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Post subject: Passport 500 Pro Blown Speaker?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:57 am
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:44 am
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I play in a small blues band and recently purchased the Passport Pro 500 to use at smaller venues where I couldn't fit my main PA. I really liked the sound of the Passport and decided to start using it as the monitor system for my main PA setup at larger gigs. Basically I run the monitor send from my mixer to the mono plug on channel 7. I usually just set the passport at half way and control the volume through the monitor send control on the board (which I usually set at between -40 to -15). Usually run the normal monitor mix through it (mostly vocals with a bit of the guitar, as it's a small amp and hard to hear on the other side of the stage). During the last show one of the speakers started to pop really bad & I think it's blown. As we were close to the end of our show, I just unplugged it. I set it up at home just running guitar & vocal through it and the speaker is definitely blown. How is this possible when I never move the master volume past 50%? As I purchased it about 4 months ago, it's still under Fender warranty, but I would like some input on how to avoid this issue in the future. Thanks in advance!


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Post subject: Re: Passport 500 Pro Blown Speaker?
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:25 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:24 am
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Mass production as an ideal would make every unit identical, but in the physical world, no two items are identical. Unnoticed flaws in materials or in the environment of production can sneak in.

This is why companies have warranties against defective products. My Passport died within the first week of use. Fender stood by the product and replaced it when the local repair rep suggested that since my use was not abusive and it was a catastrophic failure, this was not a candidate for repair.

The replacement unit has been great for years.

As for what to watch for, I'd pay less attention to the position of the volume knob than to the color of the LED stack showing the output of the power amp. If red shows up at the top of the stack, the system is pushed to its limits. Ideally, it should be green, visited often by amber, but it should not turn red. If it's turning red a lot, something will probably blow.

Then again, there is protection circuitry in the unit. Pushing the unit too hard causes heat, and if it gets too hot, it shuts off. Once it cools, it comes back on again. This shouldn't happen, for most people, but it's nice to know it's protecting itself.

My wild guess is that you got a bad speaker. A spot on the wire in the coil might have had flawed material or might have been bent or made too thin at some stage of production, leaving a weak spot, which worked fine for a while and then blew like a fuse.

Most flaws like that reveal themselves within a few months of use. That's why warranties last as long as they do. If the unit survives its warranty period, that's strong evidence of no flaws in the materials, and it will probably last a "normal" life.


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Post subject: Re: Passport 500 Pro Blown Speaker?
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:30 am
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Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2007 7:05 pm
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Well, it happened to me about 6 months ago... a system that's no older than 2 years and not abused whatsoever.. One speaker did the same thing... started to sound crackling... Went to my local Fender shop, where I bought it: Of course, speakers are NOT under the warranty!! So they had to order one, and funny enough, it's not quite the same model, though it's a celestion. Fender won't admit it but the first ones were crappy! They're not overly expansive, but, you don't expect crap from a company like Fender! The times are a-changing, huh? :shock:


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