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So my Focal Aria 948 is dead

TrevC

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Get 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.
 

Everett T

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I'm surprised passive speakers can die, I was sure they last forever
Drivers die, and Focal has had issues with tweeters when pushed very hard.
This sounds like something came loose internally. I can't assern if this is a second unit having the fault. I'd start at the input cup as it's the first in the signal path.
 
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delta76

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Get 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.
The dead one remains silent. The living one had a "pop" in the mid driver but not the basses
 

AudioJester

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I 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.
 
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delta76

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Who 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...
So I configured the receiver to full band front speakers and still no bass. So there is actually loose connector in there. Damn it
 
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delta76

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I 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 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 mistake :)
 

SKBubba

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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.
 
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delta76

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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
 
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delta76

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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.
No I just took a very quick look. Curiousity, desperate and poor judgment got the better of me.
 

SKBubba

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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

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.
 

cavedriver

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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.
 
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delta76

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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 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).

With that money I could get someone locally repair it with almost no wait time
 
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delta76

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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.
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 ...
 

cavedriver

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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 ...
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.
 
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delta76

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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.
Just when I decided I should stop keeping the boxes. But I though a careful bubble wrap is even better?
 
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delta76

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My neighbor downstair happens to be hardware engineer and he is interested in my post in local group. Perhaps tomorrow he can come by and have a look.

Fingers crossed then
 

cavedriver

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Just when I decided I should stop keeping the boxes. But I though a careful bubble wrap is even better?
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.
 
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delta76

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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.
 
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MAB

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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.
So, was there evidence of the speakers being dropped or banged around?
I am so glad you found some help, and got things working.
I was worried you dove into these too quickly, but am happy for you now that you found the problem and got them working.

Do you have any pictures of the broken crossover? I am intrigued.
 
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