Any electricians in the house?

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DPTC

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Its been a while since I posted on here, but I need some help.

So last week I acquired some studio monitors, for some teaching use. I got them Tuesday and they set up fine and were working normally. They're the Mackie CR4's by the way. I did 4 lessons that day and same for Wednesday. No issues on both.

Then on Saturday just gone by the 3rd lesson the monitor suddenly cut out after a buzzing noise. My first reaction was it overheated and shut off but I don't think its the case.

For extra info I WAS running it via an extension reel stupidly plugged into another extension which I thought may have caused an overload. So I switched it and ran the reel straight from another wall outlet hoping it'd fix the problem. However earlier tonight when doing a couple of lessons it cut out again after 50 minutes. I switched the reel out for a power strip (as the reel has a thermal cut out which I thought caused the issue due to possibly overheating). However it cut out again 5 minutes later. So I tried plugging the monitors straight into the wall socket, again 5 minutes went and it cut out.

I am running a couple of other bits in the room like amps and stuff, they are ok so I'm not 100% sure its the electrics in the house? If the monitors are cutting out 3-4 times in an hour it must be faulty? I wish to add I did test them in another room for 30 minutes and they're were fine.

So what do I put this down as? Faulty goods or dodgy electrics in my house?
 
Your not testing them right, you said on first turn on from cold they lasted 50 minutes. Then you tried them in another room for 30 and they were fine. Needs to be for longer time. Will be faulty monitors. They must be over heating causing there safety to kick hence when turned straight back on only lasting 5 mins
 
Well they cut out again after the same amount of time today, so I contacted the shop I got them from and they will be collecting it tomorrow to send for repair. If they find a fault then I was right to send them back, however if they can't find one then it must be the electrics in my house.
 
If your mains supply was dirty enough to cause overloads in a set of active monitors, you'd be absolutely certain to be having problems with other equipment. A side note: if you're running anything through drum reel extensions, don't run them while the cable is coiled up. Pull too much through them and the induction can cause them to overheat.

PCs and just about anything (which is just about everything) these days with switch mode power supplies tend to be sensitive to dodgy mains supplies, although they've gotten much better filtering and protection since the early 90s when they'd blow if you sneezed in the same room with them. That assumes any surge or spike gets that far without a fuse popping. Manufacturers tend to go with fuses for that so, if your CR4s have them, they're definitely not blowing or they wouldn't come back on.

I can't find a single thing in the manual about thermal or current overload protection, so I can't see there's anything you can interact with (reset button or such) to make a change there.

I think the problem's definitely with your speakers. Without getting hold of, stripping down and having a good look at those speakers myself, I'd say there's a problem and that heat may be playing a part ......... but that's for somebody else to fix .... Send 'em back :D
 
Yeah I would have thought they'd be designed to take such long hours of use (studio producers and the like can run 8+ hour sessions) so it would be alright to run for at least a couple of hours. And I've not had any problems with any of my other equipment like you suggest. I have since switched to a power strip from the main wall outlet, which obviously hasn't solved the problem. I run two items off that power strip, but it can't be overloaded surely? The monitors do eat up a lot more power but still, it wouldn't be an issue.

The courier will be coming tomorrow to pick them up so it can be sent for repair, I'm hoping they can investigate and find its a dodgy solder or something. Otherwise I'd have to look at my electrics and reconsider if its got enough to power multiple objects in the room.

At the moment I run 2 x guitar amps, the monitors (when they were working), a pedal and in the evenings a lamp. One wall outlet has a 4 way which powers 1 amp and the lamp. The other on the far side of the room powers the monitors, the other amp and the pedal. Can't be a lack of power to keep everything running?
 
It doesn't sound like your mains wiring is causing the problem, you would certainly have other issues if that was the case.
You are right pro-audio gear is designed to be thrashed, so cutting out in less than an hour isn't right at all.
If it is a pair of monitors, it would be unlikely for both to have developed the same fault. If both are cutting out then it is likely the source (desk/mixer) that has developed a fault or is overloading the input stage of the monitors, likely would be clipping and you would hear that though, if you had a DC offset coming out of the desk you would have no headroom at all. Are you going from balanced to unbal with a new interconnect? Is everything else unchanged?
Mackie gear is quite rugged normally.
Definately return to the retailer for them to test. CR4s are only 50W per side, its not your mains.
Downloaded the manual & the CR4 does not have a universal mains input, check the cabinets & make sure you have the 220-240 EU versions. Wierdly it sounds like you've been shipped the 200 or 115V versions by mistake.
Hope you get it sorted.
 
I don't use a desk/mixer, its solely used for playback be it from an iPod or some form of pedal with headphones out. I am using an RCA cable from these devices into the back of the monitor. And I think its unbalanced. I haven't altered anything else.

Being shipped the wrong version could be a distinct possibility, I think I vaguely remember seeing a 220-240 on the back however.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone, they were picked up on Thursday (at the second attempt as the courier didn't show up on Wednesday) and I've just been informed they're sending out a new pair today to arrive tomorrow. So either they're not going to bother fixing it or they just want to get me off their case by sending me a new set!

Will be interested to see how I get on with the replacements, if they cut out again then I'll be very concerned.
 
Good news, there was definitely something very awry with them.
I rate Mackie, these things happen & good it was sorted quickly by the retailer.
I'm sure the replacements will be fine.
 
Cheers Jay, yeah I expected a long turnaround to be honest. Will be sure to let everyone know how I get on once I get the new monitors, a cut out might not happen straight away mind, as it took til the 5th day of use for the original set to start cutting out.
 
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I've just had an email from the store I returned the monitors to, they've said they have experienced the same issue I did, a loud pop sound and them cutting out. So reassuringly I would think this is a fault with the product and not my electrics! The replacements have been working fine for nearly 2 weeks.
 
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