How to Tell if I Screwed Up my Speakers

[MajorMajorMajorMajor]

Hi All,

For a while now, I'm wondering if I screwed up my tweeters.

Let me explain.

I dated a girl a while back, in October, and I brought her home. We were listening to music by streaming from my iPad, and she told me she has like 20% hearing in one ear and 80% in another. So I said, well, actually, I can change the balance. So I changed it so it was more left than right, etc. to see what sounded balanced to her. It's that L/R Balance sliding scale thing in the Settings on iOS.

One question is: When you move the balance from 50/50, does it mean that a certain side gets louder or that it just gets quieter to balance it out?

So, lately, though, I've been noticing crackling in different music. For example, around at 3:03 on Shelby Lynn's "Just a Little Lovin" when she sings "Lovin" There's so much crackling!

The thing is, though: It happens when I plug my headphones into my receiver, too! So, I'm not even sure it's the speakers.

How can I know for sure that I didn't blow my tweeters or something?

By the way: My maximum volume on the receiver is set at 80/100.

Thank you for any help you can offer!

 

[Sokel]

Hi All,

For a while now, I'm wondering if I screwed up my tweeters.

Let me explain.

I dated a girl a while back, in October, and I brought her home. We were listening to music by streaming from my iPad, and she told me she has like 20% hearing in one ear and 80% in another. So I said, well, actually, I can change the balance. So I changed it so it was more left than right, etc. to see what sounded balanced to her. It's that L/R Balance sliding scale thing in the Settings on iOS.

One question is: When you move the balance from 50/50, does it mean that a certain side gets louder or that it just gets quieter to balance it out?

So, lately, though, I've been noticing crackling in different music. For example, around at 3:03 on Shelby Lynn's "Just a Little Lovin" when she sings "Lovin" There's so much crackling!

The thing is, though: It happens when I plug my headphones into my receiver, too! So, I'm not even sure it's the speakers.

How can I know for sure that I didn't blow my tweeters or something?

By the way: My maximum volume on the receiver is set at 80/100.

Thank you for any help you can offer!

If you hear the exact same thing with your speakers and headphones either they are both fine or both screwed.
So don't worry,they are ok.

 

[Doodski]

Frequency sweep the speakers slowly and if there are issues with the speakers it will almost always show using this test method. Don't turn it up really loud when the high frequency sine wave is in progress because you might over power your tweeters. A medium volume is enough to detect/hear any anomalies and issues.
Use this and manually sweep so you can really get accurate with the test. The auto sweep if the tone generator has one is usually too fast and not controlled enough so manually sweep it.

Online Tone Generator - generate pure tones of any frequency

szynalski.com

 

[goat76]

So, lately, though, I've been noticing crackling in different music. For example, around at 3:03 on Shelby Lynn's "Just a Little Lovin" when she sings "Lovin" There's so much crackling!

If I remember this right, the crackling in that particular song was discussed in another thread here are ASR(or maybe in another forum).

I can’t check it out right now but I think the crackling sound can be heard on the 16/44.1 version on both Apple Music and Qobuz, but not in the hi-res version on Qobuz.

 

[DVDdoug]

One question is: When you move the balance from 50/50, does it mean that a certain side gets louder or that it just gets quieter to balance it out?

It varies depending on the particular hardware/software balance control and you might adjust the volume control at the same time.

"Worst case" if you are keeping the volume the same, you'd (obviously) double the wattage to the louder speaker. ...If you've got 50W into each speaker for 100W total, "moving" all of that power to one side would be 100W in one speaker and zero from the other. That wouldn't be enough to blow your speaker unless you were listening super-loud.

...Double the power is +3dB and the "complement" to +3dB is -infinity dB.

 

[dweeeeb2]

Ha, I had a burning smell out of one of mine the other day, too much bass ...... still sounds ok at the moment, time will tell I guess

 

[Soandso]

If I remember this right, the crackling in that particular song was discussed in another thread here are ASR(or maybe in another forum).

I can’t check it out right now but I think the crackling sound can be heard on the 16/44.1 version on both Apple Music and Qobuz, but not in the hi-res version on Qobuz.

Yes, ASR post "Distortion on Specific Apple Music Track" cites this peculiarity on left channel about 3 minutes in.

 

[MajorMajorMajorMajor]

Yes, ASR post "Distortion on Specific Apple Music Track" cites this peculiarity on left channel about 3 minutes in.

Thank you for sharing that!

 

[MajorMajorMajorMajor]

I appreciate everyone's help.

 

[hnash53]

I'm interested in the girl.

 

[MajorMajorMajorMajor]

Lol.
Well, she was the hottest, smartest, most charismatic, richest girl I ever dated.
In her mid-twenties, She runs a marketing firm and owns 3 homes.
Alas it was just that one date and she said she wasn't interested after that.
I still occasionally blurt out a "F ME!" when I think of her.

EDIT: And to be clear, I probably didn't deserve her... especially qualifications-wise.

 

[BenjaminB]

EDIT: And to be clear, I probably didn't deserve her... especially qualifications-wise.

Totally BS. it's not about "qualifications". The two of you maybe did not hit it off, not unknown to happen.
(and if she did measured you on your earthly possessions, then you should be happy it was one date only)

 

[MajorMajorMajorMajor]

Totally BS. it's not about "qualifications". The two of you maybe did not hit it off, not unknown to happen.
(and if she did measured you on your earthly possessions, then you should be happy it was one date only)

I think we hit it off.
Well, one thing she told me after I asked her about it all was that I had told her the ti was afraid I might be losing my job with a company restructuring coming up (Actually, I did, and I’m still unemployed). She told me she wasn’t necessarily looking for money or whatever, just stability; and besides, I had too little “relationship experience”.
Anyway, that whole discussion was like 90 minutes and after she said she really appreciated how I communicated with her, so she would reconsider.
She reconsidered, but later decided against a second date. ‍

 

[MajorMajorMajorMajor]

Totally BS. it's not about "qualifications". The two of you maybe did not hit it off, not unknown to happen.
(and if she did measured you on your earthly possessions, then you should be happy it was one date only)

I don’t think she measured me on my earthly possessions. She definitely appreciated me as a person, which she expressed. But she’s just looking for someone more on her level, which I understand.

But whatever, I’m over it now. It used to really bother me. Now it’s just a passing thought.

 

[dweeeeb2]

looking for someone more on her level....

Ha, her level was off! More bass, you needed more bass not balance

 

[MajorMajorMajorMajor]

Ha, her level was off! More bass, you needed more bass not balance

LOL exactly!!!

 

[hnash53]

After all you've said here, I think she may be missing out on a good fellow.

 

[MajorMajorMajorMajor]

After all you've said here, I think she may be missing out on a good fellow.

Thanks hnash53, that’s very kind of you.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Ha, I had a burning smell out of one of mine the other day, too much bass ...... still sounds ok at the moment, time will tell I guess

That's an entirely different case. If you smell burnt varnish you have either partly burnt crossover parts or voicecoil.