Are My Speakers Blown?

[schlaBAM]

Hi there,

A couple nights ago, I was enjoying a TV show on my computer with my speakers working perfectly fine, however the next morning my right speaker (the one with all the controls like volume, treble, bass) stopped working and is only producing static now. A couple things to note:

-Sometimes, when I turn off my speakers and my bass is set too low, I'll get a big "pop" out of the bass and a little out of the speakers.
-When I took out the left speaker to see if I could get any sound, there was a very faint sound of music coming out of them, but the majority of the sound was coming from the bass at the normal volume.
- I have tried switching to a different auxiliary cable, as well as made sure it wasnt just my computer.
-My sound drivers are up to date.
-I can still control all the dials on the speaker, the static even gets louder if I turn up the volume.
-I'm unable to just switch around the speakers in the bass where they're connected as the male inputs are different.
-I have Altec Lansing VS4121 speakers.

Do you think my speakers blew or something similar to that? I find it odd to have just died on me overnight.

Thanks for your time,
Brett

 

[nickmannawar]

I don't know much about speakers, but seeing that no one has responded in three days (weird...), it looks like for now you are going to have to deal with my answer. The popping noise, should be your greatest concern. Although it might not be blown (it might be...), thats still not a good sign. I have headphones with subwoofers, and ik sometimes if the wire is place just right, it will start playing bass even without a song. The speakers are part of the computer not externals right?

 

[Slacker]

The popping sound might be loose wires?

I blew up a few car stereo radio speakers that way........

 

[schlaBAM]

I don't know much about speakers, but seeing that no one has responded in three days (weird...), it looks like for now you are going to have to deal with my answer. The popping noise, should be your greatest concern. Although it might not be blown (it might be...), thats still not a good sign. I have headphones with subwoofers, and ik sometimes if the wire is place just right, it will start playing bass even without a song. The speakers are part of the computer not externals right?

Thanks for your reply. These speakers are external computer speakers, connected by an auxiliary cable into the headphones jack. What happens is if my bass is set to the lowest setting (practically off), when I switch them off they'll make a big bass noise. As I have a laptop and a desktop, I disconnect and reconnect between computers frequently and so sometimes as I connect it it will make a huge static noise (but as far as I know this is normal). I am quite concerned about the popping noise, however.

The popping sound might be loose wires?

I blew up a few car stereo radio speakers that way........

I went into BestBuy to talk about my speaker problems, and they thought it was a loose connection as there is still static coming out and for a speaker to be "blown" apparently there is no noise coming out or a distorted sound, which I have neither of. I still have no idea what the popping sound is though. The crackling and bass sound as I put the cable into the computer is normal, but I think there is way too much static noise as I put it in and this concerns me.. Any ideas? I think I'm coming to conclude it has something to do with the subwoofer or a connection inside there.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

If you have a blown speaker, you will have horrible sound quality, not really static. Static can be caused by grounding issues, or a dirty jack. It can also be caused by the gains being too high. Also, you shouldn't plug powered speakers up and unplug them while they are still powered, most units that are powered have a way to easily turn then off when doing this, as it can cause damage to them, that is why you hear a "pop" from time to time. Or if you have the gain all the way up, and apply power, you will usually get a "pop".

 

[schlaBAM]

If you have a blown speaker, you will have horrible sound quality, not really static. Static can be caused by grounding issues, or a dirty jack. It can also be caused by the gains being too high. Also, you shouldn't plug powered speakers up and unplug them while they are still powered, most units that are powered have a way to easily turn then off when doing this, as it can cause damage to them, that is why you hear a "pop" from time to time. Or if you have the gain all the way up, and apply power, you will usually get a "pop".

How would I be able to tell if its a dirty jack (then again, what would I do to fix it?) As I stated in my original post, when I unplug the left speaker to see if I could get any sound out of the right speaker(the one with the controls), there was a very faint sound of music coming out of them, but the majority of the sound was coming from the bass at the normal volume. I unscrewed the back of the subwoofer but really there wasn't much to look at as it's pretty much all protected.

 

[Crysalis]

OK. This makes my head hurt.

Let's clarify a few things.

The/A bass = an instrument tuned to produce low frequencies
Bass = Low frequencies

When you sound is coming from "the bass", are you referring to an instrument?
Or are you referring to the low frequency sound coming from the speaker?

A speaker is the entire system of drivers in a box whether it be one or many... its still just a speaker. The speakers that produce lower frequencies are referred to as woofers. Midranges produce middle ranged frequencies and the tweeter produces... you guessed it... the highs.

Popping isn't necessarily dangerous unless it is at extreme volumes, but isn't necessarily a good sign either. A pop is just sound produced by the speaker - the same as a kick or snare drum in music... does the same thing... it moves the cone and produces sound. The popping is either resulting from the amplifier discharging or a loose connection/ground.

The true test of a blown speaker is to check for distortion. If it is completely blown, the cone would no longer move and thus not produce any sound whatsoever. If the sound from the speaker is distorted, either you're playing it way too loud or the speaker is blown (which is the result of playing too loud).

Finally. It doesn't sound like a blown speaker to me, but more so a blown amplifier or bad connection. Try different cables, power outlets, listening sources (computer, iPod, etc)... basic troubleshooting. If the hissing still occurs in every situation, sounds like you have a dead amplifier (noted by the popping). Switch a woofer from the other speaker into the non-working one and see if the problem still exists. If so, the speaker is not the problem - it is a connection or amplifier issue.

 

[schlaBAM]

OK. This makes my head hurt.

Let's clarify a few things.

The/A bass = an instrument tuned to produce low frequencies
Bass = Low frequencies

When you sound is coming from "the bass", are you referring to an instrument?
Or are you referring to the low frequency sound coming from the speaker?

A speaker is the entire system of drivers in a box whether it be one or many... its still just a speaker. The speakers that produce lower frequencies are referred to as woofers. Midranges produce middle ranged frequencies and the tweeter produces... you guessed it... the highs.

Popping isn't necessarily dangerous unless it is at extreme volumes, but isn't necessarily a good sign either. A pop is just sound produced by the speaker - the same as a kick or snare drum in music... does the same thing... it moves the cone and produces sound. The popping is either resulting from the amplifier discharging or a loose connection/ground.

The true test of a blown speaker is to check for distortion. If it is completely blown, the cone would no longer move and thus not produce any sound whatsoever. If the sound from the speaker is distorted, either you're playing it way too loud or the speaker is blown (which is the result of playing too loud).

Finally. It doesn't sound like a blown speaker to me, but more so a blown amplifier or bad connection. Try different cables, power outlets, listening sources (computer, iPod, etc)... basic troubleshooting. If the hissing still occurs in every situation, sounds like you have a dead amplifier (noted by the popping). Switch a woofer from the other speaker into the non-working one and see if the problem still exists. If so, the speaker is not the problem - it is a connection or amplifier issue.

When referencing the "bass", Im talking about the low frequency sounds coming from the subwoofer. I have done basic troubleshooting(changed sources from my ipod to laptop and even desktop, and used 3 auxiliary cables and changed the outlet) so that isn't the problem.

There's no distortion coming from the speaker, as the only thing coming out of it is static(as if it was waiting for music to be played, but nothing is actually playing), so I'm trying to figure out where the connection has gone wrong because the right speaker is the one with the controls which allows the system to be turned on, but thats the one that isn's playing any sound. The left speaker is absolutely fine, so I'm assuming that it has to be the auxiliary cable connection but there isn't much of a way to look at the connection because its covered.
Changing the balance completely to the right side still doesnt make a difference.. I will try and find a different subwoofer and see if that makes a difference. Or a way to better troubleshoot the connection.

Just to add, these are computer speakers and they dont really come apart (Altec Lansing says that they're sealed at the manufacturer and the housing might not go back together later) so I'm unable to do any minor repairs or switches.