Is cold weather bad for speaker cabinets?

[jchrisk1]

My step dad used to talk about being on tour and driving from the Florida to New York. When they would arrive and load out, their speakers would have frost on them from the humidity in the south and cold weather up north. Said it was a pain in the ass having to scramble for rental gear.

 

[John Swartz]

Great to hear these replies. The only place in my new house that is convenient for storing my speaker cabs in in the basement/garage area (any place involves at least a flight of stairs to get them to my car) - gets chilly in there in the winter and I was hoping I wouldn't have an issue (as long as I head the advice of letting them come up closer to room temp before cranking a lot of power into them...).

John

 

[MrLenny1]

No problem with speakers.
Mine has been in the Jeep for a month.
Bring it up to room temp. before pumping it.

 

[DavC]

since the y have 'glue' holding a few parts together ,... i always let them warm up a bit before blasting away !

 

[Member8675309]

It’ll be fine, don’t even worry about it. Well, I’d be more worried about someone jacking it then the cab getting cold.

If you are really worried about it, put a coat on it. Drastic changes in temp. are your concern.

 

[electracoyote]

I store a lot of speakers and sound reinforcement equipment (P.A., personal rigs, etc.) in the small bay of the garage here in Denver. It gets pretty cold. I've even been leaving my Suburban loaded since the gig schedule is busy, no sense unloading after every weekend just to turn around and load it back up. No problems over the past few years. The whole gradually re-acclimate advice is good. My equipment is usually back to room temperature on the ride to the venue.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

How bad is it to subject your cab to cold temperatures? Say, leaving it the back of my pickup truck for a couple nights? (The back is covered) It's going to be a cold, snowy weekend here in Massachusetts. Just wondering if the cold and moisture is bad for the speakers.

Mine have lived in my unheated garage in Northampton for a few years now. No problems.

 

[PeteBass51]

Sometimes I have to tease the rat fur up a little on the old Peavey with a shag rake. Other than that, It's all good!

 

[GreyBeard]

My cabs have always been stored in unheated vans etc. I have never had a problem but, they have always had time to come up to room temp before I played them.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

A blanket will have zero effect on the temperature the cabinet will be subjected to.

Its not like a warm body where a blanket helps to retain heat.

True, but maybe he could sleep with it...lol!

 

[Slevage]

I used to leave gear in vans and trailers all winter in CT. No issues either speakers.
Tube amps got condensation on tubes when moved into the warm venues, so we usually stored the inside, between gigs. We let them warm up AND dry out if necessary.
I have seen speakers become unglued from excessive heat (+100 degrees) but have been told that newer adhesives are more resilient— I’m still careful in the hot summer months.

 

[gelinas666]

I'm up in Ontario,Canada.. I leave my cabs stored on skids with their covers on in an detached unheated garage.In the winter I just make sure I'm early to shows

to give them time to warm up. Been doing this for years. Never had an issue..

 

[Marko 1]

Only one solid state head I have that can't handle being stored in the coldest months of winter. I'd bring it into the gig from the band trailer, and the whole night it wouldn't power my cab.

Fortunately all controls worked and it would send a signal out of the DI out, so we got through it.

After the gig I'd put it in the house, when I got up it worked fine. If I forgot and it got stored in the trailer, next gig, same thing... only happened a couple times, though.

 

[inanimate_carb]

I’ve heard stories over the years that Hartke all-aluminum speakers can shatter if used with no warm-up after being in the cold. I’m speaking of the older ones, not current paper/aluminum Hydrives.

I’ve been using Hartke cabs before a lot of TB members were born. I’ve never had a problem using them on gigs while living in cold climates, but I did allow for warm-up and was never in the habit of long-term cold storage.

Many nice standard-speaker cabinets are obscenely expensive and I’d never keep them in cold environments for any considerable length of time. To me, it’s poor stewardship. That said, I’ve never heard of problems from those that don’t haul them indoors after gigs.

 

[klejst]

I agree, although I would typically not suggest keeping your cabinets in freezing temps I'd think moisture would be more of a problem, especially going from cold to warmer environments and vise-versa quickly and often.

 

[ezstep]

Lots of solid responses, here.

I always unloaded my amp and p.a. speakers first, took 'em inside, pulled off the covers, and finished unloading the trailer. By the time we set up the p.a., cables, drums, etc., the speakers were pretty much room temp. Never had a problem.

 

[LowActionHero]

I'd be more worried about theft. Throw a deer carcass or something over it and you'll be fine.

Ya know, depending on where you are, someone might just steal the deer carcass and leave the cab...

 

[bobcruz]

I would also be more concerned with the theft risk, unless you live somewhere that makes that risk remote. In my urban SF area, leaving any audio equipment in a vehicle unattended for even a few moments and even in someplace respectable like a church parking lot guarantees a broken window and vanished equipment. It's like leaving smoked salmon in your tent when you're backpacking in bear country!

 

[sharkbait130]

My 8 10e has lived in the back of my covered P.U. truck for several years now with no ill effects. During cold weather ,I always let it warm up for at least an hour before playing through it.

 

[Honch]

I do think I've heard that some magnets, Alnico and whatever keeps their magnetism well into heat, but dimishises when it's really cold. But if you have had it in cold it doesn't lose magnetism for good. Letting it slowly creep up to normal room levels restore their magnetism without problems.

Ever heard of cryogenic treatings? They do that with magnets of pickups, steel bridges, strings and so on. It's pretty down in temperature that you can't get in nature at least, not on earth. And they bring it SLOWLY back up again, and the structure of the metallic changes a bit. For a more durable reason moreso than anything else. But there's other things to speaker cones that just the middle coil. The paper and everything else can shrink or dry out, and you can sure make a crack easier in a paper cone.

But as people has said. Car radios speakers have been in the most extreme settings, both at sauna levels, and well below fridge or freezer levels but still works. I think the speed of getting cold or hot is the most important thing, and even more so humidity. Even english manufacturers Tannoy does outdoor speakers with coaxial structure and the last until hell freezes over.