Faulty woofer in Super HL-5

[Sigmund]

My Super HL-5's developed a fault recently. As far as I can tell, the moving coil in woofer is rubbing the magnet and the results in distortion. I changed amplification and cables and the fault remains. Has anyone had this problem?

[keithwwk]

You can try to rotate the driver 180 degree.

[Stephen PG]

If the speakers are still under warranty, don't remove the driver, turn the whole speaker upsidedown.

How old are they?

[Sigmund]

Thanks, I tried that. Unfortunately distortion re-appears as soon as I raise the volume a bit.
One has to wonder about the quality of the craftsmanship involved in making this speaker. It looks like this woofer was assembled badly, lots of glue used in a very untidy fashion. The woofer was also fitted badly and the screws didn't hold it in place in the cabinet which is why it may have been damaged in the first place. I am not impressed!

[Sigmund]

If the speakers are still under warranty, don't remove the driver, turn the whole speaker upsidedown.

How old are they?

The speaker is over two years old, unfortunately not under warranty )-:

[harbethpr]

The best way to handle a matter like this is to contact the dealer from whom you purchased the speakers. Is there a reason that you didn't you register for the free extended warranty via the Harbeth web site? Generally the best way to motivate a supplier to help is to talk to them privately. I think you'll find your dealer helpful and sympathetic.

Once we know the serial numbers and full history of your pair we can suggest the simplest/cheapest solution for you.

[Gan CK]

My Super HL-5's developed a fault recently. As far as I can tell, the moving coil in woofer is rubbing the magnet and the results in distortion. I changed amplification and cables and the fault remains. Has anyone had this problem?

I experienced that before on my previous SHL-5. I believe many Harbeth users have experienced that as well. For me, and as Keithwwk mentioned, i just rotated the main driver 180 degrees and all went well for me.

[A.S.]

The procedure for handling after-care is actually on the web site here and we take the matter very seriously. We have been dissecting the occasional returned drive unit under the video camera for some time now and archive those video recordings.

With vented (ported) systems there is always the additional (small) possibility of dirt particles getting into the magnetic circuit.

[harbethpr]

Thanks - Harbeth UK have received back the woofer for investigation. As soon as we can get through the snow and over to the Harbeth R&D centre, we'll give it a full videod dissection.

As for the glue, there is nothing at all unusual about the postion or amount of glue used. The joints on the underside -- the critical ones that you don't see - - are rock solid. If there was less glue used the unit would fall apart!