Blown Focal Coax
08-05-2006, 02:50 PM
#1
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Blown Focal Coax
Hey everyone! I installed a new system in my car about 4 months ago. I have a Clarion ProAudio amp running some JL components in the front, and running Focal coaxials in the rear doors. I also have another clarion amp running a sub.
Recently I noticed that the sound coming from the back just wasn't sounding right. Long story short, the rear passenger side focal is totally blown. I switched speaker connections on the amp to make sure it was the speaker and not the channel on the amp. I also removed the speaker and tried it on the drivers side to make sure it wasn't something screwy with the wiring into the door. When I push on the woofer, it makes a scraping sound so I'm pretty sure it is toast.
My question is, what kinds of things can cause a speaker to blow like this? The drivers side speaker is fine. The 2 front components are also fine. I just want to know if there is anything I can test on my system before putting new speakers in the rear doors to make sure it isn't going to happen again.
Thanks in advance!
Recently I noticed that the sound coming from the back just wasn't sounding right. Long story short, the rear passenger side focal is totally blown. I switched speaker connections on the amp to make sure it was the speaker and not the channel on the amp. I also removed the speaker and tried it on the drivers side to make sure it wasn't something screwy with the wiring into the door. When I push on the woofer, it makes a scraping sound so I'm pretty sure it is toast.
My question is, what kinds of things can cause a speaker to blow like this? The drivers side speaker is fine. The 2 front components are also fine. I just want to know if there is anything I can test on my system before putting new speakers in the rear doors to make sure it isn't going to happen again.
Thanks in advance!
08-05-2006, 04:25 PM
#2
Most speakers are fried from too little power. I know it sounds strange, but sadly, true.
People like loud, so they play the average car stereo on the edge of distortion, all the time. And. most cheap car amps are built to soft clip, so you can play it on the edge of distortion for years.
Distortion, or clipping is like putting DC trough the windings of the coil. It takes very little power to melt the insulation on the copper windings of a coil.
That’s probably the scraping noise you hear when you push the cone.
On the other hand, too much power can destroy a speaker in 2 ways, but both are very obvious. One will melt the coil instantly, causing an open circuit, no sound. The other is too much power, overdriving the coil, so it bounces end to end, destroying itself. That sounds really really bad, so you turn it down immediately. But this happens to a lot of spl guys, who use the remote to turn up the volume from outside the car, because it would hurt to be inside.
I've always replaced speakers every 3 to 4 years (I'm 46, so i'm on my 6th car and 8th car stereo). I like loud, and I keep on listening to my friends who want to know how loud it goes.
People like loud, so they play the average car stereo on the edge of distortion, all the time. And. most cheap car amps are built to soft clip, so you can play it on the edge of distortion for years.
Distortion, or clipping is like putting DC trough the windings of the coil. It takes very little power to melt the insulation on the copper windings of a coil.
That’s probably the scraping noise you hear when you push the cone.
On the other hand, too much power can destroy a speaker in 2 ways, but both are very obvious. One will melt the coil instantly, causing an open circuit, no sound. The other is too much power, overdriving the coil, so it bounces end to end, destroying itself. That sounds really really bad, so you turn it down immediately. But this happens to a lot of spl guys, who use the remote to turn up the volume from outside the car, because it would hurt to be inside.
I've always replaced speakers every 3 to 4 years (I'm 46, so i'm on my 6th car and 8th car stereo). I like loud, and I keep on listening to my friends who want to know how loud it goes.
08-05-2006, 04:31 PM
#3
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Join Date: Aug 2006
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Thanks for the reply! The amp I am using is a Clarion ProAudio 640W 4 channel. I'm wondering if maybe I was trying to push too much bass to the rear speakers to bring up the mid bass? I was using the crossover on the amp, but I had it set so that I could hear some mids from those speakers. If that is the case, why wouldn't both speakers be blown?
08-05-2006, 04:53 PM
#5
you can damage a speaker by overpowering it thermally or mechanically.....
to the contrary of Tom's post even hard clipping is not going to increase the power output of your amplifier to any considerable degree...... and frankly the idea that using a more powerfull amp will keep someone from blowing thier speakers is rediculous IMO....... (if however you had only blown the tweeter I might agree that clipping could be the culprit)
because in this instance one speaker is apparently blown and the other is fine I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a manufacturing defect.... the voice coil may not have been properly alligned in this first place, the former may have come unglued, or the windings may have come unwound... Id call focal and see if you can get a replacement... !
to the contrary of Tom's post even hard clipping is not going to increase the power output of your amplifier to any considerable degree...... and frankly the idea that using a more powerfull amp will keep someone from blowing thier speakers is rediculous IMO....... (if however you had only blown the tweeter I might agree that clipping could be the culprit)
because in this instance one speaker is apparently blown and the other is fine I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a manufacturing defect.... the voice coil may not have been properly alligned in this first place, the former may have come unglued, or the windings may have come unwound... Id call focal and see if you can get a replacement... !
Last edited by Haunz; 08-05-2006 at 04:58 PM.
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