Speakers and dry humidity. Can it harm them?

[SHDK]

Hallo all.

I have a bit unusual question. 6 month ago we moved to a new Appartement and we are having our first winter here.

The new place is a bit different in the way that is has a in general lower humidity then the old place(more effective air exchange) normal winter we have a normal relative humidity at 30-32%.

Currently we have it unsual cold, and it drops to 25%

My question is. Can that low humidity harm speakers or electronic. My Focal speakers are made in MDF.

What do you guys say ?

 

[Chr1]

I reckon low humidity is better than high humidity.
Should be fine.

 

[G|force]

Have a look in the owners manuals for your gear. Most if not all manufacturers publish an environmental spec for temperature and humidity.

 

[janbth]

Yes, low humidity can harm speakers - at least if the cabinets are made of solid wood. I own a pair of March Audio Sointuva AWG in Jarrah wood finish. They look exceptionally great(!), but suffer from some slight cracking. I live in a «modern» apartment. The building was new five years ago, with balanced ventilation. In winter, the air is bone dry. Currently, I run three air humidifiers 24/7. I measure humidity with a number of Netatmo devices placed around the apartment. These are not scientific measurement devices, if course, but I think they are good enough for home use. With my humidifiers running I can get about 30-40 % humidity. If turned off, I may go below 20% in really cold periods (this is Oslo, Norway). I can live with this, and all is under control, but if you are worried then do not get a speaker made of solid wood. MDF should be OK.

 

[Jcrow]

The building was new five years ago, with balanced ventilation.

My ventilation is only single ended

 

[tineared]

Yes, low humidity can harm speakers - at least if the cabinets are made of solid wood. I own a pair of March Audio Sointuva AWG in Jarrah wood finish. They look exceptionally great(!), but suffer from some slight cracking. I live in a «modern» apartment. The building was new five years ago, with balanced ventilation. In winter, the air is bone dry. Currently, I run three air humidifiers 24/7. I measure humidity with a number of Netatmo devices placed around the apartment. These are not scientific measurement devices, if course, but I think they are good enough for home use. With my humidifiers running I can get about 30-40 % humidity. If turned off, I may go below 20% in really cold periods (this is Oslo, Norway). I can live with this, and all is under control, but if you are worried then do not get a speaker made of solid wood. MDF should be OK.

I believe the OP was concerned with the electronics, which will not be adversely affected by low humidity.
For your speakers, may I suggest that you apply a liberal coat of mineral oil to all wood surfaces of your speakers. Let it soak in overnight and apply another coat. Repeat as many times as it takes before the wood no longer absorbs the oil quickly. Then wipe clean. This should prevent the wood from cracking and bring out the beautiful grain of the wood. Be sure to avoid getting the oil on any part of the drivers

 

[janbth]

My ventilation is only single ended

Yeah, I would happily swap my fancypants balanced ventilation for a good old open-the-goddamn-windows type ventilation…

 

[janbth]

I believe the OP was concerned with the electronics, which will not be adversely affected by low humidity.

Yes, electronics should not be an issue, but the OP mentioned MDF. Probably OK, too.

For your speakers, may I suggest that you apply a liberal coat of mineral oil to all wood surfaces of your speakers. Let it soak in overnight and apply another coat. Repeat as many times as it takes before the wood no longer absorbs the oil quickly. Then wipe clean. This should prevent the wood from cracking and bring out the beautiful grain of the wood. Be sure to avoid getting the oil on any part of the drivers

Thanks for the tip about mineral oil - I will check it out!

 

[Keith_W]

Before you wipe mineral oil on your speaker cabinets, speak to Alan March. Check that he has not used a finish that has sealed the wood pores, e.g. polyurethane. You will make a real mess if you try to put mineral oil on top of polyurethane. Also ask him which type of wood oil he would recommend, if he recommends it at all.

Take home message: unless you are applying finish to bare wood that you have sanded to remove any trace of previous finish, don't simply slap on any finish on top of wood.

 

[janbth]

Before you wipe mineral oil on your speaker cabinets, speak to Alan March. Check that he has not used a finish that has sealed the wood pores, e.g. polyurethane. You will make a real mess if you try to put mineral oil on top of polyurethane. Also ask him which type of wood oil he would recommend, if he recommends it at all.

Take home message: unless you are applying finish to bare wood that you have sanded to remove any trace of previous finish, don't simply slap on any finish on top of wood.

Yes, thanks, the User Guide for my speakers recommends a specific wax oil for the treatment of the cabinets. I would certainly not apply anything without prior research. Anyway, I think the main issue here is the air humidity, and not cabinet surface treatment.

 

[SHDK]

Yes, low humidity can harm speakers - at least if the cabinets are made of solid wood. I own a pair of March Audio Sointuva AWG in Jarrah wood finish. They look exceptionally great(!), but suffer from some slight cracking. I live in a «modern» apartment. The building was new five years ago, with balanced ventilation. In winter, the air is bone dry. Currently, I run three air humidifiers 24/7. I measure humidity with a number of Netatmo devices placed around the apartment. These are not scientific measurement devices, if course, but I think they are good enough for home use. With my humidifiers running I can get about 30-40 % humidity. If turned off, I may go below 20% in really cold periods (this is Oslo, Norway). I can live with this, and all is under control, but if you are worried then do not get a speaker made of solid wood. MDF should be OK.

Thanks for a great input. Sounds like we deal with the same issue. Luckily Copenhagen is rarely as cold as Oslo.

I also assume that MDF is less prone to damage from low humidity then solid wood. I know it's a bit off track. But have you experienced issues with other stuff like wood furniture or other stuff in the home ?

 

[janbth]

Thanks for a great input. Sounds like we deal with the same issue. Luckily Copenhagen is rarely as cold as Oslo.

I also assume that MDF is less prone to damage from low humidity then solid wood. I know it's a bit off track. But have you experienced issues with other stuff like wood furniture or other stuff in the home ?

Fortunately, no - and I have been looking! I have a wooden floor, skirting boards, and a few pieces of furniture made of wood, but no sign of cracking so far. Knock on wood!

 

[SHDK]

Fortunately, no - and I have been looking! I have a wooden floor, skirting boards, and a few pieces of furniture made of wood, but no sign of cracking so far. Knock on wood!

Sounds like we are both lucky. Most of our furniture is wood. So it would be a real bummer to have issues with that.

I couldn't help thinking that the weather station/thermometer thing was not showing the correct humidity. Sure the air felt dry. But not like 20% so I bought another little hygrometer. And it shows exactly 10% higher. So 34% instead of 24%

Now the real question is witch is showing the right humidity

 

[middlemarch]

Only thing I’d be concerned about with respect to the electronics and low humidity is electrostatic discharge. Most consumer gear should be reasonably well protected from esd but at 20% humidity it’s pretty easy to generate some pretty hefty charges when walking across carpet as an example. Best practice would be to touch a grounded case to discharge yourself before touching inputs or outputs. We used to shutdown electronic assembly lines when below 30%, but that was with direct access to components.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

Anyway, I think the main issue here is the air humidity, and not cabinet surface treatment.

Dry air will dry the wood, but treating the wood can counter that. I don't sweat that, I just spray mine with Liquid Gold once in a while (oil based). Maybe once every couple of years?

For wood, I would be most concerned with rapid changes in humidity, gradual ones would not concern me as much. I have super dry air in the winter, and have never seen any issue with any wood speaker or furniture, over decades of time. But again, I oil things every once in a while. I do have some pine panels upstairs, and they do dry out visibly every 3 years or so. So I would think 5 years might be an issue, or the start of one.

Low humidity is good for electronics, with one exception. More static which mostly means being very careful when touching any circuits, if you work on things. It's good practice to ground yourself before doing that at any time, but particularly in the winter.

 

[janbth]

For wood, I would be most concerned with rapid changes in humidity, gradual ones would not concern me as much.

Good point. My issues with cracking came about after a sudden drop in temperature early in the winter. I was out of the house traveling at the time, and wasn’t able to fire up my humidifiers before it was too late. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen very often.