Defective LC2 speaker

[wu6fiend]

I just confirmed my JBL LC2 center channel is defective.

The sound has been, from day #1, muffled, faint, muddy.

Today I replaced it with an LC1, and then auditioned them one after the other, using the same segment of movie dialogue, at the same volume, same AVR settings.

No question, something wrong with the LC2.

The cabinet and components appear undamaged, and there was no sign that the box had been dropped in transit. It was purchased new.

Looking for suggestions as to what the issue might be...

Defective component(s), bad wiring, what?

As there will most likely be no warranty, I will have to get this fixed at my cost.

I guess after purchasing more than a dozen sets of speakers, plus individuals over the years, it was inevitable that I would get a dud eventually.

[Slare]

Start by checking the rear binding posts / jumper plates. You may just have a oxidized jumper plate or loose binding post.

After that check the drivers. I typically use the same method attaching a very low level input to each driver directly. You have to take care doing this with the high frequency drivers. You just want to check they are working.

If all drivers are ok directly, hook them up one at a time through the crossover and you'll likely find a problem in the crossover.

If the failure was due to very high overloading, it is possible to have both a failed driver and crossover. So if you find/replace a bad driver and still have a problem, remember it could still be the crossover.

LC2 parts are still available through Harmon - from your limited descriptions chances are you have a bad crossover which is rare but not unheard of.

[Jonas_h]

I just confirmed my JBL LC2 center channel is defective.

The sound has been, from day #1, muffled, faint, muddy.

Today I replaced it with an LC1, and then auditioned them one after the other, using the same segment of movie dialogue, at the same volume, same AVR settings.

No question, something wrong with the LC2.

The cabinet and components appear undamaged, and there was no sign that the box had been dropped in transit. It was purchased new.

Looking for suggestions as to what the issue might be...

Defective component(s), bad wiring, what?

As there will most likely be no warranty, I will have to get this fixed at my cost.

I guess after purchasing more than a dozen sets of speakers, plus individuals over the years, it was inevitable that I would get a dud eventually.

When I first got a LC2 I had a similar experience. The highs were dominating and no sign of bass or lower midrange. I returned it, and it was a defective crossover. It was brand new, so I guess it was a mistake from the factory.

I bought three of them together so it was easy to identify that one of them was defective.