A friend of mine recently bought a new set of speakers and was installing them in his truck. I was not there during the install, later that night he called me worried about his new speakers. They were 5x7's by the way. He said he accidentally put a small hole in the upper third of the cone for the speaker, and wondered whether or not it would affect the quality of the sound badly enough that he should buy another set. He wanted to find out before installing them again, I told him I really didn't know. The cone on the speakers is an aluminum cone and the hole is about the size of a pencil point. Anyone know the answer to this question? Thanks
TheAnswer
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Posted on
In theory, the hole will originate a tension point when force is applied to the cone via the speaker magnet. This tension point will tend to cause tension waves throuout the adjecent areas of the cone. This in turn will result in unwanted vibrations through the cone causing distortion. This effect will is proportional to the amount of power that is applied (or the lower the frequencies). The end result will probably be a torn cone as the concentration of tension starts to tear the cone. In other words, if he plays the speaker at low levels, it'll last for a while and the distortion will be tolerable, possibly unoticed; if he plays the speaker at high levels.....well, let's just say, that's not a good idea.
yes, it'll affect the sound. the speakers are designed for an infinite baffle, so the area behind the speaker should be sealed from the air in front. not gonna happen with a hole in the cone.
TheAnswer
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Posted on
I said that. Ok, a little more technical, but I said that nonetheless. By the way, what is an "infinite baffle"? I don't beleive I've heard that terminology before.