Vandersteen 2ce Sigs with bass coupler issue


Just got lucky (maybe?!) and picked up a really nice used pair of 2ce sigs for next to nothing.  Everything sounds fine except one of them has a high pitched chirping/grating sound that gets worse as the volume increases.  I will be opening them up asap to take a look.  Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue?  I reached out to Vandersteen already and they replied quickly which was great.  Unfortunately, they couldn't add much except to say send it in.  

Would a voice coil rubbing cause a sound like this?  I'm thinking maybe the surround came loose and the cone is out of alignment.  Just a guess.

Thanks

 

pkatsuleas

Many years ago I purchased a used set of 2Ce Sig II's and one of the speakers had this exact same symptom. It was the 10" rear firing active coupler that the owner had fried.

I was comfortable with DYI so Vandersteen sold me the replacement.

If you are okay using a soldering gun and solder and have a decent, quality staple gun then you'll save a ton of time and $$.

I can provide more on my experience should you decide to go that route.

@jcoehler   @jasonbourne52 

Thanks for your replies.  I received a reply from Richard Vandersteen (cool) saying he couldn't be sure what the issue was.  He also said they do not have replacement woofers (interesting) but I can send the defective one in to them to be repaired.  Maybe the current woofers available are different specs?  Probably.

I'm ok with a little bit of diy to get these things up and running again.  But, I think I would prefer just popping in a replacement woofer if possible.  Anyway, getting reqdy to open it up.  Just watched a youtube vid on removing the sock.  Wish me luck!  😅

@frazeur1 

Well, it was definitely the 10" bass coupler voice coil.  It became deformed somehow.  I took the driver over to my local tech - Casper at Stereo Rehab in Chicago - and he actually just manipulated the cone for a few minutes and got it to stop rubbing.  The freaking guy is a genius!  Maybe not a long time solution but I am going to reinstall it asap and see what happens.  Hopefully it's good to go for a while.  At least so I can check the speakers out and see if I want to keep them.

Yes, maybe not a long time solution perhaps, but one never knows. At least maybe you will have enough time on them to hear how things go. Good luck!