How can I tell if I blew my tweeters?

[Yossarian14]

So if you've seen any of my related threads you'll know that I blew a pair of Polk Audio R20 bookshelf speakers. I was playing them loud, my ipod dock shorted, then silence. The woofers don't move so I bought replacements from Polk but I want to figure out if the tweeters are operating normally. My receiver is fine, I tested some other speakers and they sounded great.

What should they sound like? They sound very tinty but do produce sound, just not noticably high pitch sounds. Is there anything else in my speakers that I could have damaged?

 

[lsiberian]

So if you've seen any of my related threads you'll know that I blew a pair of Polk Audio R20 bookshelf speakers. I was playing them loud, my ipod dock shorted, then silence. The woofers don't move so I bought replacements from Polk but I want to figure out if the tweeters are operating normally. My receiver is fine, I tested some other speakers and they sounded great.

What should they sound like? They sound very tinty but do produce sound, just not noticably high pitch sounds. Is there anything else in my speakers that I could have damaged?

You may need to just replace the whole speaker.
I suggest you pick up a pair of Behringer 2030p's

They are probably better speakers only cost 130 a pair and can take more abuse. Make sure your using a subwoofer.

 

[Swerd]

If the tweeters can make any sound at all, they may be OK. If they were blown, they wouldn't respond at all.

A simple test to see if the voice coils were blown out of commission is to very briefly attach a 1.5 volt AA battery to wires connected to the speaker terminals. If the cones or domes move when the battery is connected, then they are probably OK. With the + terminal of the battery connected to the + or red speaker terminal, the dome should move forward with a pop. With the polarity reversed, it should pop inward. Be sure to do this briefly, don't keep the battery connected for more than a second or two.

The same can be done with your woofers. If they are really blown, they shouldn't move at all.

If the tweeters are also blown, you know who to call.

 

[TLS Guy]

If the tweeters can make any sound at all, they may be OK. If they were blown, they wouldn't respond at all.

A simple test to see if the voice coils were blown out of commission is to very briefly attach a 1.5 volt AA battery to wires connected to the speaker terminals. If the cones or domes move when the battery is connected, then they are probably OK. With the + terminal of the battery connected to the + or red speaker terminal, the dome should move forward with a pop. With the polarity reversed, it should pop inward. Be sure to do this briefly, don't keep the battery connected for more than a second or two.

The same can be done with your woofers. If they are really blown, they shouldn't move at all.

If the tweeters are also blown, you know who to call.

Actually you can get partially working speakers. High current can melt the insulation between some of the windings. You end up with a low output speaker with lower than specified DC resistance. This phenomenon is often but not always associated with gap rub, if there is enough carbon around coil to cause rub. This is not an uncommon scenario, and the test is to measure the DC resistance.

 

[j_garcia]

Actually you can get partially working speakers. High current can melt the insulation between some of the windings. You end up with a low output speaker with lower than specified DC resistance. This phenomenon is often but not always associated with gap rub, if there is enough carbon around coil to cause rub. This is not an uncommon scenario, and the test is to measure the DC resistance.

Yep, what he said. You can blow drivers without completely killing them. If they crackle or simply don't sound right, then they are likely toast.

 

[Swerd]

Thanks, both of you, for pointing that out. I guess I've never seen partially blown drivers.

 

[Yossarian14]

Well I guess I'll just wait till I get the woofer in to see how they sound. Like I said they are moving. It just does not strike me as the sound I would expect them to play. I'll let you guys know after that point. Thanks everyone.

 

[lsiberian]

Well I guess I'll just wait till I get the woofer in to see how they sound. Like I said they are moving. It just does not strike me as the sound I would expect them to play. I'll let you guys know after that point. Thanks everyone.

It really doesn't play the meat of music anyway. That's done by the woofer.

 

[Pyrrho]

So if you've seen any of my related threads you'll know that I blew a pair of Polk Audio R20 bookshelf speakers. I was playing them loud, my ipod dock shorted, then silence. The woofers don't move so I bought replacements from Polk but I want to figure out if the tweeters are operating normally. My receiver is fine, I tested some other speakers and they sounded great.

What should they sound like? They sound very tinty but do produce sound, just not noticably high pitch sounds. Is there anything else in my speakers that I could have damaged?

If the woofer does not move at all, but are not shorted out (which could cause your receiver to go into protection mode when they are hooked up), most likely, you should hear the treble the same as before if the tweeters are fine. Of course, you will not hear bass and whatever midrange the woofer was doing, so it is not going to sound like proper music with just the tweeters. If you don't hear the treble as before, probably the tweeters are damaged, though there is also the crossover to consider.

 

[Yossarian14]

Well the woofers were def blown, ohm meter test etc. I dont know how to describe the sound from the tweeters, music and especially tv sounded very muffled/muddy like it was coming through wax paper.

 

[TLS Guy]

Well the woofers were def blown, ohm meter test etc. I dont know how to describe the sound from the tweeters, music and especially tv sounded very muffled/muddy like it was coming through wax paper.

Sound from only a tweeter always sounds very unpleasant. Your observation means nothing of significance.

 

[tunkas]

Just got a new amp (Marantz 6005) and it seems like my tweeters (on JBL Northridge E80) are not working.
The sound seems a little 'numb', like high pitched sounds are not present... I tried putting my ear on both tweeters and they doesn't seem to produce any sound. I opened them both, and one of them has partially melted the plastic band on the back that holds it in frame.
Both woofers and a midrange work normally.

Monitors were connected to a not properly working amp for a while, could that have blown the tweeters?
Or does this sound like a faulty crossover and not blown tweeters?

Thank you for your help!

A

 

[TLS Guy]

Just got a new amp (Marantz 6005) and it seems like my tweeters (on JBL Northridge E80) are not working.
The sound seems a little 'numb', like high pitched sounds are not present... I tried putting my ear on both tweeters and they doesn't seem to produce any sound. I opened them both, and one of them has partially melted the plastic band on the back that holds it in frame.
Both woofers and a midrange work normally.

Monitors were connected to a not properly working amp for a while, could that have blown the tweeters?
Or does this sound like a faulty crossover and not blown tweeters?

Thank you for your help!

A

Do a continuity check in the tweeters with on ohm meter, then you will know. If i very rare for the high pass circuit to a tweeter to burn out.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

I was worried that I may have damaged the tweeters on my Definitive Technology Studio Monitor 45's. So I ran them through the 'test tone' procedure on my Yamaha RX-A1020. Test tone was generated, but that's probably not an accurate test of the individual drivers (woofer & tweeter). Would music like Yoko Ono screeching or something similar reveal any damage?

 

[tunkas]

Problem is I don't have an ohm meter
Is there any other way to test them?
How do I test for the faulty crossover?

Thank you for your help!

A

 

[TLS Guy]

Problem is I don't have an ohm meter
Is there any other way to test them?
How do I test for the faulty crossover?

Thank you for your help!

A

Then buy an ohm meter! There are no star gazing methods for this.

Test the tweeters out of the speaker.

To test the crossover you need a signal generator and multimeter at the least.

 

[tunkas]

Thank you for replying to my question.
After I test the tweeters I'll come back for more information if cross over needs to be tested...

A

 

[tunkas]

I tested both tweeters with multimeter and both are blown.
Ordered new ones and will install them soon.
Thank you for your help.

A