Joey_V
Well-known member
Uh oh..... good luck SS.
Keep us in the loop!
Keep us in the loop!
Something blew!
- Thread starter sleepysurf
- Start date
Help Support MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum:
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure the Summits don't have fuses. Have you tried unplugging your speakers for a short while to see if they'll reset? Do the LEds turn red, yellow and then green?
I doubt you'll need to ship them to ML. You have the skills to remove & replace an internal component and in my opinion it's much easier than shipping these beasts. I'll gladly come over and help if you like. It sounds like the speaker is running off the external (Sunfire) amp without the 110 volt power. However, you mention that the led is green. Hmmm? I suspect bad amp modules, but I'm sure ML will be eager to help with trouble shooting. Let us know what thier diagnoses is.
I doubt you'll need to ship them to ML. You have the skills to remove & replace an internal component and in my opinion it's much easier than shipping these beasts. I'll gladly come over and help if you like. It sounds like the speaker is running off the external (Sunfire) amp without the 110 volt power. However, you mention that the led is green. Hmmm? I suspect bad amp modules, but I'm sure ML will be eager to help with trouble shooting. Let us know what thier diagnoses is.
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Now I'm TOTALLY dumbfounded... the "unplug to reset" WORKED!! Uplugged the Summits overnight, and now both front woofers are working fine, as evidenced by shining a flashlight on them while playing a deep bass demo track. The overall sound is again fully balanced.
Fortunately, I think I've found the problem. I had a new family room ceiling fan/light installed a few weeks ago (while my audio system was out of commission). Since then, the fan/light has been totally funky... sometimes working, sometimes not. It's been driving us crazy. On a whim, I just checked, and the fan is on the same circuit as my A/V wall outlets!
Apparently I have a wiring problem (? short) on that entire circuit, causing havoc with both my A/V equipment and fan/light. In fact, this would also explain the problems I've had lately with my Squeezebox "dying" on me, which was also replaced.
Turns out, the handyman who hung the fan, also screwed up installing a new light fixture in our master closet (which I'm still waiting for him to repair).
Guess it's time to fire him, and hire an ELECTRICIAN, to definitively address these problems. I'll also look into upgrading my A/V outlets to 20 amp service at the same time.
This has been the most exasperating 2 months of my audio life, but I'm thankful my Summits have been "revived" yet again!
Fortunately, I think I've found the problem. I had a new family room ceiling fan/light installed a few weeks ago (while my audio system was out of commission). Since then, the fan/light has been totally funky... sometimes working, sometimes not. It's been driving us crazy. On a whim, I just checked, and the fan is on the same circuit as my A/V wall outlets!
Apparently I have a wiring problem (? short) on that entire circuit, causing havoc with both my A/V equipment and fan/light. In fact, this would also explain the problems I've had lately with my Squeezebox "dying" on me, which was also replaced.
Turns out, the handyman who hung the fan, also screwed up installing a new light fixture in our master closet (which I'm still waiting for him to repair).
Guess it's time to fire him, and hire an ELECTRICIAN, to definitively address these problems. I'll also look into upgrading my A/V outlets to 20 amp service at the same time.
This has been the most exasperating 2 months of my audio life, but I'm thankful my Summits have been "revived" yet again!
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Sleepysurf,
I am glad you found the cause and that the Summits are ok. I agree that it is time for a new electrician.
Jeff
I am glad you found the cause and that the Summits are ok. I agree that it is time for a new electrician.
Jeff
Joey_V
Well-known member
Lets hope that the Summits remain revived... everytime I visit your thread... my heart skips a beat.
I know of a certified local electrician and would trust to do top notch work at high-end homes in the area. He has over 33 years experience. I send you his name and number tomorrow. I may have him do some work at my house too.
SteveInNC
Well-known member
If the fan was installed with a variable speed control next to, or integrated with the wall switch, it's possible that said control is inline with the feed to the power outlet for your AV system. This is bad. Often the speed controls work like light dimmers, chopping the AC sine wave to reduce the effective power delivered to the circuit. This doesn't matter to a resistive device like a typical incandescent lamp, but generates truly awful power for electronic devices.
SS, I think you will find that dedicated outlets are the biggest bang for the buck improvement (short of room treatment ) that you will ever experience!
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Summits singing sweetly again
David Belles sent me a brand new Belles 350A Reference amp. Combined with my upgraded (newly tube-rectified) Modwright Pre, my Summits are singing sweetly again.
I (we) should consider ourselves VERY fortunate that the Summits have such EXCELLENT protection circuitry built-in. Even after replacing my blown Belles with my trusty Sunfire amp, I kept having repeat episodes where the Summits protection kicked in, shutting down one or more woofers, but with NO lasting damage after a cool-down and "power-off reset." The latest problem turned out to be a shorted wire in the wall control for my newly installed ceiling fan/light, which was on the SAME circuit as my Summits.
Not taking any more chances, I will be upgrading shortly to dedicated 20 amp line(s) for my audio/video components.
Of note, researching the ICEpower protection circuitry, all I've been able to find so far is this statement from B&O's ICEpower website...
Hopefully we can find out more details at the upcoming ML get-together.
David Belles sent me a brand new Belles 350A Reference amp. Combined with my upgraded (newly tube-rectified) Modwright Pre, my Summits are singing sweetly again.
I (we) should consider ourselves VERY fortunate that the Summits have such EXCELLENT protection circuitry built-in. Even after replacing my blown Belles with my trusty Sunfire amp, I kept having repeat episodes where the Summits protection kicked in, shutting down one or more woofers, but with NO lasting damage after a cool-down and "power-off reset." The latest problem turned out to be a shorted wire in the wall control for my newly installed ceiling fan/light, which was on the SAME circuit as my Summits.
Not taking any more chances, I will be upgrading shortly to dedicated 20 amp line(s) for my audio/video components.
Of note, researching the ICEpower protection circuitry, all I've been able to find so far is this statement from B&O's ICEpower website...
Hopefully we can find out more details at the upcoming ML get-together.
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Audioseduction
Well-known member
Glad to hear it. Happy listing this weekend! Will you attend the TBLS meeting this coming Tuesday? I'll be there. :rocker:
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Yep, I'll be there.
It's also a perfect opportunity for other Tampa area ML Club members/lurkers and prospective TBLS members to meet the rest of the gang. The meeting will be Tues night, 6/5, starting 7pm, at the new HiVi Home Theater store on North Dale Mabry, just N of Bearss Ave (near Fridays). If you're in the Tampa Bay area, hope to see you there!
It's also a perfect opportunity for other Tampa area ML Club members/lurkers and prospective TBLS members to meet the rest of the gang. The meeting will be Tues night, 6/5, starting 7pm, at the new HiVi Home Theater store on North Dale Mabry, just N of Bearss Ave (near Fridays). If you're in the Tampa Bay area, hope to see you there!
sleepysurf
Well-known member
YEAH BABY, my Summit sound is BAAACK!!
After all the rigamarole I've been thru, things are finally looking up! I was worried for a few days, as the new Belles amp, paired with the newly tube-rectified Modwright Pre, was sounding awfully anemic... poor bass, flat midrange, and two-dimensional soundstage. With so many simultaneous changes, I wasn't exactly sure where the problem lied, and started getting a sick feeling in my stomach again, as I again feared my Summits were damaged.
Trying to isolate the problem, I bypassed the pre (feeding the Benchmark direct to the Belles), and VOILA', the Summits sounded decent again (not PERFECT, but acceptable). However, having just invested $500 for the Modwright upgrade, I was not happy it's performance had seemingly taken a major step backwards. Given the rave reviews for Dan's rectifier upgrade, I decided the problem must be the cheap Sovtek 5AR4 tube, so I started bidding on eBay for a NOS Mullard 5AR4 tube (which is supposedly "la creme de la creme" of rectifer tubes). I lost all three auctions that I was bidding on. In the meantime, I plugged the Modwright back into the system, to let it "burn-in" a bit longer.
Then, tonight, with only ~20 hrs "burn-in" on the Modwright, the midrange and soundstage suddenly BLOOMED, like morning lillies on a sweet spring day! All I can say is WOW!!! As good as the Modwright was with the SS power supply, it's incredible how much more presence and depth I now have. The soundstage is now "in your face" palpable, and my Summits have never sounded better! I'm now a full BELIEVER in the magic of tubes (Sovtek notwithstanding), and can't wait to hear how much further improvement I'll get as the circuits continue burning in. I can't even imagine how a Mullard could add more detail, but will keep searching the globe to find one! If anybody knows a TRUSTWORTHY source for (nearly) NOS Mullards, please let me know!
After all the rigamarole I've been thru, things are finally looking up! I was worried for a few days, as the new Belles amp, paired with the newly tube-rectified Modwright Pre, was sounding awfully anemic... poor bass, flat midrange, and two-dimensional soundstage. With so many simultaneous changes, I wasn't exactly sure where the problem lied, and started getting a sick feeling in my stomach again, as I again feared my Summits were damaged.
Trying to isolate the problem, I bypassed the pre (feeding the Benchmark direct to the Belles), and VOILA', the Summits sounded decent again (not PERFECT, but acceptable). However, having just invested $500 for the Modwright upgrade, I was not happy it's performance had seemingly taken a major step backwards. Given the rave reviews for Dan's rectifier upgrade, I decided the problem must be the cheap Sovtek 5AR4 tube, so I started bidding on eBay for a NOS Mullard 5AR4 tube (which is supposedly "la creme de la creme" of rectifer tubes). I lost all three auctions that I was bidding on. In the meantime, I plugged the Modwright back into the system, to let it "burn-in" a bit longer.
Then, tonight, with only ~20 hrs "burn-in" on the Modwright, the midrange and soundstage suddenly BLOOMED, like morning lillies on a sweet spring day! All I can say is WOW!!! As good as the Modwright was with the SS power supply, it's incredible how much more presence and depth I now have. The soundstage is now "in your face" palpable, and my Summits have never sounded better! I'm now a full BELIEVER in the magic of tubes (Sovtek notwithstanding), and can't wait to hear how much further improvement I'll get as the circuits continue burning in. I can't even imagine how a Mullard could add more detail, but will keep searching the globe to find one! If anybody knows a TRUSTWORTHY source for (nearly) NOS Mullards, please let me know!
Joey_V
Well-known member
SS,
Glad you got your Summits back up and running! And don't you just love that in your face palpability!?
SS, I still remember vividly my shock the 1st time I put tubes in my System. The preamp was a cj PV5, the amp was an Adcom GFA 555 and the speakers were Acoustat 2's. I was using a Sonographe TT with a Premier tonearm and a Monster alpha Genesis 1000 cartridge. The year was 1987, and I discovered MAGIC!
slowGEEZR
Well-known member
"I'm now a full BELIEVER in the magic of tubes "
SS, I know what you mean. I thought I had it all when I was using my Krell, but when I put in the Jolida, the tube magic won me over, too. The ModWright pre-amps are on my short list for when I upgrade to separates.
- Steve.
SS, I know what you mean. I thought I had it all when I was using my Krell, but when I put in the Jolida, the tube magic won me over, too. The ModWright pre-amps are on my short list for when I upgrade to separates.
- Steve.
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Final thoughts...
It's been 6 weeks now with my new Belles amp, and I've had NO issues whatsoever. Also got the dedicated 20 amp line, and my Summits haven't had any further problems with the ice-power "resets".
I finally scored a NOS Mullard 5AR4 rectifier tube for the Modwright, and it really took things to the next level... much tighter bass, sweeter and more forward midrange, while preserving crystalline highs. Imaging is deeper and wider, and incredibly life-like. I never thought tube rolling could make such a significant difference!
I'm now 95% of where I want to be with my setup. Only remaining tweaks will be room acoustics, and then perhaps cables.
It's been 6 weeks now with my new Belles amp, and I've had NO issues whatsoever. Also got the dedicated 20 amp line, and my Summits haven't had any further problems with the ice-power "resets".
I finally scored a NOS Mullard 5AR4 rectifier tube for the Modwright, and it really took things to the next level... much tighter bass, sweeter and more forward midrange, while preserving crystalline highs. Imaging is deeper and wider, and incredibly life-like. I never thought tube rolling could make such a significant difference!
I'm now 95% of where I want to be with my setup. Only remaining tweaks will be room acoustics, and then perhaps cables.
Joey_V
Well-known member
Yup.... tube rolling allows you to improve on that which you already love. And btw, Alan, 95% is a damn good place to be!!
Joey
Spike
Well-known member
SS, congratulations on the Mullard. I'm very glad to see things have worked out for you for the better.
Really, wait 'til I told you that the 5AR4 rectifier tube you just rolled is in the power-supply unit, not anywhere directly in the signal path at all
Be careful here since squeezing out the last 5% may cost you more than what you've already put in to get to the current 95%
Consider yourself warned!Spike
