WHARFEDALE - DRAMA

[soundmanjim]

Just thought i would let you guys know.

recently installed a Wharfedale powered system into a local venue. All looked good.

Fixed mid tops up on wall, using top hat adaptor brackets. First top hat snapped off inside mid top. Doh. Nicked top hat insert out of sub. Sorted.

After two gigs, it became apparent that one of the powered subs was dead. tested next day, absolutely knackered. Got replacement off of Wharfedale, problem solved.

After 4 gigs, mid top 1 decides to loose the mid driver. Unit replaced by Wharfedale, everything back to normal.

after 8 gigs, mid top 1 dies again. mid driver (or circuitry internally) prevents mid driver from working; it comes on with a low level, but any level louder and it's crackle-city.

getting a bit fed up with this. Sytem is supposed to have a limiter internally to each unit to prevent problems - obviously its not up to the job. Have been checking to see if clip lights were on during gig - no they arent. mid top died whilst i was playing background music at low level. LOL.

anyone else had drama with these things?

units are

EVP-X12: 12" Full range mid tops
EVP-X15PB: 15" subwoofer (with built in crossover so mids dont get sub levels up them, they were set correctly)
EVP-X12P: 12" Full range, EVP-X12PM: 12" stage monitor (x2) and one slave cab

in use, they actually sound brilliant and no-one has complained about the sound except the local council who stated that they were 'too loud'. so levels arent a problem, its reliability.

shame (and im not overly bothered as they arent mine BUT i dont want the venue to think ive sold them crap gear)

any similar experiences?

[Simon Ryder]

No experiences with Wharfedale Jim, you may want to rethink using their stuff again in the future by the sound of it. I have always been wary about installing cheap powered speakers as even the best have their faults (Mackie SRM 450s overheating, JBL EONs being so expensive to recone you may as well throw them away etc)

I might suggest the Yamaha Club V as being a comparable and reliable replcement. Their amps are pretty reliable too.

[soundmanjim]

indeedy-diddly.

if it were up to me, i would have installed a passive system, yammy or ev tops and matching subs, qsc amps and crossover. Venue were on a budget. we did, however, get the ENTIRE SYSTEM for a shade under £2000 - and that's everything, mikes, stands, leads, desk, multi, speakers, the whole shooting match.

ah well.

[lesvanr]

Hi
Had the same problems in South Africa. The problem lies with trhe internal amps. They earth to the heat sink with brass spacers that make contact with the earth track. These connections are not good after the speaker has worked for a while. Modify by solderind a dedicated earth lead between board and heat sink. POBLEM SOLVED.

I aslso at first thought that the woofers were blown, crackly, breaking up sound.
Les