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Check foamsurrounds from the  S45's

S45-2 has rubber surrounds and will probably be in good condition.

Hi Beobuddy, thanks so much for your reply.

The speakers are actually S45-2 and the rubber surrounds are in perfect condition.

I would assume the poor sound quality is coming from a potential under-powered amp that's running them. What are your thoughts on this?

Hi Beobuddy, thanks so much for your reply.

The speakers are actually S45-2 and the rubber surrounds are in perfect condition.

I would assume the poor sound quality is coming from a potential under-powered amp that's running them. What are your thoughts on this?

The BM 1900 is in no way an underpowered amp, and is capable of driving nearly all Beovox speakers, I  have a BM 2400, and connects Bvox 3703, P 45, S45, Bvox 1600, type M, CX 100, even some non Beo, rated at 150 W and they all sounds good or very good.

Check your wires, and try to connect a pair of known good speakers

Change capacitors in the crossovers?  

The rubber surrounds may look OK in the speakers but does the speaker actually work?  One problem with S45's that are moved is the magnet becomes dislodged and the voicecoil becomes 'blocked' so the speaker will not work.  Can you gently push the speaker in and does it flex back? 

S45-2's are one of the best speakers B&O produced and should be ample for this system.

Dave.

Thanks Søren and Dave...

The speakers flex perfectly and are producing a sound, however the sound is not what I'd consider good. It's a sound that makes you slightly cringe at the thought that, even at low volumes, they sound like they are on the verge of distortion.

Søren, it has been bought to my attention that, the 1900 is not capable of powering these speakers properly. Even here, on beoworld, the speakers are rated a 45W, however both outputs on the 1900 are at a max of 30W. I've been told that the amp requires the same or more power than the speaker rating, and this could be the reason for the poor sound.

I hope I'm mistaken as this set up has cost a lot of money!

The seller of the S45's tell me that they worked very very well with a beautifully rounded, full sound on a higher powered amp prior to shipping. The seller of the 1900 confirms that the amp sounded lovely with other speakers too.

Would you suggest a rebuild of the crossovers as a next step? Braids? Everything looks perfect on these speakers, it baffles me that they don't sound right.

Thanks again for all your help!

It's also worth noting that there are no pops, crackles, hums or anything of that nature from the speakers when active.

Also, to help solve the case, just for the sound to be bearable, the 1900 bass and treble sliders are cranked all the way to max, and loudness is also active.

Cheers!

with a 20 W amp you can drive nearly any speaker if the sensitivity is lower, my 3702s are 40 W, my P45 are 45 W and my BM 2400 (nearly the same as 1900) is 20 W. 

Now you will have to locate the problem, that means: Try the speakers with another amp, if they are good there, the problem is in the amp, if the amp plays good with another set of speakers the speakers are bad. When we know which part is bad (speakers or amp) then we can start finding the real problem.

The difference in wattage in the speakers and the amp is not important, my M type speakers are 6-8 W and plays good on my 2400.

There may be a problem with the crossovers, but there may also be a problem with the BM 1900, if non of them was repaired before, the electrolytic caps in both may be bad. BTW most sellers claim that what they sell is in top condition, and the one that told you that a 20 W amp cant drive 30 or 40 W speakers dont know what he is talking about.

Agree with Søren. These are very old by now. They are probably in dire need of service.

/  Johan