Wharfedale 8.2 Pro Active (problem)

Dread28CW

New member
I just received some new Wharfedale's on Monday. I listened to them for at least three hours. On Tuesday, I noticed a bit of a noise that sounded like the tweeter could be busted... :( .. I didn't want to think the worse, but the next day, I listened to a mix of mine running through different dynamic settings and on the "narrow" , the problem was very evident.
I have never busted a tweeter before because I'm careful not to play music so loud that it distorts, but maybe these speakers are more sensitive than anything I've had before which included brands like Cerwin vega, Bose and Pioneer. Anyway, I contacted the store in the UK that I brought them from to arrange to send the one damaged monitor back. Since I live in France, she said that it would probably be cheaper to buy a replacement tweeter because I'd have to pay the shipping to the UK.... and these monitors are heavy. I sent an e-mail to Wharfedale UK yesterday, so hopefully they'll respond. As far as I know, this might not even be a busted tweeter because I have looked and I can't see any damage. Another thing is that the sound has become more obvious the more I play music through the monitor. Could this be a capacitor problem or do you think it's just the tweeter?
Also, if I do order a new tweeter, can someone tell me the product number, manufacturer and a good place to buy them. The woman I spoke with said that these were common tweeters in various different brands.
 
Its kind of hard to tell without hearing the monitors, but that sounds weird if you didnt blow the other one out, it may just be a messed up speaker that got my wharfedale QC. Deepwater may know something, he is a dealer.
 
Just to be sure, you might want to switch the speakers, just to rule out a problem with the source on one channel.

Don
 
I had one pair that had that same problem and it was the tweeter. I can have Wharfedale send you a new one if its. Switch the speakers as suggested just to make sure it is not a cable problem. If you continue to have problems email at prosound@bellsouth.net.


No I'm not spamming. I'm offering customer service. :)
 
Hi, thanks for the responses. The first thing I did when I noticed the problem was to switch the speakers, so that isn't the problem. I'll send you an e-mail Deepwater, thanks for the offer.
 
What was the UK company you purchased from that suggested buying a new tweeter? I'd like to steer clear of them in future.
 
Dolphin Music....... I received an e-mail from Wharfedale in the UK and they gave me the contact number and e-mail address for the Wharfedale distributor in France..... I'm waiting for my girlfriend to translate an e-mail to this guy because my French still isn't all that great. I hope Wharfedale will come through for me even if Dolphin Music doesn't.... I may have to send them the monitor anyway despite how much money it is. It really pisses me off! They should at the least send me a new tweeter.
I'd still be interested in finding out what the product number for the replacement tweeter is..... that way I can figure out whether it would be cheaper to order a new tweeter or send the whole monitor to Dolphin Music.
 
As per my email. You should be able to call the service manager and get a new one. Thats how it works in the US
 
I have a question for the other Wharfedale owners or Deepwater......
I didn't receive a warranty that I was to sign and send back to the company. I only received two manuals,(one for each of the monitors).

Is this standard for this company? I do have an online invoice with the price, date, VAT number & delivery info that I printed out though.

here is a copy of their returns policy:

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/d2/page/shop/faq/category_id/2


It does state that I'd be responsible for shipping expenses to them since I live outside the UK. Does anyone know about how much it would cost to ship one of these to the UK from France? I still haven't heard from the French distributor yet and I'd like to get this sorted before the end of that 14 day period listed on the Dolphin site. Also, if anyone knows the product number/manufacturer of the tweeter, I'd like to know in case it might be cheaper just to buy one myself and replace it. Paying for shipping both ways to the UK could be expensive. Thanks....
 
I bought mine in Australia and the person I bought mine told me there were local service centres where I could take mine to get repaired. If I needed a tweeter replaced they would have to ship it from OS (a long way), but I wouldn't wear the costs

As these are brand new and they have a manufacturers warranty and your in the EU you might be able to speak to Wharfedale in the UK direct!!! Perhaps there is a service centre you can take them to in France so long as its not too far.

If you requested perhaps they could send you out a replacement tweeter as you mention. As they are less than 14 days old and you have a reciept!!!! I wouln't think you are gonna get stung now mater what you do.
 
Kid Downunder,
I still haven't received any word back from the French distributor. I sent another e-mail to the Wharfedale service manager in the UK though. He seems to be much more on the ball since he responded within two days. I sent a copy of my invoice with all the information and everything. I think Wharfedale is a good company and will come through for me. Dolphin Music are the ones that really dropped the ball on this one. They should have taken care of the problem themselves and contacted Wharfedale.....telling me that it would be cheaper to just buy a replacement tweeter myself on a product that was defective when shipped is total crap. My girlfriend suggested that maybe the French distributor is on vacation and that's why he hasn't responded. I have the service manager in the UK's phone number, so if i don't hear back from him by tomorrow, I'll call and hopefully get all this sorted out.
 
My problem has finally been resolved. :)
I made a few posts on the huge WHARFEDALE thread relating to my problem but I'll just sum everything up here.
A couple of weeks ago I sent an e-mail to the Dolphin Music "info" e-mail address that explained the problems I was having trying to find a replacement tweeter. I also mentioned that I wasn't satisfied with the customer service I had received. The Dolphin employee contacted Wharfedale and Wharfedale contacted me stating that they were sending Dolphin a replacement tweeter, (seems strange that Wharfedale wouldn't just send the tweeter directly to me, but whatever....) I don't like Dolphin's returns policy for customers outside of the UK, but that wasn't why I was disatisfied. The woman I spoke to when I initially noticed the problem didn't have any empathy at all for my problem and offered no help in locating me a replacement. The problem was just with this one employee, the help desk came through for me, I just wish I had contatced the help desk in the first place.
Anyway, I finally received the tweeter today. It had been a few weeks since I listened to music through the monitors, so I put in a cd to verify the problem again. It was still there.
My girlfriend's father knows a lot about electronics, so he was going to replace the tweeter for me. I mentioned that it seemed strange that the tweeter didn't look damaged... We were speaking in french, but basically he said that sometimes that sound will happen when the wires are crossed, so he snipped the wires and reversed them. We tried it out and voila, perfect sound. I didn't need a replacement speaker afterall, it was a wiring problem at the factory, simple mistake, but a very annoying one.
 
I'm glad to hear your problem is fixed, but the fact that such a simple mistake was made during assembly doesn't say much for QC at the factory. I'm now very thankful that mine were put together correctly!
 
That fault would cause a simple phase problem around the X-over region and would not lead to a sound like a busted tweeter, curious?
It would not be very evident at all.

Tony
 
The problem I was hearing in the higher frequencies wasn't as pronounced as other speakers I have heard that were more obviously damaged as a result of being played too loud. It was pretty obvious to me, but the average listener may have not even noticed it if it wasn't pointed out to them. The problem manifested itself at the highest frequencies, but it was very evident to me. After we switched the wires, I listened to the same recording I did beforehand and put my head right up next to the speaker. I also tried out my own songs and there wasn't a scratchy sound at the higher frequencies like before. I'm not knowledgable enough to tell the difference between a busted tweeter and a phase problem, all I know is that the problem I was experiencing before has been fixed as a result of switching the wires.
 
I'd like some other opinions.... Is Wilkee right? The scratchy sound I was hearing would be obvious to any member of this forum. I really don't think my ears are anymore sensitive than the rest of you. We took the whole front grill off as well as the back, so the wires were moved around considerably. Maybe the problem will come back at a later date.You know how sometimes if you have a loose connection or a wire that is faulty that when you move them a little the sound will cut in and out? It's a possibility that the problem could be with a loose connection. We are actually going to have to get back into the monitor again soon because the soldering iron was at Gerard's office, so the wires are just taped together temporarily for now. I'm just happy that they're both working. These Wharfedales are sounbding great by the way..... I wouldn't hesitate in ordering another pair if I needed them. I was just unlucky this time. Hopefully the problem is resolved for good now, but Wilkee has got me wondering.........
 
Yeah...I think the Quality Control in China could use some help...

The back plate (heatsinkfins) on the rear of mine had a screw sticking half out!!!

Plus the Volume Knobs on each are different and the volume levels on one are numbered and on the other they are not...

Oh well...who cares ultimately they make up for it with a pretty damed good warranty!!
 
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