Tower Speakers High Pitch Ring Sound

[Kurtis]

I have a 2016 Malibu M235 and the tower speakers have a high pitch ring sound even when nothing is playing. If i turn the gain all the way up it gets louder and all the way down it gets quiet but still noticable. Any ideas what could be causing this? its a constant ringing sound.

[David]

3 hours ago, Kurtis said:

I have a 2016 Malibu M235 and the tower speakers have a high pitch ring sound even when nothing is playing. If i turn the gain all the way up it gets louder and all the way down it gets quiet but still noticable. Any ideas what could be causing this? its a constant ringing sound.

Just as an example, alternator noise is often described as a "high pitched whine" that increases/decreases in pitch with changes in RPM and remains the same level regardless of the volume. "Ringing" is not a commonly used term so it could be helpful to describe the noise in other terms. Most noise caused by external sources remains the same intensity at all volume levels, and the constant noise level is better masked by the music material as you turn up the volume. One reason for this is that the noise enters the audio system after the source unit volume gain stage, therefore is unaffected by the volume control. Your scenario (noise increases with volume level) is less common and indicates that the noise is entering the audio system before the source unit volume gain stage. I would temporarily turn off the tower speakers, with nothing playing, turn up the volume, and listen to an in-boat speaker with my ear to the speaker/tweeter, just to confirm that the noise is really present or absent from the rest of the system. Clarify whether the noise is on one or all sources, such as over-air radio, satellite radio, CD, Bluetooth, Aux, or other. Try to find a relationship between the noise and any boat operation, such as ignition, depth finder, alternator, engine management computer, etc. Clarify whether the noise is present with the boat 'Off', boat on 'Accessory', or boat engine 'Running'. That's a start.  

    

[Kurtis]

The sound is only coming from the tower speakers and is the same with engine running and off. The best way I can describe it is when your ear rings after a really loud noice like hitting a hammer on an anvil or some other solid metal but it’s a constant sound maybe like a dig whistle. I took it to the dealer today and they are going to replace the amp and see if that fixes it.

[stein09]

Any update on this? I recently bought a leftover 2018 and had the two factory icon 8s replaced with Rev 10s by the dealer. I notice an intermittent high pitched sound out of my tower speakers only. Its more likely to occur when I first start using the boat for the day and I dont notice it after I've been out for a while. 

[David]

On ‎10‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 8:39 PM, Kurtis said:

The sound is only coming from the tower speakers and is the same with engine running and off. The best way I can describe it is when your ear rings after a really loud noice like hitting a hammer on an anvil or some other solid metal but it’s a constant sound maybe like a dig whistle. I took it to the dealer today and they are going to replace the amp and see if that fixes it.

The fact that the noise is only present in the tower zone suggests that the problem is with the tower amplifier. The increased noise level when increasing the volume while nothing is playing suggests the problem is upstream in the signal path. Following.