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Why do speakers fail? [message #87140] Fri, 26 January 2018 18:41 Go to next message
Lohan is currently offline  Lohan
Messages: 15
Registered: January 2018
Chancellor
What is it that makes speakers fail? Is it due to poor design or are not well made? Or is it usually because of them taking on more power than they can handle?
Re: Why do speakers fail? [message #87145 is a reply to message #87140] Sat, 27 January 2018 09:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18786
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

The most common cause of loudspeaker failure is heat. Running a speaker for a period of time (usually several minutes) over its maximum power handling ability causes heat to increase in the motor core. Eventually the glue that holds the voice coil fails and the edge of the winding comes loose. Then the speaker begins to buzz when played. After a while, the loose winding may catch and break, and then the speaker no longer makes any sound at all.

The second most common cause of failure is over-excursion. When too much bass is sent to the speaker for its suspension to handle, the voice coil former strikes the back plate or some other suspension component is pushed past its limits, causing it to be deformed, torn or broken.

There are less common failure modes too. An instantaneous energy surge can cause the voice coil to melt. This is rare, but it happens, usually as a result of an amplifier malfunction. And of course, there are cases where the speaker is mechanically damaged by something striking or penetrating the cone/diaphragm, or by something covering the cone with liquid or other material, etc.

Re: Why do speakers fail? [message #87146 is a reply to message #87145] Sun, 28 January 2018 19:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
AudioFred is currently offline  AudioFred
Messages: 377
Registered: May 2009
Location: Houston
Illuminati (1st Degree)
One of my son's speakers failed because it chose to die after playing his heavy metal at ear-splitting volume levels hour after hour. Wayne would probably disagree and suggest the voice coil burned up, but I still think the speaker chose it's own fate. Laughing
Re: Why do speakers fail? [message #87149 is a reply to message #87146] Sun, 28 January 2018 20:36 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18786
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
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Re: Why do speakers fail? [message #87150 is a reply to message #87140] Mon, 29 January 2018 03:26 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Lohan is currently offline  Lohan
Messages: 15
Registered: January 2018
Chancellor
I know what you mean, AudioFred. I find it really frustrating when a speaker just dies for no apparent reason. Anyway, it's good to know what some of the causes are so I can take better care of them in the future.
Re: Why do speakers fail? [message #87189 is a reply to message #87140] Fri, 02 February 2018 12:00 Go to previous message
Silver is currently offline  Silver
Messages: 116
Registered: December 2013
Viscount
Keep them clean too. Dust in the inner workings isn't good.

When I was younger I would go through speakers quite fast, and I now blame it on how loud and how often I used them.
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