In From The Cold

[musichal]

My unheated enclosed garage. Chip amp cheapie, NAD 4130 tuner, ADS L400 metal cab speakers.

Should I bring the speakers in before temps get down to freezing, or below? I have a pair of BIC America center channel speakers that I care less about, that I could leave out there. Don't sound as good, but for those milder days would still have music as I putter. But...

What about amp and tuner?

The winters here are not harsh, as in we don't tend to go many days in a row where temp stays below freezing.

 

[satellite65]

I've been using a Pioneer SX-850 and a pair of Advent 1's in my unheated garage in northern Illinois for several years with no problems.

 

[motorstereo]

80's Luxman receiver paired with 2 pair of Mcintosh speakers in my unheated garage for 3 years now with no problems and it goes from unbearable hot to an icebox in there. The worst part is the quick temp changes when everything gets coated with condensation.

 

[KingBubba]

Motor hit the nail when he brought up condensation. I bought a Pair of TimeWindows from a man in a town near mine. He kept the speakers in a metal shed for at least 5 years before I bought them. When I got home, I found one woofer not working. When I removed it, The entire metal frame had rust and corrosion on it. All the woofers were that way, but 3 out of 4 worked fine. This had to be a byproduct of condensation. Florida can have Winter days that are in the upper 80s in the day and drop into the low 40s or upper 30s at night. That condition is a surefire climate for condensation in a metal shed.

 

[Alobar]

Yeah I third the condensation bit. I may bring in the JBL LSR's from my garage but I am keeping an eye on the relative humidity out there before I make up my mind. Some garages will condensate like crazy, especially with broad temp sswings and others don' t.

 

[dontmindme]

Best thing I ever did was heat my garage. Just say’n.

 

[revox-b77]

I run a fan in the barn. It usually takes care of the condensation problem.

 

[ramzilla]

I ran a system in a shed for quite a while. I would mainly use Saturday afternoon through evening. So,
I would just fire up heater early Saturday morning, so that when I was ready to play stereo in afternoon, everything was
somewhat warmed up. Did this for a number of years without any damage that I am aware of.

 

[toxcrusadr]

If your climate is humid consider a dehumidifier in the summer. But I've had garage systems for years and never noticed any issues. Corrosion on the driver baskets would be minimized in a sealed speaker; ported might be a different deal.

 

[musichal]

I'd have thought cycles of freezing/thawing might well have caused deleterious effects on some materials, adhesives or....?

Whatever amount of OCD-ness I have influences me to bring in the ADS, and leave something else out in the cold. So that's my intent.

 

[Old Guy8]

Find some Canton or such outdoor speakers with plastic case & metal cones, such as the Plus XL, 5" two-way. Brighter than my ADS L470.

 

[GD70]

I'd have thought cycles of freezing/thawing might well have caused deleterious effects on some materials, adhesives or....?

Whatever amount of OCD-ness I have influences me to bring in the ADS, and leave something else out in the cold. So that's my intent.

I'd bring them in as well. OCD-ness.

 

[musichal]

Find some Canton or such outdoor speakers with plastic case & metal cones, such as the Plus XL, 5" two-way. Brighter than my ADS L470.

Thanks. Your post reminded me that I have a pair of brand new Polk Atrium 4 in their box inside my audio closet. Ordered from Amazon at a big discount some months ago, stuck 'em in the closet and forgot them. Just the thing for this, I think.

 

[audiojones]

Whatever you end up putting out there I wouldn't recommend using ported speakers in the garage, mice love to nest in them. If you do use ported speaks maybe tack a piece of steel mesh over the port, mice really make a mess in there and ruin everything once they get in,

 

[Grenadeslio]

My car stereos seem to be just fine if it's 105 degrees (160 or more in the car) or 20 below zero, talk about severe temperature changes, just sayin.

 

[bowtie427ss]

Temperature swings and extremes aren't good for anything mechanical or electronic. Of course some devices like quality car stereos are engineered with this in mind. In good units, steps are taken to ensure reasonable longevity. Ever try to solder on a circuit board that's been lacquered for moisture resistance?

Assemblies made from dissimilar materials expand and contract at different rates, this can serve to separate assemblies that are not supposed to separate.

Example: Altec compression drivers using the plastic Tangerine phase plug will often break the glue joint and shed the phase plug from the pole piece assembly when exposed to sub freezing temperatures.

Condensation during warm-ups is also a very real concern.

 

[Old Guy8]

Thanks. Your post reminded me that I have a pair of brand new Polk Atrium 4 in their box inside my audio closet. Ordered from Amazon at a big discount some months ago, stuck 'em in the closet and forgot them. Just the thing for this, I think.

Those polypro and aluminum drivers should holdup well in garage. Perfect application.
I too, sometimes forget about what I have in the audio storage.
I wouldn't leave ADS in the cold.

 

[Gibsonian]

Break out the coin purse and get some heat in there! I have ancient and super cool Standard heaters that I use out in the garage. Like this. They look really cool when burning and burn clean.