sonos external speakers connected to Bluesound Powernode 2i

Was there any hint of trouble prior to complete failure, such as distortion or odd noises? Had both speakers failed at the same time? Are there any signs of physical damage?

Really appreciate you replying. The first set of speakers had a clipping fault on both which lead be to ask if the speakers and Powernode 2i was compatible which I was told they were…… this time they both seemed to lose bass and higher volume levels overnight and at the same time.

That could be a couple things, your amplifier has too much power and is damaging the speakers or you are driving a smaller amp too hard and the distortion that causes is destroying the speakers. The second is much more likely.

Also are you sure they are Architectural or Outdoor speakers labeled as “Sonos by Sonance”. I ask this as Sonance makes their own brand of speakers that resemble those found on the Sonos website. Also if purchased from Sonance and you are seeking some type of restitution (not saying you are) you’d have to go to Sonance.

Hi, no they are definitely Sonos External speakers 130w 8 ohms. I am interested that they may have been driven too hard by the Bluestream Powernode 2i 60 Watts x 2 into 8 ohms

Don't know that amplifier, you might look into the speaker protection features it offers.

Pushing a light duty amplifier into clipping and distortion in search of more volume than it can safely provide kills a lot of good quality speakers.

Is there a way to limit this, to stop people blasting out sound and blowing speakers?

You might try a wall mounted volume control between the Bluesound Powernode 2i and the speakers with a locking cover. The volume control will set the limit no matter how far they push the volume control on the amp.

Not sure if the old Connect offers a volume limit setting in the App but that should protect the speakers if it does.

Does the external amp not offer anything?

Typically, if you over drive an amplifier, its distortion products rise dramatically, are rich in high frequency energy, and the tweeter is damaged. If the amplifier can drive the speakers beyond their power limit, but with low distortion, the woofers will be damaged. Traditional music has relatively little high frequency energy and tweeters don’t need to be designed to handle as much power as the woofers.

Many speaker discussions follow this wisdom that has been valid since we started using amplifiers and speakers. Speaker manufacturers have became tired of replacing tweeters under warranty after the tweeters had been blown by improper system use. We humans have been conditioned to equate distorted with ‘loud’. If the user keeps the Volume ‘loud’ (distorted), it is very likely that the tweeters in elementary designs will eventually be damaged by the distortion energy.

In my college apartment we could run at levels that made verbal communication nearly impossible, but the distortion was still low. We’d have visitors approach, hands cupped around our ears, yelling “turn it up” because it did not yet seem ‘loud’. This same crew, in another apartment, would play a dreadful little compact unit ‘loud’ and conversation was easy.

Modern speaker manufacturers are often employing a part in the tweeter circuit that prevents the tweeter from being overdriven. This part was invented in the 1960’s, but had been relatively unknown by speaker designers or they argued that the part damaged the overall sound. Part improvement, design improvement, and attitude update have brushed most of the criticism aside. While this approach lowers speaker warranty costs because the tweeter is now safe, there are some user complaints that the tweeter level is too low when the system is playing “loud”. This is absolutely correct, but the tweeter does not blow up.

SONOS amplifiers and powered speakers are designed such that they can never enter the high distortion mode. In my opinion this is a great design approach. While this keeps the speakers and electronics safe from playing too ‘loud’, there are occasional complaints that SONOS never gets ‘loud’.