Popped/blown/broken speakers?

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reedOsama

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I'm not really good with these electric terms (and I hated circuits in high school physics)

so after a powercut in the area some plug adapter thing popped, random plugs in the house stopped working... when I finally removed the plug everything worked perfectly except for both computer's speakers which seem to be dead.

does anyone have any idea why this happens and how i can prevent it from happening again 'cause if i gotta buy better quality speakers to prevent it i will... but i dont want to buy better speakers and have the same thing happen again.

THANKS!
 
Are they active speakers or passive? If they are active just try it first on something else to see if it is actually the speakers.
 
octall said:
Are they active speakers or passive? If they are active just try it first on something else to see if it is actually the speakers.
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I googled active/passive and I dont really get the difference but im thinking they both active since they have seperate plugs for power (not sure if that fits the definition)

without even connecting them to the computer (only their plugs are in) they dont switch on... little green light doesn't come on.
 
Sounds as if you had a power spike.

If you have a friend with the savvy ask them to look at the speakers as its probably just a small thing.

Surge protection?
 
reedOsama said:
without even connecting them to the computer (only their plugs are in) they dont switch on... little green light doesn't come on.
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They are likely to be 100% dead. Internal amp/circuitry fried. Fixing it will prob cost more than new ones.

You can try some of those surge protector plugs. Or you could get a UPS...though I'd be careful with that. Active speakers draw lots of juice & the UPS might not like it. Make sure you get the right kind of UPS...lots of threads on this forum just google them.
 
HavocXphere said:
They are likely to be 100% dead. Internal amp/circuitry fried. Fixing it will prob cost more than new ones.

You can try some of those surge protector plugs. Or you could get a UPS...though I'd be careful with that. Active speakers draw lots of juice & the UPS might not like it. Make sure you get the right kind of UPS...lots of threads on this forum just google them.
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I know how UPS work but I've never used them would i connect the speaker plug to the UPS or the computer and it'll protect the speakers?
 
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reedOsama said:
I know how UPS work but I've never used them would i connect the speaker plug to the UPS or the comuter and it'll protect the speakers?
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Yeah, though like I said Amp + UPS is generally not a hot idea but may work depending on the specifics.

Buying new speakers + surge protector would probably be easier.
 
Eskom blew up half the stuff in my house.

My TV needed a new capacitor to run, my cheapie amp needed one fuse and a resistor replaced.
Buddy of mine fixed my VCR in about an hour, cost nothing as he used a pc power supply for spare parts.
 
HavocXphere said:
Yeah, though like I said Amp + UPS is generally not a hot idea but may work depending on the specifics.

Buying new speakers + surge protector would probably be easier.
Click to expand...

dont adapters/'whatever those long plug things are called' come with surge protectors?
 
AstroTurf said:
Eskom blew up half the stuff in my house.

My TV needed a new capacitor to run, my cheapie amp needed one fuse and a resistor replaced.
Buddy of mine fixed my VCR in about an hour, cost nothing as he used a pc power supply for spare parts.
Click to expand...

that's impressive but you still use your VCR?
 
Have plenty home videos I am converting to digital, also see the toptv macrovision thread...
 
Well just get a NEW ONE.. I mean I saw one today at computer mania for like R100.. cheapo but nice.. ^ ^
 
reedOsama said:
I know how UPS work but I've never used them would i connect the speaker plug to the UPS or the computer and it'll protect the speakers?
Click to expand...
Anyone can read UPS numeric specs. Most who make recommendations never do. Surge protection provided by a UPS is about as close to zero as possible. Then retail advertising (propaganda) can promote near-zero as 100% protection to a majority who never ask for numbers. Who never learn fundamentals that were undestood even 100 years ago.

Chances are a power loss was preceded by a transient. Or, just as likely, the speakers suffered a manufacturing defect long before the power off. A defect that causes its power restart circuit to fail. Just another reason why the UPS does nothing.

Meanwhile, what is the dirtiest power an appliance might see. From a UPS in battery backup mode. Those reading numeric specs rather than sales propaganda would know this.

Effective surge protection is located when wires enter the building. Destructive surges (energy) must be harmlessly dissipated in earth. If that energy is anywhere inside the building, then it will hunt for earth destructively via appliances. No adjacent protector will or claims to avert that damage.

So what did speakers fail? Everyone is only posting wild speculation. You have no reason to know until the failed electronics part is identified.

Why would a surge hunt for earth destructively via that speaker? You don't provide enough facts to answer. And have no reason to believe a surge existed. However every informed consumer (and that is a minority) always spend much less money to protect everything (including the furnace and dishwasher). Informed consumers earth one 'whole house' protector (that costs about $1 per protected appliance) so that everything is surge protected even from direct lightning strikes.
 
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hehehe... is your name Sheldon Cooper:D

Anyway lets forget I got cheap speakers to replace my previous speakers. Why the hell is your post so complicated.

westom said:
Anyone can read UPS numeric specs. Most who make recommendations never do. Surge protection provided by a UPS is about as close to zero as possible. Then retail advertising (propaganda) can promote near-zero as 100% protection to a majority who never ask for numbers. Who never learn fundamentals that were undestood even 100 years ago.
Click to expand...

so what you're saying is UPS give zero protection but companies pretend they can protect your stuff

westom said:
Chances are a power loss was preceded by a transient. Or, just as likely, the speakers suffered a manufacturing defect long before the power off. A defect that causes its power restart circuit to fail. Just another reason why the UPS does nothing.
Click to expand...

here you're saying both speakers (speakers at two different computers) might've experienced a defect not related to power... at the same time. Then you're saying UPS cant solve that

westom said:
Meanwhile, what is the dirtiest power an appliance might see. From a UPS in battery backup mode. Those reading numeric specs rather than sales propaganda would know this.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing this is rhetorical but I'm sure you're saying that there are in fact UPS capable of helping me... its just I need to read their specs properly

westom said:
Effective surge protection is located when wires enter the building. Destructive surges (energy) must be harmlessly dissipated in earth. If that energy is anywhere inside the building, then it will hunt for earth destructively via appliances. No adjacent protector will or claims to avert that damage.
Click to expand...

The energy did enter the building, the house wasn't struck by lightning and I cant really think of any other way energy would hunt for Earth destructively via appliances

westom said:
So what did speakers fail? Everyone is only posting wild speculation. You have no reason to know until the failed electronics part is identified.
Click to expand...

They failed me... the failed electronic part was the plug/adapter/thing you put in the wall socket for more sockets?

westom said:
Why would a surge hunt for earth destructively via that speaker? You don't provide enough facts to answer. And have no reason to believe a surge existed. However every informed consumer (and that is a minority) always spend much less money to protect everything (including the furnace and dishwasher). Informed consumers earth one 'whole house' protector (that costs about $1 per protected appliance) so that everything is surge protected even from direct lightning strikes.
Click to expand...

I dont know, I didn't say it did!
 
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reedOsama said:
Anyway lets forget I got cheap speakers to replace my previous speakers. Why the hell is your post so complicated. ...
so what you're saying is UPS give zero protection but companies pretend they can protect your stuff
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If a UPS does any of those protections, simply post its numeric specs that claim it does those things. And good luck finding those numbers. It was not complex. That UPS does nothing to protect hardware. Reason one is that simple.

Learn how a typical UPS works. It connects your speaker's power directly to AC mains when not in battery backup mode. Where is protection? Reason two is also that simple. Speaker connects directly to AC mains through a UPS relay. How does that relay stop any destructive power? It doesn't. Any electrical transient is connected directly and unimpeded to the speaker.

Why was it complex? Because jumping to conclusions about a power problems without any facts creates confusion. A) the most common reason for appliance failure is manufacturing defect. B) why only failure of two speakers with identical parts? Undamaged are dimmer switches, bathroom GFCIs, clock radios, smoke detectors, doorbell, dishwasher, digital clocks, etc? If an electrical transient was destroying both speakers, then why did it completely ignore about 100 other appliances? The most common reason for such damage is a manufacturing defect. Or maybe a design defect common to both speakers. A) and B) blame something other than a power transient. C) is zero reasons to believe a transient caused damage.

How does a UPS that neither claims to nor does hardware protection somehow protect speakers from a surge that could not harm some 100 other appliances? Simple reasons one and two say the UPS does nothing for your problem.

Reasons A) and B) say damage was not from AC mains. And C) says zero reasons exist to believe a transient even existed.

Your only fact: two speakers and only two speakers failed. You do not even know what failed inside or why. A classic example of a fact (power caused a speaker failure) generated only from speculation. Reason for failure is contrived. Then a UPS is put forth as a solution to a contrived problem – when that UPS does no hardware protection. A mythical solution fabricated to a problem that exists only in speculation.

A most common reason for failure is manufacturing defects. Your symptoms are screaming manufacturing or design defect. At least that speculative conclusion is based in engineering experience. And it explains why nothing else failed.
 
westom, you're obviously American, so it's probably best for you to not comment on South African power problems. Rather tell the OP about which UPSs can help, rather than blather on about "typical" UPSs. Mine offers 480J of protection, and I won't pretend to understand what that means, but since I installed it, I've had no surge related deaths.
 
Drunkard #1 said:
Mine offers 480J of protection, and I won't pretend to understand what that means, but since I installed it, I've had no surge related deaths.
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480 joules means it uses 160 joules and never more than 320 joules to absorb surges. Destructive surges are hundreds of thousands of joules. A UPS is near zero protection - 480 joules - so that a majority will believe it has 100% surge protection.

Scams are easily promoted when the majority do not learn numbers. Your numbers say virtually zero surge protection.

The OP has no reason to believe a surge existed. But every homeowner needs surge protection. All appliances (even dimmer switches) contain serious protection. Your concern is a rare transient that occurs typically once every seven years. A number that varies significantly even with geology. Can vary significantly even in the same town.

Protection is about where energy dissipates. Either you earth a surge harmlessly outside the building. Or that surge is hunting for earth, destructively, via household appliances. Sometimes an adjacent protector gives that surge even more potentially destructive paths. Yes, can even contribute to surge damage.

A plug-in protector does nothing useful. Will its hundreds of joules magically absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules? Of course not. Either your 'whole house' protector connects short (ie 'less than 3 meters') to single point ground. Or you have no effective protection.

Cable TV wire needs no protector. A 2 mm wire connects a cable less than 3 meters to earth ground entering a building. Now that cable has the best surge protection available. AC electric and telephone cannot be earthed. Wires also make that short connection to earth via one 'whole house' protector. Every incoming wire inside every cable must make that connection to the same earth ground electrode. Otherwise energy is inside the house hunting for earth destructively via the appliance of its choice.

A surge protector is only as effective as its earth ground. No protector does protection. Repeated because so many have difficulty understanding the concept. No protector does protection. Either a protector connects surge energy harmlessly to earth. Or the protector (ie that UPS) is ineffective.

Why does you UPS have near-zero joules? No short and dedicated connection to single point earth ground means no surge protection. It is only hyping mythical (near-zero) protection to increase profits. If it discussed earth ground, you might learn what was known even 100 years ago. That would harm profit margins.

The OP has no reason to believe his speakers were damaged by a surge. But all homeowners should have the protection that actually dissipates hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly outside the building. Protection is always about where energy dissipates. Always. A protector is only as effective as its earth ground. No earth ground - that UPS - means no effective protection.
 
westom said:
480 joules means it uses 160 joules and never more than 320 joules to absorb surges. Destructive surges are hundreds of thousands of joules. A UPS is near zero protection - 480 joules - so that a majority will believe it has 100% surge protection.

Scams are easily promoted when the majority do not learn numbers. Your numbers say virtually zero surge protection.

The OP has no reason to believe a surge existed. But every homeowner needs surge protection. All appliances (even dimmer switches) contain serious protection. Your concern is a rare transient that occurs typically once every seven years. A number that varies significantly even with geology. Can vary significantly even in the same town.

Protection is about where energy dissipates. Either you earth a surge harmlessly outside the building. Or that surge is hunting for earth, destructively, via household appliances. Sometimes an adjacent protector gives that surge even more potentially destructive paths. Yes, can even contribute to surge damage.

A plug-in protector does nothing useful. Will its hundreds of joules magically absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules? Of course not. Either your 'whole house' protector connects short (ie 'less than 3 meters') to single point ground. Or you have no effective protection.

Cable TV wire needs no protector. A 2 mm wire connects a cable less than 3 meters to earth ground entering a building. Now that cable has the best surge protection available. AC electric and telephone cannot be earthed. Wires also make that short connection to earth via one 'whole house' protector. Every incoming wire inside every cable must make that connection to the same earth ground electrode. Otherwise energy is inside the house hunting for earth destructively via the appliance of its choice.

A surge protector is only as effective as its earth ground. No protector does protection. Repeated because so many have difficulty understanding the concept. No protector does protection. Either a protector connects surge energy harmlessly to earth. Or the protector (ie that UPS) is ineffective.

Why does you UPS have near-zero joules? No short and dedicated connection to single point earth ground means no surge protection. It is only hyping mythical (near-zero) protection to increase profits. If it discussed earth ground, you might learn what was known even 100 years ago. That would harm profit margins.

The OP has no reason to believe his speakers were damaged by a surge. But all homeowners should have the protection that actually dissipates hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly outside the building. Protection is always about where energy dissipates. Always. A protector is only as effective as its earth ground. No earth ground - that UPS - means no effective protection.
Click to expand...

Are you a bot? Your post is full of repetition, errors and inappropriate examples. I don't respond to trolls, much less bot trolls, so this will be my last post on the subject.
 
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