Question

Hello, I have had my powered Eris E4.5 studio monitor pair since last June and have been loving them. I had them placed vertically (standing up), but about 3 months ago, I decided to turn them sideways to a horizontal position. This was fine for 2 months, but about 4 weeks ago the left monitor (the one with the power/controls) developed an issue with its tweeter. When I have the Volume low, the tweeter will gradually cut out. I am able to get it to kick back on if I turn the volume WAY up -- the tweeter will cut back in suddenly, not gradually. Then 20-40 mins later, the tweeter is out again.

I read this thread, as it is the most similar to what I have observed:
https://answers.presonus.com/42766/presonus-eris-e5-tweeter-keeps-cutting-in-and-out?show=42766#q42766

Because the issue detailed in that thread seemed to be wiring, I wondered if turning the monitors sideways was part of the issue. I have had the problem monitor turned back to its vertical orientation for about 10 days, and indeed, the problem has gone away. This works for now, but I do not think there is a reason why I could not have the monitor sideways -- common sense tells me it should be fine in any position and PreSonus documentation says that similar models to the E4.5 can be placed either way. Also I am concerned that this tweeter problem will re-appear even in this layout and I will not have a way to work around it.

I am tempted to open up the unit myself since the one-year warranty will be up in 5 days.

Any thoughts? Thanks for reading.

Answer 1

How to fix it. (You will need # 0 or 1 Phillips screwdriver, magnifying glass. sharp knife point or Xacto knife point for scraping.)

1. Remove the screws and take the back off the speaker.

2. Squeeze and Disconnect the tweeter from the little "motherboard". (just for easier access to the underside.)

3. Examine the underside of the motherboard, especially the two terminals that mate with the tweeter connector.

4. There you will encounter one of two problems either a.) a cold solder joint on one or both of the pins (less likely)

or - (more likely) a stupid thread of solder "bridging" across the two circuit board traces - which are stupidly closer together than they have any reason to be.

5. Take something sharp - knife blade point  - and make a few scrapes between the traces - BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERSCRAPE AND CUT OTHER TRACES ON THE LITTLE BOARD.  YOU JUST WANT TO CLEAN BETWEEN THE PINS.

6. If this doesn't fix it, you probably have a cold solder joint.. Touching it up with a spot of heat from a small soldering iron should cure the problem. You should be able to "see" a cold solder joint - which often looks "granular", not glossy - or wiggle it loose.

But 90% odds would favor the bridging fleck of solder between the pins.

7. Reconnect the tweeter to the motherboard with a good firm scrubbing action. Reassemble the caase - and you should be good to go.

All problems s/b this easy - and unsolved where the tweeter cuts in and out is MADDENING know.