Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Help Please - static during THX intro Amazing Life

I was just at my in laws and noticed when listening to the THX intro "Amazing Life" from the Indiana Jones Crystal Skull Blu-ray disc that there was some static coming from the surround speakers...at least "static" is the best I can describe it as I've not experienced "distortion" or "clipping" personally to know what they sound like.

It first happens between the 15-20 sec mark (of the THX intro) when the tuning fork sound reaches a crescendo / peak. I initially thought the volume was too high but the static can still be heard even at fairly low volume levels. It seems to happen whenever the passage hits a peak, but only in the surrounds, not the mains.

To test, I disconnected the surround speakers (some old Polk bookshelf model) and connected the mains in their place (ie. to the surround channel outputs of the receiver) but get the same static during peaks, so I don't think it's the speakers themselves. Just to be sure though, I then disconnected the mains and hooked up the surround speakers to the main channel outputs and everything is fine.

I understand that the sound being sent to the main channels is different from the sound being sent to the surround channels, so is the static coming from the program material itself or could somethng be wrong with the surround channel outputs on their receiver? Is it possible that ALL of their speakers are bad or damaged?

Did you double check your wiring and connections for the surround channels?

Does this happen with other sources as well?

I didn't check the wire-to-speaker connection and the connection to the receiver uses bananna plugs. I actually tried every speaker one at a time, all by itself, and I hear the static on each one as long as it is connected to any surround or back channel output.

They've never noticed it before on any other DVD, Blu-ray, or CD. I didn't try any other disc when I was there but I'll get them to try another disc.

I did notice their speaker wire was very thin, possibly 20 or 22 awg...could this be the cause?

That is very thin, esp if it is a longer length to the surrounds, 12 or 14 gauge is preferable.

Not sure if the wire is causing the problem but I wouldn't use wire that thin for any speaker connection regardless of length.

The THX intro to Cave of the Crystal Skull is probably the most mind blowing acoustic event my system has ever produced.

I don't have the benefit of the blu-Ray version, but there should be no static. Perhaps you may want to try another Cave of the Crystal Skull disc, although I doubt the problem is with the source material. If you have any extra speakers, why don't you swap out the speakers producing the static and see if that cures and isolates the problem.

If the static persists, then you know the problem is not the speakers. If I had to guess, I'd say the problem is a frayed speaker wire, or a minor short (stray strands at the speaker terminals or output terminals, or bad banana)

BTW, I don't think the fact you're using thin speaker wire is the problem. My favorite speaker wire is from Mapleshade and they're really thin.

Good luck

I agree. I don't think thin speaker wire would cause static, unless it was poorly connected or spliced. Roll off the highs like crazy, yeah, it would do that.