Test Speaker Driver Outside of Speaker Box?

[wesm82]

Basically as title says, how do I go about doing so? I have a bunch of old home audio drivers I want to test listen to. I've seen a tutorial on youtube using a car amplifier which I did at one point and it worked well but I've since sold it and not sure how to go about testing them other than using a multimeter but I assume you still need to hear the driver to know for certain that it's working properly. Can it be connected directly to the speaker outputs of a receiver?

Any help is much appreciated!

[DYohn]

It depends on what you are trying to determine from the drivers. One easy way to test drivers is to purchase a test system like this one: www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dats-v2-computer-based-audio-component-test-system--390-806

Otherwise you are looking at needing several hundreds or thousands of dollars in test equipment.

And if you just want to know if it's functional, use a battery across the terminals (you will need to rig some wires) will tell you if the voice coil is intact.

[AudioHTIT]

In addition to the battery DYohn mentions, you can use a VOM in resistance mode; like the battery it will send a small current through the driver. In both cases you should hear a small ‘pop’ if the voice coil is intact, the VOM has the additional advantage of having probes and it will tell you the resistance (not impedance) of the driver. Both methods can also tell you the speakers phase by watching if the speaker goes in or out when the positive terminal is connected to the positive probe or battery.

You can also test for a warped (over heated) voice coil by gently pushing down on the cone just outside the voice coil; it works best if you use two hands, two fingers each to spread the pressure evenly around the cone. As you gently press in, feel for the coil scraping against the magnet, don’t push any further than the speakers normal throw.

[Gary Cook]

First task, visually check it over, look for tears in the cone, out of alignment, non symmetrical, check the suspension for compliance. Then connect the driver to the speaker outputs of an amplifier and keep the volume very low. We're not checking the sound quality, just making sure that it works, goes in and out, without any mechanical noises. The voice coil works, the suspension flexes, that the noise coming out sounds something like what it should. Don't over drive it (with volume) it can overextend and be permanently damaged. If it a small enough driver I have tested them with a bit more volume in a shoe box, just cutting a hole large enough for the driver. I find Addidas shoe boxes sound better than Nike's.

Cheers
Gary

[wesm82]

Haha funny about the shoe boxes!

Thanks for the help guys. I will try the amplifier method at low volume as Gary mentioned.

[knucklehead]

Make sure you turn the amp off before connecting, and before disconnecting.

I used this method when I refurbished a pair of Acoustic Research AR2ax speakers from 1968-69. I checked each driver individually using lamp cord wire with alligator clips on the test end, which made things easy. Each played ok during the test phase so I re-installed them and hoped for the best. They play loud and proud with no problems or funny noises.

[405x5]

May 8, 2018 9:57:57 GMT -5 wesm82 said:

Basically as title says, how do I go about doing so? I have a bunch of old home audio drivers I want to test listen to. I've seen a tutorial on youtube using a car amplifier which I did at one point and it worked well but I've since sold it and not sure how to go about testing them other than using a multimeter but I assume you still need to hear the driver to know for certain that it's working properly. Can it be connected directly to the speaker outputs of a receiver?

Any help is much appreciated!

If you are someone like me, who runs cutting edge electronics (XMC1) etc. with great vintage loudspeakers, of which some are now going beyond 30 years, then driver testing, rebuilding, replacing is part of the drill.
My last effort was a total rebuild of every woofer in the system, that was eight drivers, plus two spares also done.
That was finished end of summer 2016.
After 30 years of continuous use, foam replacement is not enough, because the spider and the surrounds work together to control the excursion and the voice coil alignment.
A refoam is fine if the driver is 12/15 years old.
Today’s subwoofer usage does a lot to ease the burden on the system woofers not needing to work that hard.

Bill