How can I test old speakers to see if they are still good? (1 Viewer)

[Pat_DiLella]

I apologize if this seems like a dumb question but I recently found a pair of Tannoy 6.5 PBM studio monitors that I purchased during the late 80's. I do not need them and would like to put them on EBAY and see how much I can get for them. Before I do that I want to test them and make sure they are still in good working condition. Is there anything I can do other than connecting them to my receiver and listening to how they sound? Can I open them up and check to see if they are any loose connections or something? I remember having problems with something separating in the woofers from time to time and I want to make sure they are ok before I sell them. Thanks

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Pat,

You can remove the drivers and test them with an ohm meter. If you get no reading, the voice coil is open and the driver is bad. While they are out, check the wiring all the way to the crossover and look for obvious problems.

It can’t hurt to perform some other tests when you get the drivers re-installed. Applying equal pressure on all sides, you can gently push the woofer. If you hear a scraping sound, the driver is damaged.

Next try a listening test, one speaker at a time. This should be done with simple but full-range program material, like a 3-peice jazz ensemble. First listen with the sound very low. If you hear a buzzing sound, it is probably a damaged woofer (or mid-range, if it is a cone driver). After that, turn it up to normal levels and listen for anything out of the ordinary – buzzes, rattles, etc.

Generally speakers are pretty reliable. If they are not mistreated they can last for decades. Usually the problem, if there is one, is that the surround on cone drivers deteriorates.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Mark Shannon]

I keep finding speakers all over my house. The thing is, none of them are any good...

I just sometimes use them to compliment my current sound system (if it is possible with crappy speakers)

I recently foudn a couple NEC's. They were tall, narrow, ugly things...

hooked 'em up to an old 60 reciever, and on low volumes they were great. I turned up the volume a bit, and they blew...

opened 'em up, and saw that they were made of two small (3.5") woofers and a really small tweeter... the woofers said right on them, 10 watts max... Damn...

sorry, just wanted to comment