# Speaker sounds blown----but isn't? Wtf?



## USS Enterprise (May 26, 2007)

Ok. I need help with this one. This makes absolutely no sense at all. None.

OK, so I have a speaker that today just sounded awful. My front left midbass. (in fact, they both did, but I'm stuck on testing the one for now)

Made that telltale weak crappy bass sound, like it was blown. Turned off mids and tweets and put balance to full left, to isolate the midbass.

Yup, that telltale sound of flappy thump on the drum beats, and the distorted bass for the guitar.

Further, I can hear what sounds like voice coil rubbing. Fast tick tick tick while it plays.

Oh man, I say. At least these were temp drivers while I was working on the door panels, right?

So....I unhook it and bring it into the house to my test bench, to see how bad it really is.

However, on my test bench it plays fine. No issues. None. Not a peep or hint of failing.

Very, very odd.

So, I take it back out to the car. Sure enough, same sound again.

OK, I say. What's going on here?

So I take a known good driver, a TM65.

Hook it up. Same. Damn sound.
Ok, I say. Never know, maybe 2 bad drivers. So I take a THIRD speaker. A known good L8SE.

Same. Damn. Sound.

Ok, ok I say. Must be the amp.

So, I switch amps. Wouldn't you know, SAME DAMN SOUND.

I even took a second TM65 to test. Yup, you guessed it. Same sound.

So, all 4 speakers, 2 amps, same sound. Changed RCA's, nothing.

I'm at a loss.

The mids and tweets sound great. Nothing wrong. And they are run from the same speaker level input. (stock deck)
So it's not the deck, or shorted wiring.

I just don't get it.

When I say it sounds like a blown speaker, I mean it. I've blown plenty of speakers, and seen others blow theirs. It's a telltale sound. It sounds EXACTLY like that, except they are all FINE!

On the test bench, and even in another car. They are all fine.

Any ideas? I'm really at a loss here.


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## gregrob (Sep 12, 2016)

If they both sound the same way... sounds to me like the channel they're on. Start at the HU and run them on a completely seperate channel and see if the noise goes away.


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## emilime75 (Jan 27, 2011)

You briefly mentioned both your front mids didn't sound right, but you're only testing the one? Do I have that right?

If it's just the one driver, run a temp speaker wire to it from the same channel that it's on the amp, just to eliminate a possible short somewhere.

If it's both drivers, run a different temp source to the amp, like your phone or a CD player, to eliminate the head unit or something before the amp.


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## USS Enterprise (May 26, 2007)

Yeah, only testing the one. Only because the sn went down, and I ran out of time to do the other side.

But I will be doing the other side. Good idea on the temp wire from amp. I will do that first thing in the morning.

I could try using my phone as a source, if I can find my 1/8 to rca adapter. It's somewhere.

Great idea, I might run out and do that tonight.

Thanks, guys! Any other ideas?

It's usually something simple, but it's been one hell of a week and I'm just not seeing it. Had to redo my entire home's wiring setup because the cable tech cut things he shouldn't have when he installed us. Argh.


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## gregrob (Sep 12, 2016)

Phone wont give the amp very much voltage, and you will need a 3.5mm to RCA adapter.
If the amp has input sensitivity adjustment that could work.

Ideally you would get it on a scope and test each channel starting at the head unit and going forward. May be able to see a bunk wave form / distortion or clipping on the o scope.


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## USS Enterprise (May 26, 2007)

I think it was my xo.

I was trying to do an install on my own car finally, and was using it to do the processing.

I ended up removing everything, and even on the bench, new source, new wiring, new speakers, the problem persisted. But only on the midbass outputs.
Everything else seemed clean as day.

Everything hooked up to the midbass outputs sounded like it was blown. Must be an internal short or something. No idea.
Took it out.

Looking for something else to replace it now.


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## Jweebles (Apr 28, 2020)

USS Enterprise said:


> Ok. I need help with this one. This makes absolutely no sense at all. None.
> 
> OK, so I have a speaker that today just sounded awful. My front left midbass. (in fact, they both did, but I'm stuck on testing the one for now)
> 
> ...


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## Jweebles (Apr 28, 2020)

I'm having the same problem with my center speaker and my right front door speaker. I don't know wtf


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

First thing to check are your gains. Sounds like clipping, is my guess. One way to troubleshoot is gain up and see if the problem happens at lower volume. If so, smoking gun. Gain down on that device.


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## F150Man (Apr 14, 2017)

Clipping or just distortion from trying to play them too low. Change the crossover to 80 hz LR 24db HP.


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## Holmz (Jul 12, 2017)

The RCA to 1/8" in the female flavour, allows the earbuds to hear what the amp is being presented with, or what the HU is spitting out...


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

You two sound like you are trying to solve the OP issue and not jweebles.

OP issue is solved, this is an old thread from 2016. We have no detail on what is going on with jweebles car other than the symptom is similar.

check the post dates. If you had already, sorry for assuming.


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## Holmz (Jul 12, 2017)

I didn't not check, but almost always hearing what the amp is hearing is good.
And then the male 1/8" to RCA allows one to shove an iPhone signal into an amp,

So most problems can busted in half, both in the olden days and in the present time.

But you're right... I didn't look... sort of like Ray Charles, I just smile and listen.


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## F150Man (Apr 14, 2017)

I looked. It is almost always caused from trying to play the small woofers too low with too much power.


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## Jweebles (Apr 28, 2020)

Whiterabbit said:


> First thing to check are your gains. Sounds like clipping, is my guess. One way to troubleshoot is gain up and see if the problem happens at lower volume. If so, smoking gun. Gain down on that device.


Thanks for the info. I figured it out now! Like a dumbass, I had the wire clipping some metal. Cleaned it up and its good but now I need access to a RTA.


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