CAB GETTING A LITTLE "SOFT"?

[lowphatbass]

It seems like after a couple years of consistent and hard service my 1212L is sounding a little less clean and a little less full, it's subtle. I've also experienced this with other cabs in the past.
There's no blown drivers(nothing sounds blown, I haven't ohm'd anything or performed any DMM checks), every screw and every component is secure, there's nothing structurally wrong with the cabinet. The cones are clean and dry.

I'm curious, the blowing of drivers is pretty well understood, but what about drivers "wearing-out" or "wearing-down" over time?

I know that we bassists can become almost over-familiar with the tone of our cabinets over a period of time while our tastes are simultaneously drifting gradually. I'm sure this is part of the equation, but I'm also sure my cab sounds different than it did a year ago.

Any thoughts??

[Selta]

I'm quite certain they can, as they are just a mechanical component. The question for me would be, how many hours can you expect to put on it before it changes drastically? How many before replacement is a very good idea?

[JimmyM]

i've seen speakers made 40 years ago that have had a lot of use and still sound great today, so it's not impossible to keep one working indefinitely if you treat it right. but if you rough them up by pushing them past what they can safely take, it's possible to do mechanical damage to them without actually frying them.

[WingKL]

Maybe the cab is getting more flexible. Is it internally cross braced?

[billfitzmaurice]

Drivers continue to break in throughout their lifespan. The result is they go lower but also lose some edginess in the mids.