[Mark Hunter]

In "testing" my system with the XLO Reference recordings, I managed to blow one of my Infinity Reference Series 4 (RS-4) front channel speakers.


I was taking the advice of a friend (you know who you are!), and trying my system with the subwoofer turned off to see what effect that had on performance...well, it wasn't good!


The Harman-Kardon AVR20 was set to about 50% volume, the subwoofer was off, and XLO reference track 18 was playing. At 5:45 on track 18 (during an amazing bass-heavy buildup that caused the system to begin to distort heavily), the HK receiver suddenly blinked off. http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/eek.gif


Turning the receiving back on revealed that the left front speaker was a thin tinny shell of it's former self (the woofer was blown, but the tweeter still tweeted).


Is there any way to "fix" a blown speaker? What causes a blown speaker? I wish to avoid this in the future. If I want to play XLO track 18 at 50% volume again, should I upgrade the speaker or the receiver?


Thanks for any light that anyone can shed on this for me!


Mark Hunter

 

[pjenkins]

Mark,

Generally, no. My EE professor once said that all electonics work on smoke. Once the smoke comes out, it won't work again http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif While this isn't entirely true (grin), a blown component requires replacement. Madisound ( http://www.madisound.com ) carries an impressive array of components, I built my speakers from components from them.


Cheers,

Paul

 

[Mark Hunter]

Thanks, Paul,


I thought that might be the case. I was looking for an excuse to upgrade anyway.


Any idea what might have caused it? I saw a guys site who explained distortion/clipping and he made it sound like an UNDER-powered receiver can cause the speakers to fry.


Does this sound right? I trust you guys far more than this random ~user web site!


Mark

 

[Don O’Brien]

It is rare that an amplifier, let alone a reciever would provide more power than a speaker could handle. Commonly speakers clip and then fail (smoke) when there is inadequate current delivered to the speaker by the amplifier/reciever. Frequently, speaker will change their resistance (impedance) as the input signal frequency changes. When the impedance become lower, their is an increased need for the amplifier to supply current in order to maintain output. If you can find an impedance vs. frequency trace (audio mag if ever tested) for your speaker you can ascertain where the current requirements for your speaker are highest. Many speaker have impedance halving between 20 and 100hz which would require twice as much current from your reciever. I wish you luck in your repair or new purchase.

 

[Mark Hunter]

Thanks, Dan,


After I replace/repair the speaker, I am planning on upgrading the receiver.


Do you have a separate processor/amp., or do most folks still go with a single unit for both operations?