Creature Speakers

[beachycove]

Just snagged myself a set of Creature Speakers for a small sum. These are the first version of the JBL "mushrooms," as they were and are sometimes called, that were marketed in the era of the G4 iMac (which is what I initially bought them for). Stock image here:



They look great, of course, but I have some static distortion in one of the two small speakers. Taking them apart, I notice that there appears to be no damage to the cone, and that the magnet seems to be properly seated, but that there are two capacitors in one (one for the speaker, and presumably one for the volume control) and one capacitor in the other speaker. Can as simple a thing as a bad capacitor cause speaker distortion, or am I looking at a defective speaker that needs to be replaced? Or might the trouble reside in the amplifier?

I know nothing about audio tech, so would appreciate some guidance before I get the soldering iron out!

 

[CC_333]

In audio circuits, bad caps usually manifest as a crackling or static sound I've found, so I think you're on the right track to suspect them as the cause of your problem.

Try recapping the speakers first, and if that doesn't fix the problem, recap the amplifier circuit (the power supply is probably okay for now).

The speakers themselves are probably fine. when you connect them to a source, do they sound good, aside from the static?

c

 

[beachycove]

That is helpful, thanks. I'll go ahead and try it.

You know, I was not able to find a clear statement about this on the web when I went a-googling, so I will report back when done. That will likely take me a couple of weeks, as I currently have a printer apart on the bench, and don't want to move anything until I get it back together.

Apart from the distortion in that one speaker, they do sound OK and the volume buttons etc. seem to work, so fingers crossed!

 

[JWrigley]

Two cool things with those speakers, iirc...

1: Tap both the + and - buttons simultaneously to mute/unmute the audio

2: when you turn the bass and treble adjustments, there is this subtle feedback when you're at the exact middle of the range, it's a slight resistance with the dial.

Great speakers, good find

 

[beachycove]

New caps didn’t do the trick, so I’ll be replacing the two 1.5” speakers. Should be easy enough.