How not to and how to "blow up" speakers

[Coolzrock]

This is a thread for newbies, just like me, and easy to understand.

W = Watts and Ω = Impedance
You can find the watt power in your manual (amp). On the speaker is usually written behind on the magnet.

How not to blow up your speakers:
Are you worried you may "blow up" your speakers.
This is what you should do:

• Check the speaker impedance
• Check the speaker power (W)
• Make sure your amplifier has lower power than your speaker
• Make sure you have the same impedance on your amplifier and speaker

How to blow up your speakers:
So you have some old speakers. First you should consider selling them on eBay, there are people who like old speakers (i do).
To blow up the speaker you need

• Amplifier
• Bass Song

Make sure:

• The amplifier is more powerful than the speaker
• Also, make sure you have the same impedance, so your amplifier doesn't damage too (happens).

Let's start:

• If you don't have a bass song, than type Bass i love you on YouTube
• If you don't have internet (CD player, something else) than play any song with decent bass (pop music)
• Hook up your speakers, on open air to get maximum excursion (cone movement)
• Start your amplifier with turned off volume
• Start raising your volume
• Turn the bass to maximum
• Volume goes max, too
• You see smoke... well if you want to continue, the speakers wont work. If you stop, they will be damaged

I hope i helped. I myself don't like blowing up speakers, because speaker is a wonderful invention, maybe the best. But sometimes there is nothing to do, and some toy speakers left... and waiting their room in the garbage.

This is not a detailed tutorial.

 

[Serj22]

Play bass? No. When you blow up speakers there is only one way to do it. You take the two speaker leads and plug them into a power outlet. Guaranteed 100% will blow it up and may cause it to smoke and light fire. This is how you trade in your car audio before the 2 year warranty is up - er... I mean you don't do that. Some speakers are real champs and will play the rediculous Hz whatever it may be for quite some time before exploding. But anyway, I can smell spam a mile away.

 

[Seth=L]

OP has definitely got to be a teenager.

 

[Midwesthonky]

Dang, now I want to try the plugging it into an outlet test...maybe when the wife is asleep...

 

[Davemcc]

OP has definitely got to be a teenager.

As a self proclaimed newbie, the OP should spend more time reading and less time posting.

 

[Serj22]

The wall outlet is an old trick for car audio. Since a lot of speakers come with 2 year warranties for real cheap. If you blow it yourself, it will be replaced, but some of them are real hard to blow out, so you plug em into a wall and they smoke and light fire, sometimes the cones rip off in glorious fashion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4jXhZgAPp4&feature=fvw

 

[highfigh]

"Make sure your amplifier has lower power than your speaker"

This is wrong. Not enough power blows up a lot of speakers, not all are woofers, though.

 

[Serj22]

Don't try to argue with it or get mad guys, I've been a forum mod elsewhere for a while and can tell spam in the making when I see it. It's a junk post that's meaningless. and if it's not spam.... eghhh... someone needs to read rather than post.

"I hope i helped. I myself don't like blowing up speakers, because speaker is a wonderful invention, maybe the best. But sometimes there is nothing to do, and some toy speakers left... and waiting their room in the garbage."

I'm just waiting for the "To buying good speaker go to www.ipodforsale-nokia-speaker-palace.com for of buy the speaker no blowded up"

(don't click that link in case it's real)

 

[Seth=L]

Don't try to argue with it or get mad guys, I've been a forum mod elsewhere for a while and can tell spam in the making when I see it. It's a junk post that's meaningless. and if it's not spam.... eghhh... someone needs to read rather than post.

"I hope i helped. I myself don't like blowing up speakers, because speaker is a wonderful invention, maybe the best. But sometimes there is nothing to do, and some toy speakers left... and waiting their room in the garbage."

I'm just waiting for the "To buying good speaker go to www.ipodforsale-nokia-speaker-palace.com for of buy the speaker no blowded up"

(don't click that link in case it's real)

LMAO, that stuff is SO REALED! @ AWESOME WOAH! I LOL'D

 

[Coolzrock]

Okay I'm new to this, as i said in the post. But wouldn't a more powerful amplifier than the speakers (in watts), result blowing up the speaker?

 

[Rickster71]

I read a bit in the AV University section : http://www.audioholics.com/education/frequently-asked-questions/common-misconceptions-in-audio-part-ii-speakers

And this link too : http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/loudspeaker-power-handling

 

[highfigh]

Okay I'm new to this, as i said in the post. But wouldn't a more powerful amplifier than the speakers (in watts), result blowing up the speaker?

Not necessarily. If the amp isn't distorting, it won't produce harmonics of the original signal and this often kills tweeters. Woofers and midrange drivers are usually not exposed to these harmonics when the crossover keeps higher frequencies from going to them.

 

[Seth=L]

Okay I'm new to this, as i said in the post. But wouldn't a more powerful amplifier than the speakers (in watts), result blowing up the speaker?

Being that you are new to this I'd advise against starting threads giving advice on things you don't fully understand. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm just saying it may not be in the best interest of others.

 

[MatthewB.]

I fully agree with Seth, less power is actually far mnore dangerous than less.

Say I have a 60 watt amp hooked up to 100 watt speakers, and then a heavy scene comes on, the amp will run out of steam and create distortion in the speaker. Like running a Prius on the Autobahn, yeah at a high rate of speed, pretty soon the engine is gonna blow.

Now say you have a 200 watt amp hooked up to 100 watt speakers, first off it is very slight that you will ever be running that speaker at a full 100 watts and even if it did it would be for a microsecond or two. And your speaker can eaily handle that and the amp isnt even breaking a sweat, hence no danger to your speaker, unless your playing your speaker at insane levels and playing heavy metal bass that your neighbor ten houses away can here than yeah you'll blow your speakers.

It would be like having a Ferrari in a race against those same Prius's you have more power, can easily beat those Prius with alot more power to spare and say the Prius top speed is 100mph, your Ferrari can easily go 110 (beating the Prius) for days and never break a sweat, but your both achieving the same thing, going from point A to point B, only one is doing it with more power and never running the engtine hard.

Sorry for the car analogy, best I could come up with and agree don't post about things you don't know about, it will make you other posts seem ridiculous.