How to tell if I have damaged my speakers? (1 Viewer)

[Ron Reda]

I've been into HT for a while now and haven't done something as dumb as this in some time. Anyway, the other day I noticed that my pre-pro was in a state of limbo due to some recent storms. It was powered on, but wasn't responding to commands from my remote. Like a complete moron, instead of turning off the stereo amp that is connected to it first & then powering off my pre-pro, I turned off the pre-pro & then turned it right back on. That's when the "POP" occurred. While the pop wasn't ridiculously loud, it was loud enough to cause me some concern.

That all being said, how do I determine if they've been damaged due to this??? A few hours after the situation occurred, I put on a song that I know has a big bass kick drum sound to it. However, it didn't seem as prominent or defined as it once was.

Side note: All of my other monoblock amps are connected to a Panamax surge protector/line conditioner. The stereo amp (which powers the fronts only, the ones that "popped") is connected to a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet.

 

[JohnRice]

From how you describe it I doubt you caused any damage. If there were any, it would be to the speakers and most likely to the woofer and/or to the sub if you have one. The only real way I know to determine this is to take the cover off the speakers and VERY CAREFULLY push the woofer cone back a bit, let it return, and repeat a few times. You have to be sure to push it perfectly straight back. If there is damage to the voice coil, you will hear some grinding as you push back, while listening very closely to thhe cone. The problem is, you will also hear grinding if you don't push the driver perfectly straight back.

I seriously doubt you damaged the electronics. But now you will probably remember to turn off any amps before unplugging your pre.

 

[Raymond lee Leggs]

Smoke, Fire, strange burning smell. that sort of thing. Bad or muffled or missingsound is also a sign.

 

[Ron Reda]

Thanks for the reply, John and Raymond. No, I definitely don't think I damaged the electronics. If anything, it would have been the speakers. I'll give the cone trick a shot later on. As far as turning the pre-pro on w/o powering off the amp, I should've known better. It's just so rare that I ever power anything down, that I just did it w/o thinking about the sequence.

Nope, no bad, muffled or missing sound. That one particular song didn't sound as authoritiative in the bass kick drum as it has in the past, although that could be due to the fact that last time I listened to the track was a few months back and I've made some minor changes to the system since then.

 

[Raymond lee Leggs]

I meant the speakers.