Harman Kardon soundsticks - suddenly not working!

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Hi, I'm having problems with my soundsticks! They were working just fine, full volume and everything, and all I did was lift up the woofer part and tilted it to the side for a few seconds - and all the volume cut out!
I checked all the wires and inputs and everything was normal ...eventually some of the sound has returned but nowhere near full volume! I also checked the volume on the soundsticks, but can't get anymore volume out of it - the volume out of the woofer is definitely not what it should be. It used to be that when I plugged into my laptop the stereo reverb or whatever it is made a crackly sound - like it was working - when I plug into my laptop now, I get no such sound....i'm getting less than half of the capable stereo sound out of it!
:*
Has anyone experienced similar problems and know of any helpful hints? Can anyone help? THANK-YOU!
 
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Sounds like the subwoofer amp blew out. Tis a shame... those HK Soundsticks are outstanding speakers. I have them myself and wouldn't consider anything else as long as they are available.
 
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thanks for your reply lifeisabeach....subwoofer blew out? just like that, all of a sudden?!?! just by picking it up? arrgh!
 
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thanks for your reply lifeisabeach....subwoofer blew out? just like that, all of a sudden?!?! just by picking it up? arrgh!

That's my best guess. Maybe there was some moisture built up and moving it was just enough to get the wrong something wet. You should also double-check all your wires to be absolutely certain they aren't compromised in some way, especially the plug side where they may face extra torquing when moving the subwoofer.
 

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That's interesting. I just did a search about this and this forum and thread came up. I just had the same thing happen. At first I thought it was the source material being too low but then realized that it is the Soundsticks. I haven't really used them very much and haven't moved them or seen any possible issue that would affect the cables. To just have something suddenly not work properly seems very odd. I can still hear music although it is extremely faint. Seems that the speakers and the sub are still processing sound but at very low volume. Can these be fixed?
 

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And now, after reconnecting several times, they are working at full volume and performance.
 
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And now, after reconnecting several times, they are working at full volume and performance.

Awesome... that had to be a relief. It still sounds like something is awry there, so don't be surprised if that amp eventually does bite the dust. That happened with my last 2.1 speaker set from Klipsch. It was a great sounding set of speakers, but the amp died on me after barely a year. Turns out the Klipsch subwoofers from that set were highly unreliable. If you look on eBay, you'll see a LOT of listing for subwoofer-less speaker sets (that originally came with subwoofers) and more listings for non-functioning Klipsch subwoofers that orginally came with a pair of speakers. So far my HK Soundsticks have been performing like champs.
 

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Well, it's back to no audio or very faint audio. Not sure why these should be intermittent when they are on all the time and not being moved.
 
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Loose wire? Poor solder? Amp shorting out? Frayed cable? Who knows? Broke is broke.
 
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I know this is an old thread but since it's the first hit on google and therefore probably the most viewed, I'd like to dig it up by adding a comment.

Perhaps this is really obvious but what has helped me was checking if the volume on one of the speakers is turned on. Somehow (aliens) the volume of the speakers was turned down and I couldn't hear a thing. After pushing the plus button repeatedly I could hear music again.
 

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Those same HK Soundsticks were recently on sale at the local Navy Exchange store we use here in Fort Worth. They were reduced to $125.00. I almost bought them but had already spent too much that day on other stuff. :)
 
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I've had my soundsticks for 6 or 7 years (I think) with no problem other than the glue that holds both parts of the satellite speakers failing. They're now held together with a zip tie each but for the sound quality, price and length of time I've had them I can forgive that.
 
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I love my HK soundsticks, wouldn't trade them for anything, best sound & the bass is awesome..
 
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Lost all audio from my Soundsticks after a couple of months. Turned out to be a dodgy connection with the multipin I think. Disconnected everything and put it back together with no strain on the wires and it's been fine eversince
 
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I had the same problem—the sound on my Harman Kardon soundsticks cut out for no apparent reason. I could hear them very quietly playing but adjusting the volume did nothing. It turned out one of the pins inside the connector that attaches the speaker with the volume controls to the subwoofer was bent so it wasn't plugging in properly. I straightened it with pliers and everything works again! Just wanted to share a permanent fix, since I almost unnecessarily trashed my speakers.
 
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Harman Kardon soundsticks

I know this is an old thread but since it's the first hit on google and therefore probably the most viewed, I'd like to dig it up by adding a comment.

Perhaps this is really obvious but what has helped me was checking if the volume on one of the speakers is turned on. Somehow (aliens) the volume of the speakers was turned down and I couldn't hear a thing. After pushing the plus button repeatedly I could hear music again.


You're a life saver! Can't believe I didn't notice the little + and - symbols on the right soundstick! Bought these secondhand so no manual. Thanks again.
 
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same solution

I reached the same solution as amandyrae -- check your right speaker cable connector for bent pins -- if they get misaligned they won't meet with the socket properly and will either stop working (cannot change volume) or short out the volume up & volume down pins (mutes system).

They're getting pretty old, so I had my fingers crossed bending the pin back!
 

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