Did I blow this speaker or not?

[Worf101]

Silly things I do sometime. I've taken to playing my bass through my computer speakers so I don't have to burn CD's in order to learn new tunes. I just fire up the song, plug the bass into the front of my Sound Blaster Audigy 2ZS and voila, I'm playing along with the song. Problem is I switched from regular 4 string bass to 5 string with the low "B". I'm not running your run of the mill computer crap either. I use Logick Nearfields as a front and Allison 4's as rears. All was well and good until recently.

I was playing a game the other night and my right rear speaker started bleating and flubbing badly at moderate volume. It can't take any bass at all without sounding well... like chite. The surrounds are fine but this is the original top firing 8-inch. So what did I do to it trying to force it to reproduce those deep lows reserved for subwoofers? Fry the voice coil? Kill something inside.... Help!!!!!!

Da Stupid Sometimes Worfster

[topspeed]

Hoo boy, whatever you did, it wasn't good. I've only cooked one voice coil in my days (car sub) and when it went, you knew it. The cone was rigid and would barely move. Your description sounds like something else, but whatever it is, it appears you're buying a new driver.

Sorry to hear about that, brother.

[kexodusc]

Sorry to say, this doesn't sound too good, Worfster. At first I was hesitant to think it was the voice coil, but then, some of them low B string notes being delivered, with insufficient power could easily fry it. Don't know what kind of amp you've got on yer computer , but if it wasn't terribly powerful distortion would be kicking in, even on an 8" woofer, and next thing ya know you're sending all kinds of overloading harmonics to that poor voice coil. ZZzz..Zzzqqqqzzzz....Pffttttt.

More likely, you just maxed out the drivers excursion. This usually happens before the voice coil goes. Ie: bottoming out. Low bass needs lots of excursion at decent levels. On an 8" woofer you'd hear some some smacking, possibly a crunching like sound. That poor speaker wasn't expecting you to try to move it an inch and a half linear.

Err...how loud were you playing it? Don't think we asked that...

[pelly3s]

if may not have damaged the VC in the sense of burning or anything but it may have crushed the former for the VC. Another thing to do is the check for anything like the spider ripping around the VC or coming off the frame.

[N. Abstentia]

Yeah you fried a driver.

I found the best way to acheive what you're trying to do is to buy a mixing board (Like a $49 Behringer) and run the line level from your bass amp and the line level from your CD player to the mixer...mix them together, and listen through headphones. GOOD headphones :)

[Worf101]

Arrrgh. I knew I was doing wrong. I'd blend the sound of the wave file with my bass and run the sound from my Audigy to an Onkyo 501 then to 4 speaks. I almost expected to fry the Logiks up front, but NOT the drivers on the Allison. Sigh and good luck finding a replacement. Might have to see if the local guys can fix it. Serves me right, blowing up a classic speaker with my bass guitar. Dag nabit.

Da "shakin' my head and sighing" Worfster :(

[GMichael]

Arrrgh. I knew I was doing wrong. I'd blend the sound of the wave file with my bass and run the sound from my Audigy to an Onkyo 501 then to 4 speaks. I almost expected to fry the Logiks up front, but NOT the drivers on the Allison. Sigh and good luck finding a replacement. Might have to see if the local guys can fix it. Serves me right, blowing up a classic speaker with my bass guitar. Dag nabit.

Da "shakin' my head and sighing" Worfster :(

I tried something similar back in the day. But I ended up just frying the inputs on my old Pioneer 2 channel. The speakers I had at the time still live.

[N. Abstentia]

Allison is still around, they are owned by Stanford Acoustics in Danville, KY. Might try giving them a call.

[Geoffcin]

Silly things I do sometime. I've taken to playing my bass through my computer speakers so I don't have to burn CD's in order to learn new tunes. I just fire up the song, plug the bass into the front of my Sound Blaster Audigy 2ZS and voila, I'm playing along with the song. Problem is I switched from regular 4 string bass to 5 string with the low "B". I'm not running your run of the mill computer crap either. I use Logick Nearfields as a front and Allison 4's as rears. All was well and good until recently.

I was playing a game the other night and my right rear speaker started bleating and flubbing badly at moderate volume. It can't take any bass at all without sounding well... like chite. The surrounds are fine but this is the original top firing 8-inch. So what did I do to it trying to force it to reproduce those deep lows reserved for subwoofers? Fry the voice coil? Kill something inside.... Help!!!!!!

Da Stupid Sometimes Worfster

First take that 8" woofer out and see if it ain't just a loose wire. Sometimes it's just a connection that's causing the buzzing. If not you can get a decent replacement driver pretty cheap. I had to replace one of the woofers in my KLH model 6 once, and I've replaced two on my big EPI's.