Alexandro, I never got a resolution from PS Audio yet. I will contact James and ask him to look into whether the issue was ever uncovered. It was a failure of some sort and there would be no way to prevent that by any action on the part of the user.
1 Like
This may be of no help, but when stuff like this happens Iām sometimes left with blaming it on software gone stupid. We have a Sony TV where the volume randomly climbs uncontrollably, though slowly.
In the likelihood PSA isnāt able to replicate the fault maybe engineering can at least offer best potential root causes.
sixpack1/John, given how worried you are about the tweeters in particular (the most likely driver to just burn out) you might want to insert a fast blow fuse inline with the tweeters on each channel. Does the old Matrix 800 provide multiple speaker terminals (i.e. does the tweeter have its own input?) that would allow you to put a fuse in the speaker lead to the tweeter?
I once had a huge bang go through the system - mineās active so the teeters are directly connected to a channel of their BHK250 - the BHK250 went into fault mode but the tweeter had blown (a Ā£400 PMC pro tweeter which is readily available at present).
[update - for a while I put a 40 microfarad (large and not cheap) capacitor inline with each tweeter in case it was a high frequency that helped blow the teeter - Iāve since removed the capacitors]
I had heard they wont service without original tubes installed
I do not think that specialists will refuse service without original tubes, since the tubes themselves are consumables and sooner or later they will be replaced by the user. Most likely we are talking about the fact that the preamp should have tubes of the same type as the original ones, and not some other, different type.
1 Like
Well said and what i meant to convey
This problem was not software related nor volume control related as the indicator number did not change. It was more like the gain of the circuit went way up. The volume control on the BHK preamp is different and actually affects the gain of the tubes. It seemed to me the circuit that provided this function had some kind of component failure. I am very blessed that the tweeters in the 800 matrix are high power handling and use ferro fluid cooling as well as they are 3 db more sensitive than required by the systen and thus have a resitor in the crossover dropping half the power. The protection of the BHK 250 acted fast enough to prevent damage to the drivers. If I ever hear what the tech actually found at issue on that board I will gladly share that here.
3 Likes
Yes the 800 matrix has four separate sets of input terminals. The woofer crossovers are in their part of the cabinet. The mid range and tweeter crossovers are mounted in a separate enclosure behind the driver box. All circuits are completely independent. I have driven these speakers with other electronics before and have never had to modify them to protect them. I sure have no intention of doing so. Thank you for the sugesstion though. I have however rebuilt the crossovers wit Goetz inductors, high quality Auricap XO capacitors and non inductive resistors. As great as they are with the original parts they are even better now.
2 Likes
From the tech notes it appears to have been a hardware failure. āUnit failed THD+N on A/P;problem traced to failed Main Board;Installed NEW Main Boardā
1 Like
James,
Yes, I knew that but am curious what actually failed at the component level. I remember you told me it was being sent to a guy that used to work there to try to get to the bottom of the issue. Thanks.
1 Like
Sadly I have no way to track down that info. We likely already sent your board back to the board manufacturer and at this point, thereād be no way for me to find out specifically what went wrong.
James,
Thanks for trying anyway.
Hi jamesh, at PSA as a tech company, for warranty reasons and engineering curiosity, donāt you guys want to know what the problem actually was, or does a general failure percentage rule apply and the total number of cases is still within that limit?
1 Like
We do know, but tracking down what was wrong with that specific board 5 months ago is not in my wheel houseā¦
1 Like
Ok, thanks for replying!