When do drivers wear out?

[fingerbun]

I am running a rig that includes an original EV TL 606 bin I have owned since 1981. The driver was repaired after a friend blew it up in 1982, and has not been touched since. It still has a tight clear sound. Lacking deep low end a bit compared to other cabs but I think that is just the way those boxes sound, and it suits the sort of stuff I play.

Could the sound be deteriorating as the box gets older? Do speakers wear out (leaving aside when they blow up)? Is a 30 year old cone going to be just past its use-by date? What, if anything, would I listen for to detect it's time to replace the driver?

I don't have another TL to AB it against. I do run it with a Hartke 210XL, and it has more lows and warmth than the Hartke. No issues with power handling into either cab, but the amp I am using (a Peavey Mk III head I bought with the TL bin) is putting 200W RMS into them and they are rated to handle 350W between them.

[B-string]

They wear out when they don't play well anymore. Maybe another 30 years or more if not abused? They don't have a spoil date.

[billfitzmaurice]

Drivers can eventually suffer cone/suspension failure through deterioration, but there's no specific time frame involved.

[fingerbun]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Drivers can eventually suffer cone/suspension failure through deterioration, but there's no specific time frame involved.

So how would I know it has happened?

When the cone rips? Or something a bit more subtle?

[Jazzdogg]

Do drivers wear out at a different rate than putters?

[MNAirHead]

some will unglue around the perimeter (Scorpions etc)... some that had foam on them will physically degrade

[nysbob]

I play every gig through 30 year old JBL K145s. They still sound great to me.

I think a lot has to do with whether you're pushing whatever you use toward the limit or not.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by fingerbun

So how would I know it has happened?

They'll sound really bad.

[chadds]

Originally Posted by fingerbun

So how would I know it has happened?

When the cone rips? Or something a bit more subtle?

1. Smoke comes pouring out.
2. Drunk guys yell, "Yeah WooHoo".
3. Honeys stop dancing 'cause they can't hear the one through the distortion.
4. Patrons stop drinking, start to leave.
5. Bar owner looks angry.
6. Band packs up prematurely.

[Bassflute]

Originally Posted by fingerbun

I am running a rig that includes an original EV TL 606 bin I have owned since 1981. The driver was repaired after a friend blew it up in 1982, and has not been touched since. It still has a tight clear sound. Lacking deep low end a bit compared to other cabs but I think that is just the way those boxes sound, and it suits the sort of stuff I play.

Could the sound be deteriorating as the box gets older? Do speakers wear out (leaving aside when they blow up)? Is a 30 year old cone going to be just past its use-by date? What, if anything, would I listen for to detect it's time to replace the driver?

I don't have another TL to AB it against. I do run it with a Hartke 210XL, and it has more lows and warmth than the Hartke. No issues with power handling into either cab, but the amp I am using (a Peavey Mk III head I bought with the TL bin) is putting 200W RMS into them and they are rated to handle 350W between them.

I once re-coned my old Trace rig when it didn't need it, after reading some stuff on the net about one fussy touring pro who got his cabs re-coned every year. I had for quite some time been unhappy with the sound of that amp that I formerly loved. When I did it I was surprised to find that a lot of upper midrange stuff came back that had gone from those speakers - they were suddenly crisper and brighter again, and the bass was perhaps a bit tighter and not so 'fluffy'. I loved the sound of the amp once again, and this was back in the days when I had a four night a week gig with the thing, so I was VERY familiar with what it sounded like in that particular room.

I'm sure twenty-five people will now enter, screaming 'placebo effect', 'you're nuts', 'idiot', and 'you don't know anything about speaker design', all of which may be true, but I know what I heard and I stand by it. Your mileage may vary, but that was my experience with two 15 year-old 10's that had a million miles of hard playing on them. And the sound was brighter and crisper in spite of the fact that this system had a tweeter in it - it was obviously affecting frequencies below where that tweeter kicked in.

Thanks,
Cameron

[JimmyM]

Actually Cameron, it sounds like your speakers were worn out, and reconing would, indeed fix it.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Actually Cameron, it sounds like your speakers were worn out, and reconing would, indeed fix it.

+1, although 'worn out' isn't the correct term. Driver suspensions continue to break in indefinitely. The result is they continually go deeper, with a corresponding loss of response in the highs. Technically speaking Fs and Qms both go down.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

+1, although 'worn out' isn't the correct term. Driver suspensions continue to break in indefinitely. The result is they continually go deeper, with a corresponding loss of response in the highs. Technically speaking Fs and Qms both go down.

Thanks for the explanation, Bill. I totally get now why some folks recone working speakers, whereas I never quite understood it before.

[Bassflute]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Actually Cameron, it sounds like your speakers were worn out, and reconing would, indeed fix it.

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

+1, although 'worn out' isn't the correct term. Driver suspensions continue to break in indefinitely. The result is they continually go deeper, with a corresponding loss of response in the highs. Technically speaking Fs and Qms both go down.

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Thanks for the explanation, Bill. I totally get now why some folks recone working speakers, whereas I never quite understood it before.

...I'm NOT nuts, or an idiot, or my hearing's deficient, or it was just the placebo effect, our I don't know anything about speaker design? Aw, come on you two, I was expecting at least a LITTLE resistance? Can't you at least insult the fact that it was a HYBRID amp (tube pre/transistor power), and that I could HEAR the difference in tube swaps (I had a NOS Telefunken 12AX7 that was AMAZING!), or that my rig was the atrociously unbalanced 2x10/1x15 (that was actually balanced)...



I used a Monster Cable and liked it 'cuz I could hear the difference...?

Round wound strings...?

What's happening around here?

Cheers,
Cameron

PS - still waiting for more info on the 300 watt all-tube Fender Bassman...

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Bassflute

I don't know anything about speaker design

Finally something we agree upon.

[Fender4Me]

Speakers do get tired after a peroid of time. Re-coning freshens them up. If you do have speakers reconed, keep in mind that they may sound overly bright at first. It takes a few hours of playing for them to settle in.