The most important part of a sound system has got to be the speakers, and it doesn’t matter whether you are producing, recording, or just listening to some audio files. What you should know is speakers will not last forever, but how long do speakers last is one question that will forever be on the lips of so many audiophiles. At some point, you will consider replacing your current set of speakers, but a good speakers set can last for some decades.
Truth be told, the answer as to how long do speakers last depends on so many factors. These factors might include components of the speaker, build quality, and the speaker’s specifications. A speaker ought to last for as long as ten to twenty years before they get replaced, and speakers vary these terms in terms of durability, quality, and longevity. There are numerous speakers on the market, so finding a suitable replacement shouldn’t be hard to find.
If you want to have a good idea as to how long a speaker will last, what you need to do is to be able to determine what causes speakers to wear off and break down. There are certain speakers that will function for many years before they break down, while others might last few months. Finding the missing piece to the puzzle is very crucial, and speakers vary in terms of performance, durability, and build quality like we mentioned earlier.
All of these factors have a way of affecting the longevity of a speaker, and it also plays a vital role in determining the age a speaker might start diminishing. Over the past three decades, the technology behind a speaker has stayed the same. Interestingly, there are significant differences between speakers designed in the 1980’s and modern day speakers, but one thing that still remains similar are the speaker designs.
This point is necessary to note when trying to find out if speakers go bad with time as there are several speakers that are still in used today despite being produced thirty years ago. Rotting foam is one common issue that so many speakers deal with, and rotting foam implies the degradation of foam material surrounding the woofer to break down due to environmental exposure.
A permanent damage to a speaker’s voice coil is around the corner if a speaker with a foam rot is still being used, and it will interest you to note that one of the most integral part of a speaker’s system is its voice coil. The entire sound system ends up being totally ruined once the speaker’s voice coil gets damaged. There are gaps in the foam that will cause the voice coil to get damaged, and this leads to shorting, degradation, and overheating.
Repairing the foam yourself is very vital, but this might be too much stress compared to replacing an already old and used speaker. Over time, speakers tend to suffer from different issues like degrading tweeter volume controls, and this results in scratching sounds being produced when making use of the speaker.
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How Long Do Speakers Last
Do Old Speakers Sound Bad?
Taking a look at musical and audio equipment, the case of the instrument that sounds better is the old and vintage ones. However, this might not be the case when taking a look at speakers as there are several components that tend to break down and wear off over time. This doesn’t mean that every old speaker will sound bad, but what we are trying to say is there should be less deterioration of components if the speaker is taken care of over time.
This also means that the amount of deterioration that happens to a speaker that is well looked after shouldn’t have a huge effect on the quality of sound that is produced. There are two types of speaker degradation that is bound to occur, and trust me when i say this type of degradation are bound to is likely to cause speakers to sound bad. They are;
- Electronic degradation
- Environmental degradation
The location you use a speaker that causes it to wear and tear is what we refer to as environmental degradation, and the cone of a speaker must move inward and outward if a sound must be produced. This cone flexes on a device inside of a speaker known as the surround, and foam, rubber, and cloth are materials that can be used in making a speaker’s surround. Trust these materials to work great when used.
However, these materials ability to resist degradation varies due to their environment, and foam and rubber are known to wear out or degrade quickly compared to using cloth materials in making a surround. A surround detaches from a speaker cone when it begins to wear out, and this causes the sound produced by the speaker to be affected. In some cases, the speaker might tend to sound unclear and noisy.
How Often Should You Replace Speakers
There is no set time for you to replace speakers, but so many factors will affect how they are replaced. The frequency you use a speaker has a huge determining factor regarding how long a speaker lasts, and how well a speaker is looked after also determines how long a speaker is going to last. It is very possible for a good speaker to last as long as thirty years, but this lifespan isn’t common with affordable and cheap speakers.
Final Thoughts – How Long Do Speakers Last
Every speaker is likely to last as long as ten years, and this is possible if you make use of them sensibly. Most people nowadays believe that modern speakers are not built to last as long as other vintage devices, and trust me when i say there might be some levels of truth to that statement. However, there are still some speakers that are well built today, but constantly replacing bad speaker components is one of the ways your speakers can last long.
Speakers should last longer than other pieces of equipment and cables, and monitoring a speaker’s overall performance is very crucial. Monitoring how a speaker functions is very crucial to tell you if the time is right for you to replace or repair them.
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