Blown speakers

steve19711974 · #1 10-24-2011, 10:28 AM

What is a good sign that my speakers are blown in my cabinet.

scottbass · #2 10-24-2011, 10:42 AM

1. No sound whatsoever

2. Distortion (raspy sound) at any volume level

3. They sound OK at very low volume levels but have too much distortion as they get louder

4. Smoke and/or a burnt smell is always an indicator!

skychief · #3 10-24-2011, 11:13 AM

if your cab has more than 1 driver, you can check the function of all drivers by putting a 1.5 v battery across the input terminal of the cab,.

Polarity isnt important, but all the drivers should move equally (either in or out) when the circuit is made. if you find a driver cone that isnt moving, thats the blown speaker.

This doesnt work on tweeters.

gnjpowell · #4 10-24-2011, 11:18 AM

VERY GENTLY press each driver in and let it spring back out. If it sticks at all or makes any "scraping-like noises" the voice-coil likely has been over-heated and the insulation on the windings has bubbled-up or burned and is making mechanical contact with interior surfaces. That driver is now known as "junk". The 1.5 VDC battery test is also an excellent test. Reverse the polarity to test the driver in both directions. Also good for confirming all drivers in a cab are in phase with each other.

BassmanPaul · #5 10-24-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skychief

if your cab has more than 1 driver, you can check the function of all drivers by putting a 1.5 v battery across the input terminal of the cab,.

Polarity isnt important, but all the drivers should move equally (either in or out) when the circuit is made. if you find a driver cone that isnt moving, thats the blown speaker.

This doesnt work on tweeters.

Make that a 9V battery to make things more obvious.

skychief · #6 10-26-2011, 12:35 PM

Oh..another thing about the battery test:

In a cab with series connection (not very common) an open voice coil will render all drivers non-functional.

So, say youve got an 8 ohm 212 cab (w/ no crossover). if it has two 4-ohm drivers wired in series, just 1 of the speakers going open will cause the whole speaker cab to be non-functional.

in this case you would need to pull the drivers and to the battery test ON EACH driver to find the "blown" one.