How can I tell if a speaker/sub is busted?

isher1992 · #1 08-05-2010, 05:18 PM

I got these two 12" sub cabinets that each have 1" compression horns. One of them works flawlessly, and sounds good. On the other one...

The sub does nothing. It sits still. But the horn works fine. I don't know if they are blown or not. I have not exposed them to high levels. Each handles 300W maximum at 8 ohms, and the power amp I'm using puts out 250 max per channel at 8 ohms. Should I just consider it blown and pay to replace the sub?

NateS · #2 08-05-2010, 05:23 PM

is the sub connected right?

those little plug thingies can slip off...

rpsands · #3 08-05-2010, 05:31 PM

The battery test. Take the terminals of the speaker and touch the raw wire to the terminals of a 9v battery. If the cone doesn't move, it's dead jim!

You can also gently push the cone in, and if you hear a nasty scratching sound, it's also likely dead.

isher1992 · #4 08-05-2010, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassk81976

is the sub connected right?

those little plug thingies can slip off...

I haven't checked. They were in the cabinet when I got it. I'll take it out and check.

isher1992 · #5 08-05-2010, 06:02 PM

Well, here's an update...when the cab was plugged in, and the amp was up to an audible volume, it made this awful noise, it sounded like a bunch of feedback. The other cab (They are identical) didn't.

levis76 · #6 08-05-2010, 06:13 PM

Well that's not good, but a loose connection can sound like hell too. Think about it, if it's loose and the speaker starts outputing bass, which vibrates everything, the loose connection can vibrate and sound really bad. Open it up and take a look. It already doesn't work right, so what harm can you do?

isher1992 · #7 08-05-2010, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by levis76

Well that's not good, but a loose connection can sound like hell too. Think about it, if it's loose and the speaker starts outputing bass, which vibrates everything, the loose connection can vibrate and sound really bad. Open it up and take a look. It already doesn't work right, so what harm can you do?

That's my thinking. The connector being loose is DEFINITELY a possibility...considering one of the Phillips-heads on the screw holding the sub to the cabinet is stripped.

levis76 · #8 08-05-2010, 06:23 PM

Several years ago I bought an SWR LA15 for $50 cuz GC thought it had a blown speaker. Turns out that one of the connections on the tweeter was loose and causing all the popping and cracking. Tightened it up and used it for a couple years before selling it for $200.

isher1992 · #9 08-05-2010, 06:55 PM

Well...I pulled out the sub to look inside...connectors were fine, and locked tight...but for some reason, the horn was on the bottom of the cabinet!

And an inductor too!

There's a space where it was glued to a plate, and the wires come off somehow. I guess I'm just gonna have to try and get that fixed somehow. There's two inductors, so I'm guessing one is for low pass and one is for high pass.

NateS · #10 08-05-2010, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isher1992

Well...I pulled out the sub to look inside...connectors were fine, and locked tight...but for some reason, the horn was on the bottom of the cabinet!

And an inductor too!

There's a space where it was glued to a plate, and the wires come off somehow. I guess I'm just gonna have to try and get that fixed somehow. There's two inductors, so I'm guessing one is for low pass and one is for high pass.

so was the horn just laying inside the cabinet?

nice

isher1992 · #11 08-05-2010, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassk81976

so was the horn just laying inside the cabinet?

nice

Yeah. Whoever owned it before me must have abused it a little. But they were free! What more could you ask for!?

As for the inductor...I'm gonna try and glue it back on and resolder it and see if that fixes the problem. Luckily, the other cabinet works just fine

levis76 · #12 08-05-2010, 09:13 PM

Pop open the other cab and use it as an example. Make them look the same.

isher1992 · #13 08-05-2010, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by levis76

Pop open the other cab and use it as an example. Make them look the same.

Already ahead of you.

isher1992 · #14 08-06-2010, 03:10 PM

It was just the cross over. Soldered all the ends the way they should be, and it sounds like new.

Now I'm playing around with blocking ports...seems to open up a little more bottom end.