2. speakers
  3. 1023233741

How to ascertain speaker damage?

My %%^#$@!!! housemate was tossing a football around the living room and knocked one of my bookshelf monitors off its stand. It fell 1 feet, hit the subwoofer, and then fell 1 more feet to the ground.

There is some very, very slight scuff marks on the cabinet (plastic--these are minipods). How do I ascertain if there is any damage that has affected the speaker sonically?

This really pisses me off, as I am still in the process of breaking them in. What shall I do? Make him replace it? Or give him a stern warning?

Thanks...
;-(
atzen811
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
it's probably OK
Do some critical listening for awhile, then throw your balance all to one side & listen mono, then to the other side. Or switch around the two speakers & listen from the same side. Any issues will likely manifest themselves, or not if all is OK.
Then give roommate the walking papers.
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
The simple answer is to plug them in, listen and determine if they are ruined. It will be fairly obvious if they have been damaged once they are turned on. Also, look at the drivers to see if they have been hurt in any way.

My only suggestion is to move your hi fi system to a room your housemates don't really have access to, like a bedroom. I went through a similar situation, only my roommate never damaged anything because my stuff was always in my room instead of a main living room
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Try to drive it real loud one after separately and see how they accept the juice.
If notice that it drives an amp to clipping after 10pm volume level than it's probably the voice coil.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
I'd buy a hifi test disc. I certainly wouldn't see how they play really loud ... that in itself might damage them.

To test one speaker at a time you must have a balance control ... don't disconnect speakers with the amp turned up or you might fry the amp.
More to discover