i need a new driver for my Very Old Yamaha S115 v speaker must of had them for 15yrs plus where can i purchase one & are they easy to replace i was hoping to do this myself
What's the usual life span of speaker horns ?
anyone seeing my previous post will see im going through them like peanuts at the moment im a very busy rehearsal studio ive invested in some dbx limiters for my room p.a systems but im unsure if in this case it's old age
They should work for donkeys years if not overdriven. The protection circuit would normally fail open circuity. IIRC from your other post this is the first of the Yamahas that has failed?
Sam Spoons wrote:They should work for donkeys years if not overdriven. The protection circuit would normally fail open circuity. IIRC from your other post this is the first of the Yamahas that has failed?
Yes first time in 3 yrs & it's happened all in the same month i've bought a Dbx 166xs to try & help but it's becoming an issue
If it is the HF driver, you'll probably only need the compression driver, rather than the horn as well.
I use https://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/ for my guitar speakers but they do PA drivers as well. Good quick service. But you could simply check on eBay for a replacement driver for a S115V horn.
Otherwise you'll want to know the size of the compression driver (1", 1.5" or 2") and you'll want to know the wattage, and ohmage (I believe 16 ohms) so you'll need to take it out of the speaker.
But as Sam said, it could a HF protection device (normally a car light bulb) that's failed. If so, probably just from fatigue and age. But I'm not sure if the Yamaha has one. It's certainly not built onto the S115V's crossover board. So it might also be a crossover component failure (or a dry joint). Or even a broken internal cable.
Wonks wrote:If it is the HF driver, you'll probably only need the compression driver, rather than the horn as well.
I use https://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/ for my guitar speakers but they do PA drivers as well. Good quick service. But you could simply check on eBay for a replacement driver for a S115V horn.
Otherwise you'll want to know the size of the compression driver (1", 1.5" or 2") and you'll want to know the wattage, and ohmage (I believe 16 ohms) so you'll need to take it out of the speaker.
But as Sam said, it could a HF protection device (normally a car light bulb) that's failed. If so, probably just from fatigue and age. But I'm not sure if the Yamaha has one. It's certainly not built onto the S115V's crossover board. So it might also be a crossover component failure (or a dry joint). Or even a broken internal cable.
i see ..it may be best to have it looked at then by a tech hmm
my studio has almost become a victim of it's own success lots more bands coming through the door BUT the gear is getting more hammer
do you reckon the DBX comp /limiter will hwlp protect those tweeters though!
If used as a limiter, with a threshold set so that the speakers can go loud but not over loud, then it should certainly help a lot. Don't add any make-up gain! But if there is a source of high or ultrasonic noise/distortion somewhere in the system, then there could still be a lot of HF energy getting through, more than the tweeter can cope with, then you may have to lower the limiter level even more. It's very unlikely, but it is theoretically possible.
Wonks wrote:If used as a limiter, with a threshold set so that the speakers can go loud but not over loud, then it should certainly help a lot. Don't add any make-up gain! But if there is a source of high or ultrasonic noise/distortion somewhere in the system, then there could still be a lot of HF energy getting through, more than the tweeter can cope with, then you may have to lower the limiter level even more. It's very unlikely, but it is theoretically possible.
yes as a limiter & light compression it's a Dbx 166xs thing is i have multiple p.a systems here so it can soon become a big problem for me plus not enough good tech guys around my area any more
If you had the time to do it yourself, you'd find that most of this is very easy to do. Probably get it sorted in the time it takes to arrange to do the repair.
Wonks wrote:If you had the time to do it yourself, you'd find that most of this is very easy to do. Probably get it sorted in the time it takes to arrange to do the repair.
The thing is i have the time but not the know how i would fix all my speakers if i knew how & it would cost me alot less than it is now i would gladly do my own speaker repairs if i knew how
Thanks for the link the other main issue i have is knowing what parts exactly to order it's not something im clued up about im keen to learn though if someone is willing to help
The part numbers are normally on the items, so once you've taken apart one Yamaha S115V, you can note down the numbers and then you've got them for future reference. The same with any other passive speaker.
There really ins't a lot inside a passive PA speaker. Main driver, crossover board, horn + compression driver, input/output terminals and connecting wires.
Often simply googling for the basic part description like "Yamaha S115V replacement compression driver" will give you the part you want (though I much prefer to check on the equipment itself first as not everything on the web is 100% accurate).
Wonks wrote:The part numbers are normally on the items, so once you've taken apart one Yamaha S115V, you can note down the numbers and then you've got them for future reference. The same with any other passive speaker.
There really ins't a lot inside a passive PA speaker. Main driver, crossover board, horn + compression driver, input/output terminals and connecting wires.
Often simply googling for the basic part description like "Yamaha S115V replacement compression driver" will give you the part you want (though I much prefer to check on the equipment itself first as not everything on the web is 100% accurate).
OK thanks so it could be a simple as removing the driver & replace with another
Pretty much so. A basic multimeter is always useful for testing voice coils to check if they've gone open circuit. Take off the connecting leads (marking which one goes where as you don't want to reverse the polarity when you put them back on), go across the coil connection terminals and check for a resistance close to the rated value (it will normally be very slightly less). If you get an out of range reading, then you can be pretty sure the driver is dead. But if you get a reading - say 6.7 ohms on an 8 ohm driver - then the fault lies elsewhere and changing the drive unit would normally be a waste of time.
You can use the meter to check for continuity on wires.
On a main 12" or 15" driver you can gently push the cone in (from the sides, not the dust cap) and let it pop out again and make sure it isn't rubbing. If it is, sometimes putting the cone in the other way up can cure the problem.
You can look at the back (and the front) of a crossover circuit board and have a visual inspection of the solder joints. A dry joint should show up as looking very different from other good joints, often with a visible crack between the solder and the component, or else a very dull appearance where every other joint is shiny. A quick remelt with a soldering iron and a bit of an appropriate solder (lead or lead-free depending on how old/new it is) and you've probably got a working crossover again. Blown or damaged components often look damaged and have that nasty 'dead component' smell.
Wonks wrote:Pretty much so. A basic multimeter is always useful for testing voice coils to check if they've gone open circuit. Take off the connecting leads (marking which one goes where as you don't want to reverse the polarity when you put them back on), go across the coil connection terminals and check for a resistance close to the rated value (it will normally be very slightly less). If you get an out of range reading, then you can be pretty sure the driver is dead. But if you get a reading - say 6.7 ohms on an 8 ohm driver - then the fault lies elsewhere and changing the drive unit would normally be a waste of time.
You can use the meter to check for continuity on wires.
On a main 12" or 15" driver you can gently push the cone in (from the sides, not the dust cap) and let it pop out again and make sure it isn't rubbing. If it is, sometimes putting the cone in the other way up can cure the problem.
You can look at the back (and the front) of a crossover circuit board and have a visual inspection of the solder joints. A dry joint should show up as looking very different from other good joints, often with a visible crack between the solder and the component, or else a very dull appearance where every other joint is shiny. A quick remelt with a soldering iron and a bit of an appropriate solder (lead or lead-free depending on how old/new it is) and you've probably got a working crossover again. Blown or damaged components often look damaged and have that nasty 'dead component' smell.
Great thanks for the info !
I'll open up the speaker & see what i discover could you send me a link to a good multi meter please
While some people will no doubt be outraged my smallest, cheapest one is one of these: https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03123/digital-multimeter-pocket/dp/IN07443?st=Multimeter which should be fine for that job. Now, despite it being rated for 600V, I'll not go poking around at mains with it. However I want to keep my toolbag small & light when I go to gigs so this is handy to have.
For other jobs I use something bigger, with more functions costing and costing quite a lot more!
MarkPAman wrote:While some people will no doubt be outraged my smallest, cheapest one is one of these: https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03123/digital-multimeter-pocket/dp/IN07443?st=Multimeter which should be fine for that job. Now, despite it being rated for 600V, I'll not go poking around at mains with it. However I want to keep my toolbag small & light when I go to gigs so this is handy to have.
For other jobs I use something bigger, with more functions costing and costing quite a lot more!
I've taken the horn apart & taken some pics can I post them here? Looks to me like the tweeter is knackered so do I just order a new tweeter? & replace it? If so where can I buy one
even more as it uses standard batteries that I usually have around. The only problem is that the test leads that it comes with are a bit flimsy and a set of decent leads costs about the same as the meter itself.
I wouldn't use either of these meters on mains but they work amazingly well, given the cost.
If you want to spend a little more there is all you ever wanted to know about budget multimeters (and more) at
You can't post pictures here directly, you have to host them at somewhere like https://imgur.com/ and then link to the url of the photo (not the page the photo is on) using the 'img' box visible in the post reply header.
my smallest, cheapest one is one of these: https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03123/digital-multimeter-pocket/dp/IN07443?st=Multimeter which should be fine for that job. Now, despite it being rated for 600V, I'll not go poking around at mains with it. However I want to keep my toolbag small & light when I go to gigs so this is handy to have.
