How to Tell if Your Car’s Speakers are Blown

We’ve heard this story before: you’re driving down the road, listening to your favorite song. You’re really into it, and you decide to turn up the volume. You crank it up...then a little more...and a bit more...and then the loudest part of the song comes on. Next thing you know, your speakers don’t sound quite the same. You ask yourself the obvious question: did I blow my speakers?

When your speakers are blown, you’ll generally notice that they’ve started to emit an unpleasant, rattling, hissing type of sound. This unusual sound tends to become more prominent as you increase the volume of whatever’s coming through the speakers. “Blowing” your speakers refers to the physical act of damaging the diaphragms that produce sound: if you turn up the gain (volume) of the signal too high, it can actually cause physical harm to these delicate diaphragms.

More often, though, speakers will blow as the result of some kind of an electrical issue: a fitting that’s not been attached correctly, a bad fuse, or a loose coil. This means that you might notice your speakers starting to sound blown even though you haven’t recently listened to music at a high volume. It’s also pretty common for a junk car to have blown speakers (although if you’re looking to sell your junk car, the fact that the speakers are blown isn’t going to affect the price you’re offered).

Are My Speakers Blown?

Just because your speakers are still producing a sound doesn’t mean that they aren’t blown. In fact, the flat, tinny, brittle sound that often comes out of blown speakers can exist alongside a fairly normal signal. It’s sometimes hard to tell whether your speakers are blown until you turn the volume up. You also might become accustomed to the way that your speakers sound when they’re blown. But, if you listen to them side by side with a fully functional set of speakers, you’ll be able to tell the difference.

Most speakers don’t blow in their entirety. Instead, one (or sometimes more than one) of the components will suffer damage. A car speaker system consists of multiple parts, typically including:

• Woofers, which produce the bass frequency range. Some vehicles don’t have woofers, but many of them do. If a woofer blows, the bass signal of the sound coming out of your speakers will practically disappear.

• Tweeters, which produce the high end of the audio frequency range. If tweeters are blown, music will often sound too bassy.

• Cones, which are associated with the “midrange” of the frequency band. Blown cones will often rattle, producing an audibly unpleasant sound.

If you’re concerned that you may have blown a speaker, contact a car audio professional to inquire about repair. Remember, though: if you have a junk car that you’re looking to sell, don’t worry about fixing the speakers! Rusty’s Auto Salvage will pay you top dollar for your junk car, no matter what condition it’s in. Contact us today for a free quote.