Is this a busted capacitor?


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My Audioengine 5s have been bad for a while now; the right speaker has violent pops and loud noise, a problem which started gradually to the point where it's intolerable now. I always suspected that something was wrong with the built-in amplifier located in the left speaker. Today I decided to open it up and see if I could see anything obviously bad. 

 

I'm not too familiar with electronics and certainly could not attempt any reparation myself, but at least I'd like to know if this is a busted capacitor:

 

59q58l8h.jpg

 

All photos here: http://imgur.com/a/iAFXy

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Yes

 

It's bloated, it's dying or dead, but the repair's quite easy, I have no experience with soldering and successfully managed to repair my old Sammy 22 inch (3 caps dead) monitor

a messy repair shouldn't worry you, so long as the solder doesn't make a short circuit, and most likely all the parts you'll need are available on ebay for $30 US or less

(up to ?20 UK)

 

edit

 

BiGdUsTy is correct, the one behind it looks like it needs replacing too, (after checking your gallery)

Edited by Aheer.R.S.
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Fair chance since the top is bulging outwards. A normal cap should be flat.

Replacing caps is easy if you have the replacement part, a soldering iron, and solder.

Do you think this might be worth it to bring to an electronics store for repair? I have none of these tools and it was already touchy taking these photos without tearing anything apart. The speakers are worth about 300$ and otherwise sound really good.

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It sort of looks like one, but I'm not too sure. Is it actually bulging or is that an illusion/trick of the light?

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Do you think this might be worth it to bring to an electronics store for repair? I have none of these tools and it was already touchy taking these photos without tearing anything apart.

 

Only if they don't try to charge you a fortune to replace a few caps. Alternatively, do you know anyone who is handy with such things?

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Do you think this might be worth it to bring to an electronics store for repair? I have none of these tools and it was already touchy taking these photos without tearing anything apart. The speakers are worth about 300$ and otherwise sound really good.

Might as well ask, or see if you have a friend who can solder. It is literally melting two points, tugging out the bad part, sliding in a new one, and making two new joints. Warming up the soldering iron would be the longest step.

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It sort of looks like one, but I'm not too sure. Is it actually bulging or is that an illusion/trick of the light?

Check out the photo album, I took several photos of that capacitor.

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Yep, buy some replacements and do the repair yourself. Easy as to fix. Just get your self a soldering iron if you don't have one.

 

Make sure you replace all of the caps there too even if they don't seem to be bloated you never know that they might be damaged from some dying around them. It's good practice to replace them all on the board when some start failing.

 

edit: Don't worry Aheer.R.S. he clearly hasn't ever seen a 100v cap before.

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Yep, buy some replacements and do the repair yourself. Easy as to fix. Just get your self a soldering iron if you don't have one.

 

Make sure you replace all of the caps there too even if they don't seem to be bloated you never know that they might be damaged from some dying around them. It's good practice to replace them all on the board when some start failing.

 

edit: Don't worry Aheer.R.S. he clearly hasn't ever seen a 100v cap before.

No, I'm not trying to start anything, I thought I missed it..

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Yes

 

It's bloated, it's dying or dead, but the repair's quite easy, I have no experience with soldering and successfully managed to repair my old Sammy 22 inch (3 caps dead) monitor

a messy repair shouldn't worry you, so long as the solder doesn't make a short circuit, and most likely all the parts you'll need are available on ebay for $30 US or less

(up to ?20 UK)

There are several parts getting in the way of these capacitors which I guess I'd have to remove to do this properly; some are glued in place. If they were exposed like on a motherboard I might've attempted it, but I fear I'll cause more harm than good. Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'll bring it to an electronics store when I get time.

 

Thanks to everyone for the quick answers.

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There are several parts getting in the way of these capacitors which I guess I'd have to remove to do this properly; some are glued in place. If they were exposed like on a motherboard I might've attempted it, but I fear I'll cause more harm than good. Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'll bring it to an electronics store when I get time.

 

Thanks to everyone for the quick answers.

Very well, but please make sure you're not going to get ripped off by the electronics store, and as it's your system, it's your call :)

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Check out the photo album, I took several photos of that capacitor.

 

I did see those, I still wasn't sure though

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Hello,

My Audioengine 5s have been bad for a while now; the right speaker has violent pops and loud noise, a problem which started gradually to the point where it's intolerable now. I always suspected that something was wrong with the built-in amplifier located in the left speaker. Today I decided to open it up and see if I could see anything obviously bad. 

 

I'm not too familiar with electronics and certainly could not attempt any reparation myself, but at least I'd like to know if this is a busted capacitor:

 

59q58l8h.jpg

 

All photos here: http://imgur.com/a/iAFXy

Intresting. I have a PC speaker which stopped pumping sound a few years ago. Maybe its something similar as well.
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I will say that when these things explode in a PC it sounds as if someone unloaded a 9mm inside the case. They are easy to swap out yourself if you are good with a soldering iron.

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These are your choices

 

repair it yourself....a gamble if you are not experienced with electronic repair

 

send it out for repair ...... could not be cost effective considering these a only a three to four hundred dollar set of speakers.  I bet a average shop will try to get you for about an $100 repair which as you can see will be in the neighborhood or 25 to 35% of replacement costs depending on costs

 

find a right speaker on eBay or someplace ....you may get lucky

 

buy a new set....

 

good luck   :D

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Just so you know, it is really easy to replace caps. I don't have any professional training. I'm sure there is some guide online. It's really easy and kinda fun :D

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