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Post by davidl81 on Apr 5, 2018 16:59:36 GMT -5
Well I may have gotten a little too excited with my DR-2. I was testing it out today and I got it loud, around 108db and it sounded good. A little bright, but super clear. Then I smelt that burning smell. I turned everything down then off. The smell seems like it came from the speakers and I think it was the mid range. What is the best way to test out the speaker to see if the coil is damaged? Should I pull the speaker out of the cabinet and visually inspect it? Sound wise I can’t hear any damage, but I did not try it out very long after the smell started.
PS Pretty dumb on my part.
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Post by teaman on Apr 5, 2018 17:04:34 GMT -5
I don't think it's dumb necessarily. Why pay for power if you don't plan on using it. Not sure if the Mirage were the speakers in question but they had a five year warranty I believe so you may yet be covered. Hope so!
Tim
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Post by knucklehead on Apr 5, 2018 17:46:23 GMT -5
What you smell might be something hot but not burnt. You can check voice coils with a 9v battery. Briefly touch the battery terminals on the speaker input terminals while you put a hand on the driver's cone. It should cause the driver to thump slightly & move in or out - which is determined by the polarity of the battery. Check each driver in the same manner. It should also produce a little bit of static in the tweeter. If you burnt a coil it won't thump or move.
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Post by andyman on Apr 5, 2018 19:34:10 GMT -5
I wonder if someone was burning a fatty and that’s what you smelled.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 5, 2018 19:44:00 GMT -5
The best way to test a speaker is with a decent multimeter. Use the ohm setting to get a static reading, with the speaker diconnected from the crossover. If it reads close to the spec (if its a 8ohm speaker, it should be anywhere from 5-8 ohms), then leave the meter connected and gently/slowly push the speaker cone in and out (out from behind). Watch the meter reading. If it gets anywhere near 0, then you have a shorted voice coil. My guess is that if you smelled something burning, its probably a crossover component, most likely a small capacitor. Check that out while you have the driver(s) removed. Good luck!
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Post by davidl81 on Apr 5, 2018 23:40:35 GMT -5
Well I have spent a little more time this evening listing to a mix of music at a more moderate volume (about 85db according to my meter) and I can’t “hear” anything wrong with the speakers. All of the drivers are playing, but I still smell a trace amount of that smell. Not really sure what to do next. I may go and get a multimeter and test the speakers. But if they are playing ok, do I really want to start pulling drivers out of their cabinets?
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Post by teaman on Apr 6, 2018 0:43:05 GMT -5
Well I have spent a little more time this evening listing to a mix of music at a more moderate volume (about 85db according to my meter) and I can’t “hear” anything wrong with the speakers. All of the drivers are playing, but I still smell a trace amount of that smell. Not really sure what to do next. I may go and get a multimeter and test the speakers. But if they are playing ok, do I really want to start pulling drivers out of their cabinets? Are you sure the smell was coming from the speaker? I would think an amp, preamp or other electronics would be the source of a burning smell when playing loud like that. If everything is functioning and sounds okay, roll with it. If something was burning up, you would probably continue smelling that and the sense that something in the sound is off would be evident....I would think. Tim |
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Post by 405x5 on Apr 6, 2018 7:06:20 GMT -5
Well I may have gotten a little too excited with my DR-2. I was testing it out today and I got it loud, around 108db and it sounded good. A little bright, but super clear. Then I smelt that burning smell. I turned everything down then off. The smell seems like it came from the speakers and I think it was the mid range. What is the best way to test out the speaker to see if the coil is damaged? Should I pull the speaker out of the cabinet and visually inspect it? Sound wise I can’t hear any damage, but I did not try it out very long after the smell started. PS Pretty dumb on my part. Just wait. Right now everything sounds ok? A bad driver will make itself apparent soon enough, and that kind of damage would mean voice coil replacement (rebuild) or replacement of the full driver. Do you have fuses or built in overload protection built into those systems? Bill |
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KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 10,272
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Post by KeithL on Apr 6, 2018 13:26:17 GMT -5
If you've simply overheated the voice coil there's not much you can do.
If it's completely open, or melted into place immovably, you would notice that there's no sound coming from the driver.
And, if it's open or shorted, you can detect that with a multimeter (you've got to measure the driver itself).
If it's overheated to the point where the glue has failed, then it would either buzz or jangle when played loudly.
And, if it isn't doing any of those, but is partly damaged, it could sound (and measure) fine for a while and then fail.
However, as long as it's working fine now, I wouldn't worry about it until and unless it actually fails or starts to sound funny.
Some speaker drivers can handle a significant amount of abuse without suffering any sort of permanent damage.
In the mean time, if it sounds OK, there's not much point in pulling out the drivers.
There's simply not much you're likely to be able to tell by looking at the outside of the driver or by measuring it with a meter.
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Post by DavidR on Apr 6, 2018 14:53:20 GMT -5
Use this chart if you want to fuse your speakers. Download it to your hard drive and print it out. I use AGC glass fuses with this type of holder:   |
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