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In Reply to: Likely cause of hissing on an ESL 63 posted by graciouslee on December 2, 2006 at 06:20:37:
The hissing noise is a panel that has too much leakage. Excess leakage is generally an indication that the conductive coating has severely degraded and/or the stator plate is starting to delaminate from its support strucutre. The coating degrades to the point that deposits form on the diaphraghm causing noise. Most likely a little of both.The panel will need to be replaced with a new panel or rebuilt. If the noise is tolerable when music is playing, you can live with the condition for a while. It will get progessively worse until the sensitivity of that speaker drops or the noise gets so bad you can't tolerate it any longer!
This is a common problem with virtually all ESL63 that have not been serviced recently. If you plan on keeping the speakers in the long-term, I would recommend that you have them examined by someone familiar with these speakers. You will then have some idea how long the rest of the panels will give good service, and the costs of fully restoring to original factory spec.
I would be happy to inspect your speakers free of charge if you can get them to KC or recommend someone that might be closer to your location. Drop me a private email if you like.
Follow Ups:
I looked at your profile and see your are location in the Virgin Islands.What is the humidity like in your listening room? Humidity levels above 60% can cause panels to make noise. Generally the noise level is low and not audible at listening position.
Thanks for your advice. After listening to music now for about 1 1/2 hours, there is no more hiss audible when I put my ear next to the speaker - do you think it could be a humidity related thing if it's intermittent like this?
High humidity levels will cause noise in panels. If the level dropped the noise will go away. Keep the levels below 60% and you should be in good shape. If the problem returns, even at lower RH levels then it is time to replace a panel.
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