How does a speaker blow out?


I don't understand how a speaker "blows" if the wattage of the amplifier is less than the upper limit of the speaker's limit.  Then again, I guess I don't really understand what "clipping" is.  The amp is 22w, I was listening at a moderately high level, there was a bass heavy section in the music, and then I heard the most painful noise coming from one the of woofers.  Sad.

mikedc

Showing 1 response by jaytor

As others have said, clipping generally causes damage to the tweeters before the woofers. If you heard a bad noise from the woofer, then it seems likely it is a mechanical failure, not an electrical failure. 

Does the speaker make any sound when you play it now? Is the tweeter and midrange still working? If so, and the woofer is not totally dead, then this seems like it is damage due to overdriving, not clipping. 

You can often tell if there is mechanical damage by gently pushing on the cone. If you feel any scraping or stiction, then you have mechanical damage. 

How old are your speakers? Have you always used the relatively low power tube amp to drive them? Do you use any equalization or dsp to boost the bass?