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How bad is the damage to my speakers?

So I bought a Cambridge Audio Azur 851D DAC that can also double as a preamp. While hooking it up to my system (B&W CM10 speakers and Parasound A21 amp), I made a colossal mistake. While streaming music via my iPhone, I had the iPhone volume turned all the way up, and I mistakenly disabled the preamp/volume control section on the 851D, in other words the speakers started blasting at full volume. Obviously, I panicked and it took me at least 5 - 6 seconds to figure out what was going on before I could shut down the 851D. My ears are still ringing and I probably should get them checked out.

My question is how much has this mishap damaged the speakers? I've noticed that the bass is a bit looser since then and the slam is less obvious than before. Is this an expected result? What recourse do I have at this point? The speakers are only 3 months old. Does anyone know if the speakers have any built-in mechanism to protect against such stupid accidents? I'm just livid at myself right now.

arafiq

Showing 1 response by gdhal

gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
Nice speakers!

You probably did NOT do any damage at all. This is an excerpt from B&Ws marketing literature (for your model):

"Which means excellent timing and control, no matter how loud you’re playing it."

The specs for the speakers indicate recommend amp power is " 30W - 300W into 8V on unclipped programme" 


Your amp is rated at 25O Watt max into 8 ohm.

Unless you drove the amp into clipping there should be no damage. Extremely loud "normal music content" is fine. It might be worthwhile to run a frequency sweep through the speaker (at low volume mind you) to get a sense whether or not there is anything obviously wrong. Also, play some music you are already familiar with and volumes you are accustomed to and form an opinion.

Hope this helps. 




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