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.

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       What Erik said (regarding clipping), but: after a x-over passes that high freq distortion to the tweeter and burns it (typically: open), the energy that no longer has a path that way, is routed to the next highest freq driver, in the circuit.

                  In the case of a two-way: that would be the woofer.

        I lost count of the number of two-way systems in which I found both drivers toasted by an under-powered amp, while in the reconing biz.    Blown x-over caps, as well.

        Though a clipped signal isn't DC; it certainly can do as much damage.

         On the other hand: hearing a, "...most painful noise, coming from one of the woofers", might indicate a woofer that was driven past it's mechanical excursion limit (Xmech, per Thiele-Small), bottoming the voice coil, or: causing it to hit the gap's top edge(s).

         That type of damage usually resulted from boosted/heavy Bass and a vented cabinet, regardless of amplifier rating.

 

It might have been around 70dB, I wasn't making the windows rattle.  And it was organ music!!!  LOL!!!!

I appreciate all the info!

Another possibility is simply a defective product. Even with really good quality control on the production line, there can still be hidden issues that show up only after a product has been used for a while.