Cambridge Soundworks MegaWorks THX 250D PC speakers takes ages to start working

[Steven P. Administrators]

For reference it is the Creative MegaWorks 250D-THX

I can't remember how long I have had this set, it is a replacement for the same set I bought back in 2004 that suddenly stopped working. Since the past couple of weeks, whenever I turn on my computer and the speakers using the volume control which is connected directly to the Cambridge Soundworks MegaWorks THX 250D subwoofer, it takes 5 minutes or more for the sound to start working, it is completely random but it does seem like it is taking longer and longer.

The lights and the volume control are operating normally, I have reinstalled the drivers several times I think I've ruled out that it is Windows, because it also happens if I lock my PC and turn off the Cambridge Soundworks MegaWorks THX 250D set (when I go to watch my TV or do something else). When I return and unlock the PC and turn on the speakers again, the sound once again takes 5 minutes or so to start working.

They are connected by RCA coax cable to SPDIF and I do not have a replacement. This set can also be connected with the analog port, and I will test this later to see if the sound immediately works when powering on the PC, but my preference of course is to be connected digitally.

I have noticed an odd sound coming over the speakers, like interference I had been meaning to check the cables and I half expect I might need to spring for a replacement, but what I am looking for really is an explanation on how something like this can happen, 5 minutes or more from the moment of turning them on, before the sound works?! It seems to affect the set everytime they are powered off.

[Sulphy]

This sounds familiar to me, I had an old Yamaha amplifier, and had a similar issue... turned out the amplifier/decoder board was on the way out, as it wasnt getting up to temp, or the caps were drying out... I managed to find a cheap unit off ebay that had a blown power supply, swapped out the board, and it worked perfectly again... these things are pretty long in the tooth now, so could just be they are on their way out! R.I.P ....  I recently replaced my sound setup with the Logitec Z906 system! major improvement

Maybe see if you can find a replacement sub on ebay? 

Sorry i can be much more help!!

[Steven P. Administrators]

On 30/11/2022 at 10:30, Sulphy said:

This sounds familiar to me, I had an old Yamaha amplifier, and had a similar issue... turned out the amplifier/decoder board was on the way out, as it wasnt getting up to temp, or the caps were drying out... I managed to find a cheap unit off ebay that had a blown power supply, swapped out the board, and it worked perfectly again... these things are pretty long in the tooth now, so could just be they are on their way out! R.I.P ....  I recently replaced my sound setup with the Logitec Z906 system! major improvement

Maybe see if you can find a replacement sub on ebay? 

Sorry i can be much more help!!

No that actually sounds pretty logical, thanks! Why else would it take 5 minutes for the sound to start working?! Plus the interference over the speakers (although it is a low hum) might have something to do with it as well. I am going to check all of the connections and wiring today and test the analog side.

I think I got a lot of years out of these speakers!

[Steven P. Administrators]

Look at the reviews.. https://www.amazon.nl/Creative-SoundWorks-MegaWorks-250D-PC-luidsprekersysteem/dp/B00008GFYJ I really hope I don't have to replace my set  Not finding anything second hand online yet... 

Edit: I will probably go for these if my set gives up the ghost https://www.edifier.com/int/product-s351db.html

[hellowalkman Reporter]

I am surprised that volume control has lasted that long, though it is likely because it is a premium model. I also suspect it maybe time to retire the old chum and it to your vintage collection, because finding replacement parts for these locally can be difficult a lot of times, depending on where you live, and if you are willing to import spares from China (takes pretty long most of the time).

[Brandon H Supervisor]

On 30/11/2022 at 03:30, Sulphy said:

This sounds familiar to me, I had an old Yamaha amplifier, and had a similar issue... turned out the amplifier/decoder board was on the way out, as it wasnt getting up to temp, or the caps were drying out... I managed to find a cheap unit off ebay that had a blown power supply, swapped out the board, and it worked perfectly again... these things are pretty long in the tooth now, so could just be they are on their way out! R.I.P ....  I recently replaced my sound setup with the Logitec Z906 system! major improvement

Maybe see if you can find a replacement sub on ebay? 

Sorry i can be much more help!!

If you do end up having to get something new Steve then I can attest to the Logitech Z906 system. I've had mine probably around 10 years now and it still works great. Have it hooked up to my HTPC setup in the Livingroom.

It doesn't support any wireless connectivity but it's solid at what it does.

[NinjaGinger]

I have the Logitech 5500 and after about 3 years they did exactly the same. I disconnected from the mains, held the power on button for 30 seconds, reconnected to the mains and all was well, working and everything, try it. It's a similar trick to auto service on cars but instead of the trip meter, the mains.

[Steven P. Administrators]

On 30/11/2022 at 16:25, NinjaGinger said:

I have the Logitech 5500 and after about 3 years they did exactly the same. I disconnected from the mains, held the power on button for 30 seconds, reconnected to the mains and all was well, working and everything, try it. It's a similar trick to auto service on cars but instead of the trip meter, the mains.

Mine has a switch on the back of the subwoofer, unless you mean hold down the power button of the volume control?

Also guys, I really want just Digital 2.1 for my music if I am forced to replace. I have 7.1 (Dolby Atmos) home theater set for movies  

[Brandon H Supervisor]

On 30/11/2022 at 09:52, Steven P. said:

Mine has a switch on the back of the subwoofer, unless you mean hold down the power button of the volume control?

Also guys, I really want just Digital 2.1 for my music if I am forced to replace. I have 7.1 (Dolby Atmos) home theater set for movies  

ah yeah the Z906 would be overkill then (though I don't even have the back channels hooked up on mine either right now lol)

[NinjaGinger]

Sorry, not clear, unplug from the mains everything. Press the on key on the little control panel. Connect it back to the mains and all is well. Hope that clearer.

[Steven P. Administrators]

On 30/11/2022 at 20:00, NinjaGinger said:

Sorry, not clear, unplug from the mains everything. Press the on key on the little control panel. Connect it back to the mains and all is well. Hope that clearer.

I tried it (held the power on button down for 30 seconds after disconnecting from mains) it didn't help.. As I type right now, the sound has come back after a couple of minutes, which is better than 5 mins.. so I guess it is on the way out 😢 

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Although they are an older model, have you checked with Cambridge Soundworks?  Many audio equipment companies will repair units for years after they have been manufactured.

 

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[freedonX]

Blast from the past! 
Had the Creative Megaworks in 2004 (somewhat similar)...very good speakers! Hope you're able to fix them.

[Steven P. Administrators]

Well I left them on last night, and on powering up my PC, it once again took 5 minutes for the audio to start working. So leaving the speaker set on does not help.. it has to do with the RCA coax link or something.

Can a cable go bad? Is it worth trying a replacement?

[Steven P. Administrators]

I tried the remove from mains and press power trick again, because I suspect I was holding down the source button by mistake last time. This time I started a YouTube video so I could time when the sound starts working, and it was around 1 minute before the sound kicked in, much quicker than when I boot the PC in the morning and have to wait 5+ minutes, so I have decided to replace the cable. This has mostly positive reviews and it is a bit longer than the one I have now. I have a 2M cable atm that could be damaged because it barely fits in length.

At the least I will rule out a cable problem. Since I have been checking the cables, I have managed to get rid of the speaker hum as well, so I definitely leaning toward a possible cable issue.

[Steven P. Administrators]

This morning, after 14 minutes I still do not have sound. I didn't even turn my PC off last night I just locked it. If I plug my headphones into the volume control, I have sound, so the output from my PC is reaching the speaker set and volume control.

Edit: K went to have a shower, came back and the sound is working again, but this is getting worse  

[Steven P. Administrators]

So I just had a conference call and I plugged my headphones which has a built in Mic to the volume control of the speakers, which is how I do my conference calls.. after the call ended I unplugged and it took 3 minutes for the sound to come back.

I really think it must be the board in the subwoofer that is on its way out.

It is taking longer and longer to get sound in the mornings, like 15-20 minutes now  I replaced the cable,  so that wasn't it.

[Steven P. Administrators]

Finally got around to testing the analog port in the morning, so I can confirm that there is no sound over the analog port either for the first 5 to 15mins.

I tested this on the Mini IT11 PC that I reviewed https://www.neowin.net/reviews/geekom-it11-review-its-a-truly-modern-windows-11-mini-pc/ that has a clean install of Windows 11, so that also rules out Windows and/or the sound drivers being the issue  

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Given the age of the hardware, I wonder if one or more capacitors inside it have begun to fail.  If that's the case, it should be a simple soldering job to fix it.  It would probably be best to contact Cambridge Soundworks first, though.  There are some manufacturers who provide out-of-warranty repairs for failures involving those.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[Steven P. Administrators]

On 10/12/2022 at 04:39, goretsky said:

Hello,

Given the age of the hardware, I wonder if one or more capacitors inside it have begun to fail.  If that's the case, it should be a simple soldering job to fix it.  It would probably be best to contact Cambridge Soundworks first, though.  There are some manufacturers who provide out-of-warranty repairs for failures involving those.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

Hmm good idea I will reach out to Cambridge Soundworks first. I've decided I will buy these if my set can't be saved https://www.edifier.com/product-s350db.html

http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/ redirects to here now http://www.theoontz.com/ but I sent a message:

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

You might also want to try contacting Creative Technology, Ltd.  They owned (or own?) the Cambridge SoundWorks brand and may still do repairs on models from that generation. 

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[binaryzero]

This is probably something any local electronic dude could fix, get the multi-meter out and inspect the caps and other components. If the unit works after a period of "warm" up, the chance is a blown cap, nothing more than a couple of bucks of parts.

Shouldn't cost you anymore than  a case of beer for someone to fix.

[Steven P. Administrators]

On 11/12/2022 at 05:52, goretsky said:

Hello,

You might also want to try contacting Creative Technology, Ltd.  They owned (or own?) the Cambridge SoundWorks brand and may still do repairs on models from that generation. 

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

Their contact form only allows me to request support for specific items that they still offer support for, so I sent them a tweet 

 

[Steven P. Administrators]

This is odd. I connected my headphones (which I use for conference calls too, with the mic) and they work fine, but when I unplugged them from the wired volume control, the speaker system was muted. It started working again when I tapped on the mute button of my keyboard. There's a mute button on the volume control, but when the speakers are muted the lights flash, this still works fine when I manually mute using the wired volume control.

So somehow, plugging in the headphones (correctly mutes the speakers) but unplugging them keeps the speakers muted. Ugh..

[Steven P. Administrators]

I'm convinced the mute control is getting stuck, since the speakers will not come back on after I have used headphones in the headphone port of the volume control.

Steps to reproduce

• Have the computer on 24/7 for 3 days = sound is working for all of that time
• Connect headphones to the volume control, use for a while then unplug = no sound for 5-15 minutes
• So it has nothing to do with the speakers being "cold" or off for a length of time.

After a period of time, toggling mute on my PC will eventually get the speakers working, but like I said it can be between 5 and 15 minutes before they start producing sound again, I've looked everywhere, including the useless Fixya website but I have failed to get anyone who is an expert on this set of subwoofer amplifiers.