First blown bass speaker

[chris_b]

The only driver I've blown was an EV15", don't know the model number.

It was in a Dynacord combo I had owned for about 2 months, so I'm blaming the previous owner!!

 

[Dbassmon]

If your amp is suddenly delivering DC Voltage to a speaker you have a BIG problem with said amp.

This photo is from a 15" woofer in a monitor at the NYC Hard Rock Cafe. The "said amp and said speaker" were not exactly having a good night. Apparently, the voice coil can set the paper on fire.

Perhaps commentary on the quality of whatever music was being "blasted" through this driver?

Again, Neodynium was exonerated in the incident.

Link Removed

 

[swarfrat]

When life gives you Xlims, make Xliminade! Turn it into a piece of art.

Actually now that I think of it:

X-liminator(TM) is an awesome name for a HPF

 

[iiipopes]

All the above. All that said, consider the blown driver as a rite of passage and have it fixed or replaced as suggested, depending on your warranty status.

Thirty years ago, my blown speaker was a 15" Jensen Concert, which I thought could handle what I was feeding it, but it was probably more for a 25-watt home stereo - wider spectrum. I had it mounted in an old Fender 1X15 cab ported around the sides of the speaker, so there was no damping of the cone excursion as there would have been with a home stereo sealed enclosure cab of its day. I was driving it with a 1969 (yes, it had the aluminum trim around the cloth front) 50-watt Fender Bassman Export (yes, it had the variable mains voltage rotary switch instead of the auxiliary mains socket) head. I was cranking the stuffing out of it and I thrashed it thoroughly, utterly destroying the voice coil and the paper cylinder on which the voice coil was wound from overdriving it. Lesson learned.

 

[thedukeofno]

Wasn't there a thread on TB some years back with some good advice on how to avoid blowing speakers?

I'm with iiipopes, I think it's a rite of passage. Sorry that it happened, but it happens to (most) of us.

 

[MegaSwing]

As someone who has never ruined a bass speaker, I am amazed at how many ways there are to do it. And I’ve gone from being the guy who was ALWAYS jacking up the bottom way too loud (smiley face) to bumping up the mids (frowny face). These days, it’s just hard for me to imagine ever needing to be that loud (again). If I ever roast a speaker, it will almost have to be the result of some mistake, not a quest for volume or tone.

 

[logdrum]

I have blown a speaker in my work testing FPGA dev boards and microcontroller. - Arduino compatible headers. I think on one occasion we were using a TI PWM module.

I have also blown a guitar speaker. (My Mesa Boogie Studio 22). I just got a new one.

Bass - not yet

 

[Nebadon2000]

There’s nothing wrong with Neo 12” speakers.

Unless you Under Power them I kid, I kid

 

[agedhorse]

Another way to kill a driver is by sending a clipping amp signal into the coil, which is DC voltage. The voice coil acts like an old fashion car cigarette lighter and burns out. I have an 800-watt amp, so I am not killing my drivers with an underpowered amp pushed too far.

I wish this myth would die, what you posted here is just so wrong.

You always have to be cautious and aware of what's happening with your speaker and amp. "Some newer speakers" are likely neodymium magnet equipped. Neodymium is 4 times more powerful than the same amount of ferrite-based magnetic material, but neodymium doesn't have the "reach" that ferrite does (in other words, its magnetic strength and push doesn't go as far as ferrite). But - many customers want their gear to be as light as possible, so neodymium uses are here to stay.

How’s does that work?

 

[two fingers]

Get a replacement speaker and an HPF, so you don't have it happen again.

While I am a huge HPF fan, that won't necessarily protect every speaker in every situation (just like a compressor won't in every situation).

Low frequency might not have been OPs problem.

 

[Thumpin6string]

While I am a huge HPF fan, that won't necessarily protect every speaker in every situation (just like a compressor won't in every situation).

Low frequency might not have been OPs problem.

Maybe not, but it doesn't hurt.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

It's often easier to damage a driver by under powering than too much power.

Please explain how you came to this conclusion. Or is it just something you heard or read somewhere?

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Unsafe impedance mismatch Parallel vs Series ? Tube vs solid state amp head power section ? And it could be something inside the amp chassis circuit that might've failed to auto detect the correct impedance load ?

This sounds like you're just stringing a bunch of tech terms together, without actually saying anything.

 

[Nebadon2000]

Please explain how you came to this conclusion. Or is it just something you heard or read somewhere?

I was told this many times back in 80's/90's by manufacture's and service personnel; [maybe severe clipping can take out tweeter's.]

But the 'Myth' does have it's leg's and can take hold to those [like me] who don't have real knowledge on this subject through no fault of their own.

So your question in most cases is accurate.

 

[shoot-r]

12" Neo speaker. I respect the brand, so I am not going to call them out.

Was using a pair of 12"s, with a higher wattage rating than my Ampeg classic 15" cabs. I would not say I was pushing them too hard. About 1/4 of the volume from a 500 watt head.

One of the 12's now distorts. Are Neo 12" speakers more prone to issues, when used as bass speakers? I am wondering if it's worth ordering a factory replacement, or just going with the old school heavy magnet.

I've been gigging 4, Eminence, 2510 Neo drivers loaded in two, 210 cabinets for right at 15 years now.
Originally I was powering them with a 1,000 watt amp, their now powered with either 500 watt or 800 watt class D amps.

I've had absolutely no problems with the Neos.

Many years back, I burnt the voice coils out in more than several JBL 15" drivers that were loaded in Sunn cabinets.
Turned out the problem wasn't the drivers, there was a problem in the Sunn head.

 

[agedhorse]

I was told this many times back in 80's/90's by manufacture's and service personnel; [maybe severe clipping can take out tweeter's.]

But the 'Myth' does have it's leg's and can take hold to those [like me] who don't have real knowledge on this subject through no fault of their own.

So your question in most cases is accurate.

Tweeter and LF driver are two entirely different things.

This is what we are getting at, myths that get perpetuated due to misunderstanding.

 

[badinage]

...Many years back, I burnt the voice coils out in more than several JBL 15" drivers that were loaded in Sunn cabinets.
Turned out the problem wasn't the drivers, there was a problem in the Sunn head.

Interesting. "Way back" when I was frying JBL E140s it was also with a Sunn head (Model T). I always "knew" my bias adjust was getting out of kilter, part of the solution was stabalizing the head of the pot with a dab of silicone or glue, a simultaneous part was moving the head off the cab to a waiter's-tray stand beside the cab.

My current amp tech recently told me my Model T has a "more sensitive" bias adjust pot (as in a little movement did a lot) than "normal" and high vibration situations (it sure was) probably was moving it. He wss reluctant to change the pot that was "probably original", and it has a new drop of silicone on top now. The amp sits (on some cork and rubber vibration pads, dont know if those actually accomplish anything) on GK 412 Neo cab, works great, sounds fine, but admittedly seldom gets pushed as hard as it used to be.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I was told this many times back in 80's/90's by manufacture's and service personnel; [maybe severe clipping can take out tweeter's.]

But the 'Myth' does have it's leg's and can take hold to those [like me] who don't have real knowledge on this subject through no fault of their own.

So your question in most cases is accurate.

Never take this sort of advice at face value from...

Manufacturers - Their primary concern is to move product.

Service personnel (The classification I most identify with) - Their training is in identifying a faulty components or systems and fixing those faults by replacing parts. Rarely do they delve deeply into the science behind the failure. So I am telling you... don't trust me.

Who should you trust?
The design Engineer. He knows exactly what will and won't cause damage. He most likely tested the speaker to the point of damage under many different signal conditions.

If you can remind yourself that all other sources are questionable, you'll be better protected from these myths.
And better yet, if you challenge the person by asking them to explain it in a way you can understand, you'll rule out a lot of the BS, be it intentional or not. If they can't explain it, they probably don't understand it themselves. This applies in a lot of other areas of life, so it's a good thing to learn to do.

 

[Gizmot]

I wish this myth would die, what you posted here is just so wrong.



How’s does that work?

As you know, I worked at EV for many years. EV was already working with General Motors, who was one of the discoverers of Nd-Fe-B magnets when they first developed it. EV did a lot of research into that material for audio applications and was the first audio company to introduce speakers and microphones using neodymium. In our research (at the time - back in the mid-late 80s), Nd was powerful and fast, but it didn't have the "push" at the extremes of Xmax that ferrite had (again - at the time) of ferrite magnets. I didn't participate in this research, but the people who did it were quite expert and very serious.

 

[StereoPlayer]

A magnet is a magnet is a magnet…