This coming weekend, I'm hosting my brother-in-law's 50th birthday party (of course, I'm much younger than he is). Things are likely to get seriously out of hand. Although I doubt we'll play Metallica, Jimi, Cream, Janis, Frank Z., the Stones, et al. will probably attend.

The question is: am I tempting fate? Will the drivers show signs of distress before anything untoward happens?

Thanks in advance.

• Pi 2 Tower Construction Pix

You'll notice a real big change in sound when a system is pushed past its limits. It is very easy to detect, no skill required. The thing is that some people don't care. Think of the buzzing trunk lid in car stereos, that kind of thing. It is very apparent, and it is really hard to ignore. Same thing with the sort of sounds made by a system in distress from being pushed beyond its limits. You'll know long before failure, and probably will find that your natural inclination is to turn it down because it sounds bad in that mode.

In the meantime, even though it's not a Pi -- sorry -- the link is to a photo of the center channel speaker I've made as a present for my bro-in-law.

• Center Channel Speaker