter level knob is mounted on the shaft of a discrete switch assembly. (found the picture below to back it up) Unless the switch isn't attached to the circuit board and is just rotating, I don't know. Or just an empty switch? If a multimeter checks out as suggested by Blumlein 88, and you want to listen to it while getting the issue resolved, I'd probably give it a listen, thinking that the switch is either stuck in the -0- (neutral) position or an open circuit. Take any advice from me with a large lump of salt, I had a 30 year career in switches (military and commercial aircraft ) and own a pair of F208s but I'm mostly guessing.
Anyway, it seems that getting access to it shouldn't be a problem. If it were me with this issue, I'd have already unscrewed the terminal plate to take a look, although the smart thing would be putting it in the hands of the seller. You paid good money for a working speaker!
I believe the switches are mounted to the circuit board which is visible, and can be accessed though the front panel port (if you have small hands like I do) under the damping material if you need any access from this side. I dug up this picture from the 6moons review if you haven't seen it.
Good luck with getting this resolved.
I'm having a hard time picturing how the switch could actually fail this way. I assume the tweeter level knob is mounted on the shaft of a discrete switch assembly. (found the picture below to back it up) Unless the switch isn't attached to the circuit board and is just rotating, I don't know. Or just an empty switch? If a multimeter checks out as suggested by Blumlein 88, and you want to listen to it while getting the issue resolved, I'd probably give it a listen, thinking that the switch is either stuck in the -0- (neutral) position or an open circuit. Take any advice from me with a large lump of salt, I had a 30 year career in switches (military and commercial aircraft ) and own a pair of F208s but I'm mostly guessing.
Anyway, it seems that getting access to it shouldn't be a problem. If it were me with this issue, I'd have already unscrewed the terminal plate to take a look, although the smart thing would be putting it in the hands of the seller. You paid good money for a working speaker!
I believe the switches are mounted to the circuit board which is visible, and can be accessed though the front panel port (if you have small hands like I do) under the damping material if you need any access from this side. I dug up this picture from the 6moons review if you haven't seen it.
Good luck with getting this resolved.
- Thread Starter
- #4
Thank you both for the feedback, I appreciate it.
Wait you can get to it through the front panel port? I have another excuse to use the endoscope?
I communicated with the dealer and they said go ahead and try the speaker as is, so I did without measuring first, and it seems to work. I haven't taken measurements (electrical or acoustic) yet. I did pay good money for a working speaker, but I'm just as happy to swap out the broken parts if soldering is not needed. If I end up having to box it again, I can, I'd just prefer to avoid the hassle.
Looking at the pic, I have no idea how the switch could have come loose from the shaft. There is no sign of impact damage on the speaker that I have found. If the dealer customer support will allow it, I'll take the terminal plate off to examine.
denydog
Member
I have several pictures I took of a demo loaner pair, SN 4 & 11, in my house for four months while waiting for my F208s to arrive. One of them had a loose port that could be pulled several inches out of the cabinet and tilted around a bit. So I slipped my hand in with my phone and snapped a few. The damping material was loose in places, so I got a look at the terminal PWB before I repositioned the loose material. I can't find a picture of that though.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
Unbelievable. Loose ports, rotating knobs. Sounds like cheap Chinese construction. Oh wait, it is. 
I'd pull off the rear terminal plate, poke out the knob and check to see if the rotary switch is FUBAR. Easy. If it is, get the dealer to send you a new terminal plate/sw PCB ASAP. If he balks at that, just pull the plug, wash your hands of the whole thing and move on to something better made.
I'd pull off the rear terminal plate, poke out the knob and check to see if the rotary switch is FUBAR. Easy. If it is, get the dealer to send you a new terminal plate/sw PCB ASAP. If he balks at that, just pull the plug, wash your hands of the whole thing and move on to something better made.
denydog
Member
To add context: The port wasn't loose until I pulled on it.Unbelievable. Loose ports, rotating knobs. Sounds like cheap Chinese construction. Oh wait, it is.
So now you have a rotating knob (singular)
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