There are various factors that can have an effect on a speaker’s lifespan, with some more likely to damage it than others; nonetheless, all can lead to decreased sound quality and result in diminished output from your system.
Some components of speakers, including their surround, cone and capacitor in the crossover system, may degrade over time; this does not indicate that your speakers have become irreparably damaged and require replacement.
Extreme Temperatures
Extreme temperatures can wreak havoc with electronics. Exposure can damage internal components that make up speakers, potentially rendering them nonfunctional or even outright broken.
Cold temperatures have an adverse impact on some forms of glue used for speaker assembly. This can cause parts that were once held together to loosen, making the speaker unusable.
However, this issue only impacts certain kinds of speakers. To reduce this issue and extend their lifespan it’s wise to only purchase those designed specifically to withstand colder temperatures – meaning speakers that feature additional insulation and stronger materials like aramid fiber or paper cones can help protect from elements while delaying wear-and-tear damage. Furthermore, for optimal performance it is wise to store speakers in temperature-regulated rooms when not being used – this will keep their temperature even and maintain normal room conditions for them!
High Humidity
Without the ability to be waterproofed, speakers do not like being exposed to too much moisture as this can corrode their internal components and compromise their sound quality.
Foam that surrounds a speaker’s woofer can also degrade over time, especially in humid environments; this condition is commonly referred to as “rotting foam”.
Your speakers must be stored in an environment with low humidity, moderate temperatures and on a stable surface to protect them from becoming damaged by moisture. It’s ideal to store them in a cool dry location like a closet or storage room.
Make sure that your speakers aren’t exposed to direct sunlight or extreme temperatures as UV rays from the sun could potentially harm their cones and negatively affect sound quality.
UV Exposure
Most speakers are constructed using sturdy materials that can withstand extensive abuse, but certain parts may eventually wear down over time. These components include the surround, cone, crossover capacitor and ferrofluid in some tweeters – when these parts deteriorate they diminish the sound quality.
Environmental conditions are usually to blame for degradation. Aramid fiber or paper cones don’t do well in humid environments because they absorb atmospheric moisture, eventually degrading over time. UV rays from sunlight may also do damage. Moisture combined with electronics is never good; it may corrode internal components or even cause short circuiting.
Excessive power input into speakers is another major issue, which can damage voice coils and woofers while burning out tweeters (known as amplifier clipping). You may hear crackling sounds coming from their tweeters when overdriving mechanical limits are being exceeded, or see them begin to heat up over time.
Rotting Foam
Speakers are composed of different materials that deteriorate with time. Foam surrounding the cone may become compromised over time and cause its sound production capabilities to become diminished, ultimately leading to its breakdown and eventually leading to it not producing sound anymore.
If your speakers have become discoloured from rotted foam, it might be time for refoaming. Foam around the perimeter of a speaker serves to hold its cone and spider together so as to produce audio; should either become damaged, they can rub together creating an unpleasant scraping noise that must be corrected quickly.
Use an impact adhesive that dries quickly when refoaming speakers. A book can act as a weight to keep the speakers flat while they dry; then test your new-and-improved speakers to see if their sound quality improves significantly; once this process has completed, enjoy your newly refoamed speakers! They should sound much better than before!