Hi guys,
Within the past few days I've purchased a used set of B&W CM5 speakers from a seller on eBay. Price wasn't unreasonable, came with stands that I was after. Picked the speakers up from the seller late that night, and he had them connected and ready to show me. Played a few short sections from a couple of songs at relatively low volume due to the time - no issues that I noticed. Fast forward 24 hours when I connect up the speakers to my Rega Brio R and while things seem generally OK, the sound was a little off - eventually through testing, I've concluded that one of the speakers is noticeably different in tone to the other. The sound output from the tweeter is what I'd describe as more hollow, recessed and perhaps a bit distorted.
I've since done the following:
- Swapped speaker wiring over, problem remains
- Swapped speaker placement, problem follows speaker (to eliminate any chance of room acoustics causing it)
- Ensure bi-wiring jumpers are properly secured
- Connected my Usher S520s to ensure the sound wasn't due to the amp
- Connected speakers to another amplifier - problem continues with same speaker
At this point it's clear that the sound is due to the speaker itself, however in contacting the seller he's said that, being speakers are electronic devices, there's always a chance of variation from one to the next, due to the capacitors, wear etc. My question is whether this is true, and to the extent it seems to be exhibited? I'm clearly under the impression something's wrong, but I'm really after confirmation before taking it any further?
Any advice appreciated!