How do you know if your speakers are blown? Nukustik (2024)

• Speakers blow due to mechanical or thermal failure.
• In addition to volume, several factors can cause a speaker to blow.
• A blown speaker makes scratching noises, or no sound at all.
• Blown speakers can be repaired. Learn how to fix a blown speaker.

Speakers blow for several reasons.

The sound will change noticeably in a short time, meaning a reduction in sound quality, scratching or buzzing noises, or your speakers becoming completely muted.

Physical signs of a blown speaker may include improper cone movement, cracks in the speaker cone, or improper vibration.

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Let's see how to tell if your speakers are burned out and how to know if your speakers are broken.

What is a blown speaker?

A blown speaker is a speaker that has suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure in which one or more critical components are damaged, resulting in poor, distorted, or no sound at all. Speakers typically explode due to prolonged, improper use or too much exposure to current that damages delicate components.

How do you know if a speaker is blown?

You can tell that a speaker has blown up for several reasons. Usually there will be an issue with how it sounds or how it physically looks.

What does a blown speaker sound like?

Blown speakers usually produce hissing, indistinct or buzzing sounds. Alternatively, they may sound like they are scratching or scraping while playing. Or in more severe cases, a blown speaker will be completely silent and produce no sound.

A blown speaker may sound like this:

Hissing, humming or blurry

A blown speaker makes a muffled, hissing, or buzzing sound. Every time the music plays it will pop, crackle or scrape.

Lack of bass, treble or midrange

A loss of bass or treble in your speaker is often a good indication that your speaker is broken.

A blown speaker cannot transmit sound due to damaged parts, so any apparent change in sound is associated with mechanical failure.

Completely silent

Blown speakers can also be completely muted and produce no sound.

This can be one of the most obvious signs of a broken speaker, but should be investigated further to ensure it isn't a faulty connection, a damaged part, or something more obvious.

If a speaker goes completely silent after exhibiting some of the problems mentioned above, chances are the speaker is blown and on its way to deterioration.

What does a blown speaker look like?

Cracked speakers suffer from physical damage that can be obvious or hidden depending on which part is affected.

Torn or damaged cone

A cracked or damaged cone can be a symptom of a blown speaker, because a damaged cone means the speaker cannot vibrate or move properly.

When a speaker is overpowered, it moves in a way it was never designed to, exceeding its physical limitations. This can cause the cone to tear or tear as the speaker moves.

Melted or burnt components

A blown speaker may have one or more damaged parts, especially if the speaker has been blown up by a power surge.

Speakers are made of interconnected, working parts that are fragile and can be damaged when exposed to electricity and heat. When this happens, the parts usually break, preventing the entire speaker from producing good sound.

Poor movement and vibration

A great speaker moves with the music and vibrates on command, giving the sound the rich and textured effect you're used to hearing.

A blown speaker will not have these natural acoustic effects because it will not be able to move properly and complete a full range of motion.

Why do speakers blow?

Speakers can explode for a number of reasons. The most common is a mechanical or thermal failure due to excess power, poor construction materials, or improper sound system setup.

Overload force

Overloaded speakers allow too much current to flow through them, meaning the materials they are made of cannot perform at the levels they are exposed to.

If you have an amplifier that produces too much electricity and connect it to your speaker, you're pushing too much current into the system and could damage, break, or melt delicate components.

It can bend or melt plastic or adhesive, disrupt the seating position of a speaker part and cause it to collide with another, leading to mechanical failure.

Improper equalization

Equalization (EQ) is the process of adjusting the various balances in your audio signal so that certain frequencies are boosted or removed.

The average listener won't know how to adjust these as they are typically used at a more technical level by audio engineers and technicians.

This probably explains why tinkering with EQ can damage a speaker setup, as incorrect knowledge can expose the speakers and circuits to levels they were not designed for.

Amplifier / sound clip

Audio clipping forces a speaker to produce a sound for which it was not designed.

Clipped sound occurs when too large a sound wave is pushed through the speaker, most likely due to an excessive amplifier.

Since the speaker is not designed to perform at a technical level, the sound comes out - represented in a sound graph by a flat line.

If audio clipping occurs too often, too much current is pushed through the speaker, eventually damaging it over time.

What happens if your speaker blows out?

When your speaker breaks, it is advisable to stop using it as soon as possible to prevent further damage.

You will know that the speaker is damaged due to an obvious or abrupt change in sound quality, distorted sound or no sound at all.

If you want to take matters into your own hands, there are a few blown speaker tests you can do.

Test of blown speakers

Replace with another speaker

If you think a speaker is burned out, try connecting another speaker to the circuit that you know works. If the sound returns, chances are the original speaker has blown and needs to be replaced or repaired.

However, be careful about connecting a working speaker to the system that blew your last speaker.

If there is improper setup, too much power, or some other problem, chances are you will end up blowing up your brand new speaker again.

Multimeter test for blown speakers

If you have a multimeter, you can use it to test whether the speaker is blown:

1. Turn your multimeter to read the resistance, indicated in Ohms (Ω).
2. Touch the respective wires to the speaker terminals.
3. Check the Ohm (Ω) value on the back of the speaker.
4. If the readings differ significantly, there is a resistance problem.

Using a 9 volt battery

While we have covered this in ourspeaker testing guide, here is a simple speaker test:

1. Unplug your speaker to make sure there is no power.
2. Touch the battery terminals to the speaker terminals.
3. There should be a slight 'pop' when the speaker receives some power.

*Note: If you can't easily touch the battery terminals with the speaker, you can connect some wires to the battery so it can reach further.

Physical inspection

If a speaker is physically damaged, you may need to do a quick visual check:

1. A blown speaker can damage the cone, including cracking or tearing.
2. There may be cracks or breaks in the foam driver that surrounds the speaker.
3. The coil may become damaged, which is hardly visible from the outside.

What do you do with blown speakers?

Bloated speakers are a tricky problem because if the speakers are not that expensive or sentimental, it is often easier to replace them with new ones in most cases.

However, if the speakers are premium and high-end, it is best to contact the store where you purchased them or contact a professional speaker repairman who can assist you further.

While you canrepair speakersofshave them over, yourself - this is not recommended unless you know what you are doing or are willing to risk irreparably damaging the speakers.