Electromotion esl panel isn't working . Please help!

[silver305]

Hi there,
I recently purchased a used set of electromotion esl's and one of them has almost no sound coming from the panel. iVe tried switching power supplies, speaker cables, outlets, amplifiers, vacuuming it, you name it and I can't hear much sound unless I put my year to it. The blue light does come on.
Please help. ..

 

[silver305]

maybe those of you who had issues similar to mine can tell me what martin logan had you guys do in order to see if the problem can be resolved? i have tried looking on this site and nothing..

 

[silver305]

Anybody ??

 

[beanbag]

hat trick!

 

[Gordon Gray]

Silver,

It could be the power supply.

I suggest you calm down and call ML service in the AM. Of course, you can follow beanbag's incomprehensible, stupid comment and go play hockey or whatever he / she is suggesting.

GG

 

[silver305]

What makes you think it's the power supply and not the panel itself? The speakers will be exactly two years old on the 30th of this month. ...


I suggest you calm down and call ML service in the AM. Of course, you can follow beanbag's incomprehensible, stupid comment and go play hockey or whatever he / she is suggesting.

GG[/QUOTE]

 

[roberto]

Hola. When you have a dead panel, usually it is the PSU and not the panel. When you have a panel issue, parts of the panel is weak or dead but not all the panel. To service it, it is very easy task. Just call ML service dept, and they will guide to you to find the culprit of your problem. Gordon is suggesting to you to do this, and calm down...you will have back soon your beloved ML sound. Remember to send the serial number of your Electromotion. Also, too, you have five year warranty from the factory. Happy listening!

 

[silver305]

Is the warranty transferable?

 

[roberto]

I do not know about that...just contact ML service dept, and give them the serial No of your not working Electromotion. Just say that you have an Electromotion problem. And say that you do not find the original invoice. Service is the most important tool at the sale's link. Do not worry, you will have service and support! Call Dana or write to him [email protected].

If you want to be sure what it is the problem, just lay down on the side the speaker, and take off the bottom. There you have access to the electronics. The PSU (Power supply unit) is a small pc board. You can track the AC cables from the power input connector. These cables goes to the board. Make a drawing of the cables array to the board, and swap the boards from the other speaker. Also check the cables coming from the panel. If the red is loose, then that it is the reason why it is not working. Three colors of the stat panel: Red, it is the bias high voltage, blue it is the front stator, and black it is the rear stator. Happy listening!

 

[slowGEEZR]

Gordon and Roberto have given you great advice, hang in there!

 

[jmanny]

Did you ever figure this out? I just bought a pair of used ML ESL speakers today. Both power on, the sound seems to only come out of the woofer and not the panel. These speakers didn't come with their power supplies so I'm using just some amazon power supplies. Both speakers are having the same issue.

 

[Leporello]

When people talk about "power supply" do they mean the external "wall wart" some ML speakers use, or the internal supply that produces the high voltage the panels need for bias? jmanny saying "Amazon power supplies" raises this issue (I doubt you can buy anything suitable for biasing a panel from Amazon). When roberto says a fully dead panel is usually the power supply, meaning the high voltage power supply, it sounds correct, though I myself have never had (so far) a panel develop dead spots or weak output.

Also worth noting: the power supply doesn't actually switch all the way off when not receiving a music signal for some time, at least with every ML ESL I am familiar with or have seen a schematic for. It switches to a standby voltage, something like 1/5 the normal bias. This is apparently what ML deems the best compromise between the dust attraction of full bias versus having to distribute the charge on the diaphragm all over again. If the music detection and switching circuit--which usually involves a triac--is not working properly, you could have low but not zero sound output.

Since the OP is 10 years old, I'm just writing this for reference. Hopefully silver305's issue was resolved one way or another.

 

[Leporello]

Did you ever figure this out? I just bought a pair of used ML ESL speakers today. Both power on, the sound seems to only come out of the woofer and not the panel. These speakers didn't come with their power supplies so I'm using just some amazon power supplies. Both speakers are having the same issue.

I believe ML uses some highly controversial system that prevents using generic wall warts, or the wrong line frequency. You'll probably have to get the right ones from ML, based on your domestic power system.

 

[Tmort]

You need to make sure the voltage is right. I’d used successfully a pair of wall warts from Best Buy. That’s your issue.

 

[jmanny]

I was able to get sound coming from the panels but for some reason sound seems to only be coming from the top and towards the bottom of each panel, not the middle. The volume seems lower than other speakers too, is that normal? This is my first experience with electrostats in general so I'm a huge rookie when it comes to this.

 

[StimpyWan]

When not played for a while, the panels have to recharge. That shouldn't take long. But since you don't have the correct ML wall wart power supplies, the panels might not be charging properly. It might take longer. Maybe order the external power supplies first, then the bias boards next, if needed?

 

[jmanny]

Would that make the panel's volume very low?

 

[Tmort]

Make sure the voltage on the transformers is correct, it’s in the model owners literature. If the wrong voltage it COULD be that it’s not properly energizing the panels.

 

[jmanny]

Make sure the voltage on the transformers is correct, it’s in the model owners literature. If the wrong voltage it COULD be that it’s not properly energizing the panels.

The replacement internal power supply was delivered today (ML said thats the same as a bias board), so I swapped it with one of the speakers. It honestly didn't really change anything. The woofer volume is about half the volume of my other speakers too. I see other parts inside the speaker cabinet, do you think it could be one of the other parts? I assume theres a crossover in there? Could that be the issue?

 

[StimpyWan]

The replacement internal power supply was delivered today (ML said thats the same as a bias board), so I swapped it with one of the speakers. It honestly didn't really change anything. The woofer volume is about half the volume of my other speakers too. I see other parts inside the speaker cabinet, do you think it could be one of the other parts? I assume theres a crossover in there? Could that be the issue?

Did you order the correct wall wart power supplies? I would have tried those before ordering the bias voltage boards, since the wall warts supply the correct voltage to the bias boards.

Also, when my bias board failed, the blue LED at the binding posts wouldn't light up. If your LEDs lit, with the stock bias boards, the bias boards are most likely functional. So, wash the panels, following the Shower PDF thread, and get the correct wall warts.