Hello,

I have been having a mild but annoying crackling noise coming from the speakers. I have an H/K stereo. It does that on radio, ipod and CD...
Any ideas? maybe the amp? I notice it at lot on the tweeter on the driver's side but I also hear it a little on the passenger's side

 

If it does it when you're not driving, it's almost guaranteed to be the amp.
If it does it only when driving, it might be the amp, or maybe a loose connector somewhere.

 

Could possibly be a blown speaker too...

 

+1 for blown speaker

 

+1 blown speaker, I have that same problem currently.

 

But it does it from the tweeters and front speakers. I can't imagine all 4 are blown!...

It does it while driving and stopped. I'll try to unplugthe amp and plugging it back in see if that help.

 

ok so it sounds like it's both tweeters the only ones crackling so what would be a good replacement for them?

 

You should be able to buys some new tweeters from www.crutchfield.com that will come with all the mounting hardware. Check to make sure the mounting hardware is available, then just order whatever and replace. I'm not sure how much power the H/K amp puts out, but I doubt it's much (check to be sure). Just order tweeters according to power needs and quality. I wouldn't spend over $100 if I was you.

http://www.crutchfield.com/g_430/Tweeters.html?tp=107

 

I have the same type crackling coming from my left rear speaker. It does it even with the radio off. I have taken the rear panel off and can't make it happen by messing with the wires. Very intermittent and annoying.

 

OK so it has been raining here all night - and this am about 10 min into my drive to work (35 min ) a 'squeaking/ chirping' noise comes from my drivers side tweeter. It had gotten worse and worse as I drove more. Once I slowed down to park it got less but is still very bad. Besides the connector on the passenger side rear compartment is there anything else I can check? I very much doubt the speaker is blown as it happens even with the radio "off"

Any info into this is appreciated

EDIT : this is a non HK system ( 6 speakers and no HK speaker rings - 2005)

 

The only thing I can think of is that you are getting a current induced into your signal wire running to your tweeter. If you have a power wire running too close to a signal (speaker) wire this can happen, and the pitch can change as your revs change due to the alternator charging the battery (which is sending the power through the power wire). However, your description of squeeking and chirping doesn't really fit this, but I don't know what else it would be with your radio off...

Do you keep your cell phone, or something else receiving a signal, near that tweeter?

This is a mystery...

 

No phones placed anywhere near. On my break I went out to try and tighten some of the connectors on the 'alpine' brand amp in the back. Still is doing the same thing. Also I noticed it is coming from the lower woofer, more so than the tweeter. But is does happen to a lesser extent when the radio is off and the car is stopped. Radio off and car moving makes it more pronounced. Radio on - it makes little difference if moving or not

 

Cell phone was a longshot anyway...

Clarify "when the car is moving" and "the car is stopped" please. If the car is in neutral, with engine running, and rolling, I'm guessing the sound does not fluctuate. The sound I'm thinking of is more of a whine, a constant tone that changes pitch or volume steadily as your revs change, but is more or less constant at idle when your revs are constant. Is that what you hear?

If the speaker is blown, it will sound better at low volume, and get worse as you increase volume, all while at idle or steady rpm. If the sound changes with rpm (most likely higher-rpm, higher-volume/pitch), you have a power wire inducing a signal on the woofer's speaker wire. If both happen, you may have a blown speaker and a power wire too close to a speaker wire.

 

Moving = speed above zero and not moving is = speed is 0 but in gear or not makes no difference. when parked if i rev the engine it also makes no difference.

I think i will make a youtube account and post a video - it is a electrical chirping sound. I have dealt with many blown speakers before and it sounds similar to that when the radio is on but when the radio is off or if i put the balance all the way to the other side of the car the chirping is still there.

 

in my case the dealer heard it and said basically it's my CDs, which oddly enough they seem to be all of them.... acording to them... including my iPhone... so whatever I'll have to live with it... damn dealers..

 

There's no way it's ALL your CD's AND your iPhone...what a bunch of slackers. You should ask them to explain how it's possible that it's both. Don't let them tell you it's the FM technology either...

 

Did you ever find out what the problem is? This is happening in my R53 w/ Harmon Kardon. The only noise that comes out is buzzing out of the right rear speaker for 4 seconds, stops for 1 second, and repeats. It does this with the radio off as well. Does this sound like an amp problem?

 

my H/K rear passenger speaker does the same thing! It starts making a crackling noise then a loud pop sound goes off... then the speaker starts working. I took the seats and side paneling out of the car thinking it was a loose wire/connector and to my surprise no problems. This happens when the radio is off as well. SUPER annoying and embarassing when someone is driving with you. I'm not sure what to do about it. All my other speakers work correctly and this one works sometimes. Do blown speakers work/not work on any given day?

 

Dealer couldn't/won't fix it. They said it was the music I was listening to. They pissed me off big time.

Anyway. I only one speaker is doing it then swap sides and see if the other side starts doing it. If it does then u know it's the speaker.

 

For those of you reading this thread in hopes of solving similar problems, try this:

When not being used, buckle your seat belts. I used to get a rattling from time to time and I couldn't pin it down. Then, I realized that it was the metal buckle on the belt that was hanging door/side panels that was vibrating with the bass. 'Plugged the seat belts in to keep the buckles away from the panels and "voila", no more rattling or buzzing.

For what it's worth.

 

drsilvermini or dthurst, did either of you settle your speaker problem? My Daughter's mini just started the same thing. With radio off you can still hear noise coming from speaker.

 

Hi everyone, is there a solution to this noise?

 

AFAIK the solution is replacing (or reparing) the HK Amp. Mine does it intermittently. Whenever I'm about to swap it out, it stops.

 

OK, this is interesting. Mine just started doing this as well. When the stereo is on, it will start out sounding fine, radio, blue tooth (GROM), CD all sound the same. Then out of nowhere, it sounds like I am loosing a radio station with loud static. This happens regardless of the source. The other day, I turned the stereo OFF and the sound persisted until I turned the car off. Super weird.