Smoke test em?

[Phil H]

What do you guys check before you audition an unknown speaker. In the past, I have just checked resistance and pushed in the cones to check for rubbing. Or, I have taken them to the freindly re-coner for new surrounds and he checks them. Is there anything else that I should check? Do you usually use your least valuble amp to start? Or, do you just plug them in, turn it up and watch for smoke? I just received some little JBL L20T speakers that I want to try out

 

[jpdylon]

If your really cautious, pull the drivers and check the resistance, check for VC rub on the woofers. hell you could even pull the crossovers and check the coils and caps for shorts, but I think that's a bit excessive.

YOu could always purcahse a cleap SS amp thats about 20wpc. THen you could toss your new speakers on it to test them if your worried about cooking your nice one. In most cases the protect curcuitry would take care of a problem in the speakers (short) and disconnect them from the amp.

If your using a tube amp or another without any kind of fuse between the speaker and amp, then id get a little worried.

 

[Phil H]

Thanks jpdylon,
I have a cosmetically challenged Yamaha CA-610 II that I will dig-out to test these. I'll probably wait a few days for some time to remove the drivers to check them and clean everything while it is apart. They came with a herd of dust bunnies on the back side of the grille etc. They aren't as nice as I hoped. But, if they work, they are still worth it.

 

[Kegger]

I usually just do the resistance test and fire em up, but that is me!

 

[Sansui Louie]

I field test them in the thrift. Not all thrifts let you do this, however. I carry some speaker wire, a set of folding headphones with 1/4 inch adapter, a couple RCA cables, a cassette and a cd. That way, I'm pretty much covered.

If they're not thrift acquisitions, I just hook 'em up to an old beeyotch receiver that I hang on to for just such occasions.

 

[Phil H]

You win some and you lose some. I removed one of the woofers and the magnet for the tweeter was stuck to the back of the woofer's magnet. Otherwise, they sound very nice for their size. I swapped the good tweeter in to see if anything else is wrong. I am guessing that the tweeter is not repairable. I sent a message to a local shop to see if it is possible. I also sent a message to the seller letting him know the condition. I'll probably be looking for a JBL 035Ti tweeter soon.