# Blown-out speakers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289 "2003-03-18T15:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/1 "2003-03-18T15:56:10Z")
What happens when a speaker blows out? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/2 "2003-03-18T16:00:25Z")
The voice coil overheats and fuses open. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/3 "2003-03-18T16:16:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enola Straight \* > \*\*What happens when a speaker blows out? \*\* You can also perforate the cone. (The thing that pushes the air). I don`t know if fuse is the proper word (maybe fusible link?), usually a fuse can be replaced. It is usually a wire lead that will break that powers the coil. ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/4 "2003-03-18T16:33:42Z")
Or else the voice coil itself opens and the speaker stops working, or the voice coil gets so hot it melts the insulation and everything gets all gummed up and the speaker sort of works and sounds shitty. You might also manage to blast the speaker cone off of the voice coil so that it electrically is fine but all you get is a sort of scratching noise. If its a piezo tweeter, you might drive it so hard the crystal cracks or the contacts get popped off. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/5 "2003-03-18T16:36:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whuckfistle \* > **You can also perforate the cone. (The thing that pushes the air).** Yep. And you can also overextend the cone. That’s what happened to me. About 6 years ago I was plugging/unplugging RCA low-level audio cables on the back of my preamp with the power amp on (stupid!). This generated a huge spike into the power amp, which resulted in the amp’s DC rail being fed to one of the speakers (ouch!). The cone just about rocketed out of the frame. The speaker was ruined. I had to get it re-coned at the tune of $200. ☹ Lesson learned: _Never_ manipulate low-level signal lines with the power amp on. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/6 "2003-03-18T16:39:30Z")
The term “fusing” in this case, refers to the burning through of a wire which has been heated to its fusing temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/7 "2003-03-18T16:41:37Z")
Speakers tend to blow when you introduce too much DC into them. This occurs when you crank up a solid state and _underpowered_ amplifier. The amplifier begins to “clip,” which basically means a relatively high bursts of DC are being fed to the speakers. Not good. In cases like this, it is often better on your speakers to use a more powerful amplifier (i.e. one with more dynamic headroom). ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/8 "2003-03-18T17:35:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*The term “fusing” in this case, refers to the burning through of a wire which has been heated to its fusing temperature. \*\* Exactly; Sorry, I thought you meant to say “The voice coil overheats and (the) fuses open.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/9 "2003-03-18T18:19:17Z")
Blown speaker cause# 8: If you have liquid cooled coils, gas bubbles can form in the coolant and not go back into solution. Sometimes bits of magnetic material break off and starts scraping across the coil when it moves. You can also damage the cross-over circuit inside a speaker with 2+ drivers. Mainly a cap. and a coil, the cap. is more easily damaged. But you have to do something weird to damage the cap. in a short time. Usually it’s long term damage and aging. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/10 "2003-03-18T18:32:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whuckfistle \* > \*\*Exactly; > Sorry, I thought you meant to say “The voice coil overheats and (the) fuses open.” \*\* FWIW, I _have_ seen speaker cabinet assemblies with fuses in them, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/11 "2003-03-18T21:36:05Z")
And they make 'em with circuit breakers, too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blown-out-speakers/162289/12 "2003-03-18T22:06:46Z")
With Planar Transducers, you can (in theory) drive them hard enough to melt the ribbon, or, by driving them hard then turning them off suddenly, they cool and harden, only to crack when you turn them on again. Doesn’t happen too often, but “the good ones” come with a 5 year warranty… 😃 * * * Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.