Ok. So I’m in the process of setting up a nice patio with tv and music. And decided to go with a Sonos amp and a pair of definitive technology aw6500 speakers rated at 200 watts. At first I set up amp and ran one speaker. Maybe an hr into running it the tweeter blew. Then I returned it and was able to grab 2 speakers (one per channel) I installed it and let it playing some music at 75% max volume. Came back outside and both speakers sound blown. I just took both back and picked up a new pair and exchanged the sonos amp for another just in case. Haven’t connected anything yet just trying to get some opinions on this. The speaker wiring is 14g marine electrical cable. So i can’t blame that yet.
Answered
sonos amp blowing outdoor speakers
Best answer by buzz
A general rule of thumb you’ll see in the literature is that, if tweeters blow, the amplifier is too small for the application. When conventional amplifiers are driven beyond their design limit they enter a “clipping” (major distortion) mode that is rich in high frequencies. Relative to bass, normal music does not have much high frequency energy and the distortion caused energy skew damages the tweeter. If an amplifier is too large it is the woofer that usually fails.
AMP is not a “conventional” amplifier because it is designed to not enter the clipping range. AMP will reduce its output or shut down before clipping. If you gave me a job: “please damage this speaker”, I would not willingly attempt this using a SONOS amplifier of any generation. I don’t know about your speaker design, but it is common for modern speakers to include a power limiter in the tweeter circuit. It is difficult to damage a tweeter in such a design.
“200W peak” is a vague spec. for a speaker. Further, since there is no universally used industry standard for assigning speaker power, it is usually the marketing department that assigns the rating. A low number is assigned to low end speakers and higher numbers are assigned to higher end speakers. A meaningful spec. would specify “average” speaker power handling at various frequencies. The public assumes that, if the speaker spec. is higher than the amplifier spec., it will not be possible to damage the speaker. I wish that this was the case.
Unless there is some sort of gross issue with the amplifier, instant speaker damage is unlikely. Your first failure after an hour could be the result of over driving the speaker or a speaker fault. The second, almost instant failure is inconclusive. I’d need to take some data on-site to be sure what is happening here.
Was it proven at the dealership that the tweeters had been damaged? What is the source of your music? Speaker wire will not damage speakers, but damaged speaker wire could cause sonic issues that are then blamed on the speakers.
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A general rule of thumb you’ll see in the literature is that, if tweeters blow, the amplifier is too small for the application. When conventional amplifiers are driven beyond their design limit they enter a “clipping” (major distortion) mode that is rich in high frequencies. Relative to bass, normal music does not have much high frequency energy and the distortion caused energy skew damages the tweeter. If an amplifier is too large it is the woofer that usually fails.
AMP is not a “conventional” amplifier because it is designed to not enter the clipping range. AMP will reduce its output or shut down before clipping. If you gave me a job: “please damage this speaker”, I would not willingly attempt this using a SONOS amplifier of any generation. I don’t know about your speaker design, but it is common for modern speakers to include a power limiter in the tweeter circuit. It is difficult to damage a tweeter in such a design.
“200W peak” is a vague spec. for a speaker. Further, since there is no universally used industry standard for assigning speaker power, it is usually the marketing department that assigns the rating. A low number is assigned to low end speakers and higher numbers are assigned to higher end speakers. A meaningful spec. would specify “average” speaker power handling at various frequencies. The public assumes that, if the speaker spec. is higher than the amplifier spec., it will not be possible to damage the speaker. I wish that this was the case.
Unless there is some sort of gross issue with the amplifier, instant speaker damage is unlikely. Your first failure after an hour could be the result of over driving the speaker or a speaker fault. The second, almost instant failure is inconclusive. I’d need to take some data on-site to be sure what is happening here.
Was it proven at the dealership that the tweeters had been damaged? What is the source of your music? Speaker wire will not damage speakers, but damaged speaker wire could cause sonic issues that are then blamed on the speakers.
Thank you . Speakers are “10-200 watts per channel. 4-8 ohms and 92db sensitivity. Due to the power ratings I would not suspect the sub to blow the speakers. I read a lot of reviews that people run these amps with the speakers and are successful. I have no idea what’s going on with mine. At you suggesting playing it at full volume?
Similar to placing a brick on the accelerator of your car, operating an audio system at full Volume is not generally recommended.
buzz wrote:
Similar to placing a brick on the accelerator of your car, operating an audio system at full Volume is not generally recommended.
Of course. This time around I have set the so is amp at 75% max volume. This is a setup for parties. Although max volume is not a good ideal as loud as you can safely get it is usually the goal. If I wanted a low speaker I’d just take out my Beats by Dre pill and call it a day. As it sits it’s a 1300.00 system. I do expect some performance of course as would anybody.
Johnnunez29 wrote:
Thank you . Speakers are “10-200 watts per channel. 4-8 ohms and 92db sensitivity. Due to the power ratings I would not suspect the sub to blow the speakers. I read a lot of reviews that people run these amps with the speakers and are successful. I have no idea what’s going on with mine. At you suggesting playing it at full volume?
Sub? You didn’t mention the sub initially Did you mean to say ‘Amp’? If you have a passive sub connected with your passive speakers, that could be the issue.
melvimbe wrote:
Johnnunez29 wrote:
Thank you . Speakers are “10-200 watts per channel. 4-8 ohms and 92db sensitivity. Due to the power ratings I would not suspect the sub to blow the speakers. I read a lot of reviews that people run these amps with the speakers and are successful. I have no idea what’s going on with mine. At you suggesting playing it at full volume?
Sub? You didn’t mention the sub initially Did you mean to say ‘Amp’? If you have a passive sub connected with your passive speakers, that could be the issue.
No sub 🤦🏼♂️. Guess I had a sub on my mind. Just 2 aw6500 speakers
1 person likes this
We have been conditioned to equate ‘Loud’ with “distorted”. In that context a SONOS system will likely never sound ‘Loud’. In my college apartment we would run at levels where verbal communication was extremely difficult, but the system was clean. We had constant requests to “turn it up” yelled in our ear because the system did not seem ‘Loud’. The same group of listeners in another apartment, playing an awful, highly distorted little compact system, was satisfied that the system was playing ‘Loud’ and verbal communication was easy.
buzz wrote:
We have been conditioned to equate ‘Loud’ with “distorted”. In that context a SONOS system will likely never sound ‘Loud’. In my college apartment we would run at levels where verbal communication was extremely difficult, but the system was clean. We had constant requests to “turn it up” yelled in our ear because the system did not seem ‘Loud’. The same group of listeners in another apartment, playing an awful, highly distorted little compact system, was satisfied that the system was playing ‘Loud’ and verbal communication was easy.
I find this shirt to be rather loud. Others may disagree.
buzz wrote:
We have been conditioned to equate ‘Loud’ with “distorted”. In that context a SONOS system will likely never sound ‘Loud’. In my college apartment we would run at levels where verbal communication was extremely difficult, but the system was clean. We had constant requests to “turn it up” yelled in our ear because the system did not seem ‘Loud’. The same group of listeners in another apartment, playing an awful, highly distorted little compact system, was satisfied that the system was playing ‘Loud’ and verbal communication was easy.
Oh no. I don’t like distorted at all. I typically tune my systems. Car and boat. This I’m trying to get a handle on.
Johnnunez29 wrote:
Came back outside and both speakers sound blown. I just took both back
Have the store confirm for you that they are truly blown, via their testing of the units.
Kumar wrote:
Johnnunez29 wrote:
Came back outside and both speakers sound blown. I just took both back
Have the store confirm for you that they are truly blown, via their testing of the units.
Confirm they are blown? I did that when everything I played was sounding more like a loud squeaking popping sound. (Really can’t compare it to anything). The store employees don’t even know what to look for. Hell I bought the speakers in for a return woth out the box, the girl found my receipt and though the speakers were Sonos amps 🤦🏼♂️
In that case they do sound gone! I asked because “sound blown” can be poor quality recordings as well. Or bad speaker wire connections.
Seeing the spec of what is a large and heavy speaker, and the power handling spec of 10 to 200 watts, I don't see how the Sonos Amp running at 75% volume levels could blow out the tweeters in the manner you say. On the other hand at 92dB these seem efficient and the question then is why the amp needs to be at 75% unless the patio is really large and/or the speakers are far way from the listening area.
It may be worth it to run these past someone that services such kit - if you can find someone like that - for what may be happening.
Or, look for another brand of speakers like Polk.
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