Newbie's blown speaker query--just how did this happen? Education, please.

[Billy Irish]

I'm a guitar player who is pretty careful with equipment and has literally never blown a speaker. Just got a steal of a deal on a working man's bass rig for basement practices at my house: $250 for a Hartke 7000 (2x240 @ 8ohms), Hartke MX410 (300w handling capacity, 8 ohm load).

 

Was trying it also through a mosnstrous old Peavey SP2 (15" Black Widow, 8" horn, 8 ohms, very conservatively 150 RMS/300 continuous/500 peak). Running from one of the stereo outputs (so mono, with the mono, as opposed to bi-amp, function engaged) to the SP2 alone. I'm pretty sure the twin amps are not bridgable, so I think I was getting only one 240w side at 8 ohms. My bass has EMG active pickups that I have not learned to tame even in the active input--it fizzes and buzzes. I played for a minute, moving the volume up to about halfway (with the high and low pass filters both down to mitigate what happens with the EMGs, and with the tube preamp setting at about 11 o'clock and SS preamp setting at about 2 o'clock--affects volume). The speaker was fried almost as soon as I heard something funny going on.

 

Now I can still hear the bass as if through a transistor radio. Is that coming from the horn, or is that what's left of the speaker. How did this happen? (Load was apparently correct, output should have been well within handling capacity.)

 

Thanks for any education you can offer.

[Craig Vecchione]

Yes, it sounds as if the HF horn is still working, hence the tele' sound.

 

Sounds like simple bad luck/timing...the Peavey may have been on its way out, and the playing time pushed it over the edge.

 

Many Black Widow drivers have a field-replaceable basket you can do yourself, to get the thing going again and save a few buck over the cost of a new speaker.

[jannda]

Well now you've done it. the transistor radio sound is probably comeing from the horn. have you tried it with another speaker to make sure it's the cab and not the amp? I'm not formilliar with the hartke but the cab should have been ok but than again it's not a bass cab but still should have been ok. If it works with another cab then it's the speaker but it sounds like it might be the amp but without knowing more info I can only guess.

[tylytle]

 

Yes, it sounds as if the HF horn is still working, hence the tele' sound. Sounds like simple bad luck/timing...the Peavey may have been on its way out, and the playing time pushed it over the edge. Many Black Widow drivers have a field-replaceable basket you can do yourself, to get the thing going again and save a few buck over the cost of a new speaker.

 

 

 

Yup, 79.95 at AMS. I am getting 2 of them next week for our PA.

[Billy Irish]

Yeah, the amp is fine. I subsequently plugged into the companion cab (the hartke MX410) and everything was fine. But I will need a bigger maximum sound pressure even than halfway up the dial...and that makes me scared to push even the actual bass cab.

[D Aussie]

How good are you with wiring?

Black widows, while not being Nexo, are pretty robust speakers.. it seems odd one should fail in the circumstances you describe.

I would actually point the finger at the crossover inthe speaker cabinet.

 

If you connect a 1.5v AA battery DIRECT to the speaker wires, the speaker should move in OR out depending which way you have wired it.

If the speaker moves, you will know it is most likely NOT the speaker and just the crossover has gone poopies.

 

Good luck, and let us know how you go.

[jannda]

And it could be just a loose wire also. I have had that happen to me on more than one occation. so now when I get a cab I always solder the speaker connection push ons can and do come loose not very often but they do.