New Montis speakers DOA. Very disappointing

[Bradh1]

Today I got my Montis speakers which are replacing my SL3's. I get them home take them out of the box, and hook them up. By now Iam really excised about listing to a pair of 10K speakers. I fire up my Denon AVP, and only one Montis is working. The other one has a hum which can be heard 10ft away coming from the sub, and the panel is not working. The sub does work, but it has the hum. I have changed channels on my B&K amp to eliminate amps and speaker cables, which didn't help.

At this point Iam very disappointed that a pair on $10,000 speakers would be shipped with one DOA. At this price point I would have though they would be tested before leaving the factory. The boxes are in perfect shape with no visible damage from shipping. I think it might be the amp or crossover causing the problem.

Iam sure ML and my dealer will take care of this. Its just leave a bad taste in my mouth, and makes me wonder what ever happened to quality control.

Brad

 

[shakham]

It's possible a connection was shaken loose during shipping inside the speaker. I'm not trying to defend ML, as you can argue their internal spade connectors should be tighter, but that would be a logical deduction.

Unless of course, their quality control has gone to hell .

 

[roberto]

Hola. Also, a ground loop could make to happen this too. Yes, to only one speaker. If you take the speaker cable off from the speaker, do you have the same hum too? If you do, then it is the speaker, if you do not, the problem is coming from out side. Not an internal problem. If you want me to help you and perhaps could find the problem, PM me and I will do my best, or contact ML service dept. They will guide you to find what it is going on with your Montis. Happy listening.

 

[Bradh1]

It's possible a connection was shaken loose during shipping inside the speaker. I'm not trying to defend ML, as you can argue their internal spade connectors should be tighter, but that would be a logical deduction.

Unless of course, their quality control has gone to hell .

Hola. Also, a ground loop could make to happen this too. Yes, to only one speaker. If you take the speaker cable off from the speaker, do you have the same hum too? If you do, then it is the speaker, if you do not, the problem is coming from out side. Not an internal problem. If you want me to help you and perhaps could find the problem, PM me and I will do my best, or contact ML service dept. They will guide you to find what it is going on with your Montis. Happy listening.

Ok I couldn't sleep. I took the amp off the speaker and checked all the connectors. There was one on the amp plate that wasn't tight, but still hooked up. That wasn't the problem. While checking the connectors inside the cabinet I found one that wasn't hooked up. It looks like it was over looked when the speaker was being assembled. Anyway that fixed the problem.

I have them running now, and will let them break in for the next 3 days or so. They do sound different compared to the SL3's.

The pictures are not in order but you can see which connector was left unhooked.

Thanks for replying so fast and offering help guys. I appreciate it.


Brad

 

[beek]

Ok I couldn't sleep. I took the amp off the speaker and checked all the connectors. There was one on the amp plate that wasn't tight, but still hooked up. That wasn't the problem. While checking the connectors inside the cabinet I found one that wasn't hooked up. It looks like it was over looked when the speaker was being assembled. Anyway that fixed the problem.

I have them running now, and will let them break in for the next 3 days or so. They do sound different compared to the SL3's.

The pictures are not in order but you can see which connector was left unhooked.

Thanks for replying so fast and offering help guys. I appreciate it.


Brad

Great that you were willing to take a peek & knock it out. Even if it were a elec. problem ML is amazing at getting the unit corrected. Most other Co's you would have waited like hell. keep Us posted you lucky dog...

 

[Hocky]

Ok I couldn't sleep. I took the amp off the speaker and checked all the connectors. There was one on the amp plate that wasn't tight, but still hooked up. That wasn't the problem. While checking the connectors inside the cabinet I found one that wasn't hooked up. It looks like it was over looked when the speaker was being assembled. Anyway that fixed the problem.

I have them running now, and will let them break in for the next 3 days or so. They do sound different compared to the SL3's.

The pictures are not in order but you can see which connector was left unhooked.

Thanks for replying so fast and offering help guys. I appreciate it.


Brad

Good to hear that it is working and was something silly, but that is pretty disappointing QC in my opinion.

 

[Bradh1]

Great that you were willing to take a peek & knock it out. Even if it were a elec. problem ML is amazing at getting the unit corrected. Most other Co's you would have waited like hell. keep Us posted you lucky dog...

Will do. I am glad thats all it was.

Good to hear that it is working and was something silly, but that is pretty disappointing QC in my opinion.

I agree, very disappointing. I know things happen, but one would think they would at least check to see if they work before shipping.

Brad

 

[Audioseduction]

Glad to see it's fixed now. It sure sucks that they build it and stuff it into the box without checking that it works. In regards to the bad taste left in your mouth just take a bite out of a Filet Mignon. That should do the trick. LOL

 

[Rich]

When we toured the factory in Kansas years ago, I seem to recall them saying that they tested every unit before shipping it. Maybe that is one of the things that has gone by the wayside with the move of production to Canada and all the cost-cutting they have been doing. Seems we have been having a few more threads questioning quality control recently than we ever had in the old days, but maybe that is just my perception.

 

[Audioseduction]

Maybe this Magnepan worker sabotage it.

 

[roberto]

Hola guys, you are too much!!! (LOL). As you can see, the wire should be kept in place during shipping, but it did not. Perhaps when the factory tried it, it worked fine, but a faulty connection is very difficult to track. And, if you see and tried and everything was working fine prior shipping and gave them green light. I am not defending the factory, we all know that sh*t happens, right? On the other hand, it is so good to know that you are enjoying your new Montis, I am getting them next week here. Please tell us what do you think and listen about them. Thanks! Happy listening too.

 

[Peter Soderberg]

Yes, as my friend in Costa Rica can tell you nightmares of what shippers can do, once goods are picked up from the factory, stuff happens. There has been no changes to the QC process that you saw in Kansas to the point the same quiet room that was in Kansas was installed in Canada. Now that we have been doing it a while, our failure rate has actually dropped slightly. glad it was an easy fix.

 

[jmschnur]

Great it is working. With my Montis they really needed the 100 hours of break in. Seems to stable now at several hundred more hours of listening.

What tools did you need to get the cabinet open? From your pictures it is clear that the speaker was not listened to prior to shipment. Perhaps in the future this will be required with a little note. That it was checked (freq. resp. curve?). Bryston amps come with this why not ML reserve speakers?

I am wondering if I should go into my speakers to tighten connections etc given your experience .

J

 

[Bradh1]

Great it is working. With my Montis they really needed the 100 hours of break in. Seems to stable now at several hundred more hours of listening.

What tools did you need to get the cabinet open? From your pictures it is clear that the speaker was not listened to prior to shipment. Perhaps in the future this will be required with a little note. That it was checked (freq. resp. curve?). Bryston amps come with this why not ML reserve speakers?

I am wondering if I should go into my speakers to tighten connections etc given your experience .

J

It took 2 Allen wrenches. One small one for the top 2 and a large one for the rest.

I agree this one couldn't have been listened to before shipping. You can see from the picture there is a lock on the lead and after connecting it I see no way for it to come loose without prying the lock off.

I hope this is an isolated case. If they are not listing to the speakers before shipping they should at this price point. Heck they should at any price.

The good news is there was an easy fix.

I have them running at 85-90 db. I will let them run for 3-4 days before I really sit down at listen. They do sounded like they where going in and out of phase or unstable a little when I turned them on. Now they seem to have settled down a little in the first 12 hr. Is that what you where hearing? I say in and out of phase, because it kind of reminds me of listening to a test disc with phase test tones on it.

Brad

 

[beek]

It took 2 Allen wrenches. One small one for the top 2 and a large one for the rest.

I agree this one couldn't have been listened to before shipping. You can see from the picture there is a lock on the lead and after connecting it I see no way for it to come loose without prying the lock off.

I hope this is an isolated case. If they are not listing to the speakers before shipping they should at this price point. Heck they should at any price.

The good news is there was an easy fix.

Brad

Are we talking about the lock in connector in the pic? Maybe it was just inserted & not snapped in. that would make it pass a q/c test then it jumped all the way out in transport. Strangely enough Humans arent perfect I have seen this happen before with products costing alot more than 10 G's.

 

[jmschnur]

It took 2 Allen wrenches. One small one for the top 2 and a large one for the rest.

I agree this one couldn't have been listened to before shipping. You can see from the picture there is a lock on the lead and after connecting it I see no way for it to come loose without prying the lock off.

I hope this is an isolated case. If they are not listing to the speakers before shipping they should at this price point. Heck they should at any price.

The good news is there was an easy fix.

I have them running at 85-90 db. I will let them run for 3-4 days before I really sit down at listen. They do sounded like they where going in and out of phase or unstable a little when I turned them on. Now they seem to have settled down a little in the first 12 hr. Is that what you where hearing? I say in and out of phase, because it kind of reminds me of listening to a test disc with phase test tones on it.

Brad

Yes and the bass fluctuated a lot. I used the stereophile breakin file for several days. Closed the door on my room and checked once in a while to be sure all was ok. My Bryston 4 got a bit hot but all was well.

I had the bass settings at 0.

Bass gets a lot stronger as time goes on.

The panel gets a lot smoother over time.

After that was done I tuned the speakers etc.

Mightbe agood idea for ml to break them in prior to shipping?


J

 

[Bradh1]

Are we talking about the lock in connector in the pic? Maybe it was just inserted & not snapped in. that would make it pass a q/c test then it jumped all the way out in transport. Strangely enough Humans arent perfect I have seen this happen before with products costing alot more than 10 G's.

Yes that's the one. You are correct if it wasn't lock it could've came off during shipping.

You are right humans aren't perfect and do make mistakes. I am just glad it was an easy fix.

Brad

 

[shakham]

I'm glad you figured it out .

You could/should still tell ML as I'm sure they can track down how it happened. It will be internal matter but good feedback nevertheless. If they say they test it, then it's probably part of their process. I would doubt moving to Canada would change that. I mean...Canada isn't Mexico ya know.

I could see that connector not being clicked while being assembled. Anyhow...enough excuses....I'm jealous...

Enjoy your top of the line speakers .

 

[Rich]

Yes, as my friend in Costa Rica can tell you nightmares of what shippers can do, once goods are picked up from the factory, stuff happens. There has been no changes to the QC process that you saw in Kansas to the point the same quiet room that was in Kansas was installed in Canada. Now that we have been doing it a while, our failure rate has actually dropped slightly. glad it was an easy fix.

Good to hear that, Peter. Very reassuring to hear that you haven't changed your QC process with the move of production. Thanks for keeping us informed.

 

[projectormovielover]

A thread with a happy ending