Dead Creative Inspire 6.1 (6600) subwoofer, can I replace it?

[Dreforian]

Long story short, the subwoofer/central unit died or is otherwise unwilling to function. Either it doesn't get power or the wired remote is burnt. As far as I know the remote is the only way to turn it on, and the green power indicator doesn't light, nor can I hear the speakers activate. Since I also managed to break the only headphone jack on my computer, I'm currently using an X-Fi Go! Pro via USB for sound.

This means my satellite speakers are essentially orphans. Would it be possible to find a "subwoofer" from a more recent Creative product to use these with? I'm not too concerned with being able to use the rear center speaker so a 5.1 system would work just fine. I don't even know if satellites from one system will work in another but I'd really like to find some way to salvage them.

If there's any other way to utilize them then information on that method would also be very much appreciated. For reference I still have the Audigy 2 sound card I bought at the same time as the 6.1 speakers. I'll also be getting a new computer soon which will have built in surround sound support (Asus P8P67 Deluxe motherboard).

Thank you for your time!

 

[anwaypasible]

you are down an amplifier, either because the amp is broken or because the remote to turn it on is broken.
amplifiers are pretty easy to find for sale.
if you go to the specifications of the amplifier, you will learn the impedance and wattage for each speaker.
to salvage the speakers, i wouldnt rule out the wired remote.. but i am stubborn and poor.
so i know it isnt the best idea to get a new remote and have no idea if the new remote is broken or functional.. you cant sell it if you dont know if it works.

with that said, a new amplifier would allow you to wire up the speakers.
as a need, you will need an amplifier for the subwoofer too.
maybe a used 'home theater in a box' receiver will provide you with an amplifier for the subwoofer.
if that doesnt sound pleasing, then the only other amplifier's i know of are the amplifier 'kits' on ebay.
but
i have no idea how good or bad they sound.
they have 2.1 amplifiers .. i dont remember seeing 5.1 amplifiers.

i would express extreme caution..
the main speakers are 8 watts each.
that is a very small amount and hard to find.
even the amplifier kits have more power than that.

the center channel is 20 watts .. more than the main left and right speakers, and it makes it really hard to find a match without seperate amplifiers.
maybe it would be easier to hire an electrical repair person to build you an amplifier with the right amount of power for the mis-match.
otherwise, i would say the system is obnoxious and you could spend your money better to replace it.

have you looked on ebay or craigslist for a system that has had the speakers blown, and the person is selling only the subwoofer and amplifier?

 

[Dreforian]

just checked after reading your post (thanks by the way). It took all of about 2 minutes to search both sites and I found nothing. If you weren't familiar with the speaker system, it's in essentially 3 parts not including the power adapter: the wired remote, the 6 satellite speakers, and the "subwoofer". This is in quotes because the remote, power, satellites and wires from my sound card all plug directly into it. Hence why I'd need to replace it with something similar if I want to utilize all of them. I've also read that the satellites are powered/amped individually meaning they don't need to be plugged into a separate amp.

Link to the set: http/www.amazon.com/Creative-6600-Computer-Speakers-7-Speaker/dp/B00006SKLC/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2

 

[anwaypasible]

any amount of extra magnetic strength will 'amp' the speakers.
and any signal that excites the voice coil in such a way to 'tickle' the magnet into somehow increasing the hold on the copper voice coil will also 'amp' the speakers.
but anything further than that will require a dedicated power cord.

there was no mention of each speaker with an individual amplifier.

to repair these speakers isnt realistic.
if you wanted to keep the speakers for some passionate reason, you would probably wait to find a used set on ebay.
as the likelihood of your finding a replacement amp that is as unique as the amplifier in the subwoofer cabinet is slim to none without being custom built.
the cost for the new amplifier is probably more than the cost of buying a used set.
and if the used set is fully functional, you might be able to use the remote from the used set and try it with your old set to discover whether or not the remote is bad or if the amplifier is bad.
in such a situation, you might find the remote to be bad and buy a remote somewhere (from a broken set of speakers obviously) and have two sets.
maybe sell the used one and keep yours, or keep the used one as a spare for emergencies.

whether you want to keep the speakers because they sound good, or because you are trying to repair them for very little money .. both ideas seem far-fetched.

 

[Dreforian]

Definately not because they sound good (although they did back in the day). I just wanted them to not go to waste. I'll probably just buy a newer 2.0 or 2.1 system, if anything. In the meantime I have my X-Fi go! to provide me with the soundblaster toys I enjoy most.

Thank you for clarifying this for me.

 

[anwaypasible]

if you shop for some new speakers, try to find something that will be less 'abnormal' with the wattage.
the low watts is pretty bad to find anything else to connect them to without doing some damage.
but
having different power requirements for the center speaker is really going above and beyond anything available to 'patch' a broken amplifier and continue to use the speakers.

i only want to wish the best, and to say something when things grow much more difficult than simply going out and buying it.

i'm sure there are plenty of electrical persons who would build you an amplifier.
but
the cost of the parts is one thing, and the extra cost to have them put it together is quite another thing entirely.
besides, it isnt uncommon for amplifier and speaker sets to be a perfect match for eachother.
like, if the treble was really low on the speakers.. the amplifier might have extra treble.
together they sound perfect, but if you connected a different speaker to the amplifier.. you would hear the extra treble.

so say you did find somebody to make a custom amplifier.. they would probably try to make the output flat, and it might not sound anything like the original amplifier.
it would be a waste of time and money to learn this.
i'd say simply keep the speakers if you dont want them to go to waste.
eventually you will determine that there is SOMETHING you can connect them to.
you might have to keep the volume extremely low so you dont damage the speakers.
but
maybe one day you put them in the bathroom for taking a shower or bath.
or
maybe you put them in a garage for some background music.
8 watts each is really really low.
usually the lowest any individually bought speaker will have for wattage is 30 watts.
the main market for speaker wattage is 30-50-70's/80's-100

if you really wanted to pull of something kinda neat, you could take the four left/right speakers and wire them in series to create a new load.
together they would be able to handle 32 watts
some receivers have been known to go as low as 40 watts per channel.
meaning you could use four of those speakers for a center channel if you wanted to build another low powered system.
maybe an old receiver with the speakers connected to only one channel would provide you with some background music in the garage.

i see that the rear center speaker is also listed as being one of the main speakers that handle 8 watts.
if you add that speaker to the other wired in series, that gives you 40 watts of power handling.

you could always go grab some really cheap car amplifier that does 50 watts of bridged power, and connect that to an old computer power supply with rca inputs for whatever you want to connect to it.
the only problem is, i have no idea what impedance those speakers are.
i have tried to find the impedance and failed.
there is a need to know the impedence of those speakers, to grasp the final impedance when wired in series to get the right amplifier size.
this would also make it hard for a custom electronics builder to create an amplifier for you.
because there isnt any 'know' of the resistence to match the watts to.

 

[vanbeekthegeek]

Hi there,

It sounds like we have had similar problems with the Sub. After some fault finding I found that Q5 (NPN transistor on the sub) was creating a short/fault.

Cheers
Alex

 

[Kellanrm]

Long story short, the subwoofer/central unit died or is otherwise unwilling to function. Either it doesn't get power or the wired remote is burnt. As far as I know the remote is the only way to turn it on, and the green power indicator doesn't light, nor can I hear the speakers activate. Since I also managed to break the only headphone jack on my computer, I'm currently using an X-Fi Go! Pro via USB for sound.

This means my satellite speakers are essentially orphans. Would it be possible to find a "subwoofer" from a more recent Creative product to use these with? I'm not too concerned with being able to use the rear center speaker so a 5.1 system would work just fine. I don't even know if satellites from one system will work in another but I'd really like to find some way to salvage them.

If there's any other way to utilize them then information on that method would also be very much appreciated. For reference I still have the Audigy 2 sound card I bought at the same time as the 6.1 speakers. I'll also be getting a new computer soon which will have built in surround sound support (Asus P8P67 Deluxe motherboard).

Thank you for your time!

If you still have this set up i need the volume/ wired remote to make mine work ( dog chewed threw it) if you're interested i'd love to be able to buy it from you. let me know thanks