Loudspeakers - Replacing damaged woofers

[Alex281]

I have two Samson Resound HD10 PA cabinets with blown woofers. I would like to replace the woofer myself, but i'm not sure exactly what replacements to buy. If the cabinets total impedance is 8 Ohms, then should I buy an 8 Ohm woofer? Same for the power ratings, if the cabinet is rated for 150w RMS, then do I buy a replacement woofer that is rated for 150w RMS. I'll paste the original specs for the speaker below. I'd love to get specific recommendations if you have them!

-Alex


LF Driver Size 10"
HF Driver Size 1"
Power Rating (Program) 150W
Peak Power Capacity 300W
Impedance 8 Ohms
Frequency Range 60Hz-19khz
Crossover Frequency 2.5kHz
Maximum Peak SPL 116dB
Horizontal Coverage Angle 90 Degrees
Vertical Coverage Angle 60 Degrees
Enclosure Material MDF
Mounting Options Pole Mount, Floor Wedge
Inputs 1 x Speakon, 1 x TS
Outputs 1 x Speakon, 1 x TS
Height 24.4"
Width 17.44"
Depth 15.47"
Weight 29.5 lbs
Manufacturer Part Number SARS10HD

[avkid]

If you remove the woofer the impedance should be printed on it somewhere.
Have you contacted the manufacturer about a direct replacement?

[rwhealey]

Speaker cabinets are usually designed for a particular speaker. I'd contact the manufacturer for repair or replacement. Usually, repair is cheaper, but since the whole speaker is only $150 it might not be economical.

Have you figured out what caused the failures? I wouldn't trust this speaker with much more power than the 150W program rating.

[bishopthomas]

Yep, call up Samson and have them send you a pair of speakers. I would be a bit concerned that they are blown in the first place, though. Do you know what happened so that you don't cook them again?

[Alex281]

I'll call Samson and see what they charge for the replacement parts.
I'm not 100% sure what happened but I have a good idea. These speakers are used with a Samson XM910 powered mixer. 900w total power, 450 per channel. The last time they were used and working was for vocals for a small student rock band outdoors. I wasn't there for that gig, but I'm told that they worked the whole time with no issues. The next time we went to use the speakers (a few months later) they didn't work. I know that amp is more than powerful enough to overdrive the speakers. Is it possible they were overdriven at the outdoor gig but the damage wasn't noticed until they cooled down?

[howlingwolf487]

Alex,

There are two modes of failure for loudspeakers - thermal and mechanical. (Here's a great article about the subject.)

It's possible that your particular speaker was overworked and then dropped during the load-out, but only a post-mortem of the loudspeaker driver will tell that.

What amplifier are you using?

[museav]

Yep, call up Samson and have them send you a pair of speakers. I would be a bit concerned that they are blown in the first place, though. Do you know what happened so that you don't cook them again?

Agreed, if you don't figure out what caused the failures in the first place and address that then you might want to order more than a pair of replacement drivers as you may soon be replacing them again.

[SteveB]

I'd recommend these folks

[bishopthomas]

What amplifier are you using?

These speakers are used with a Samson XM910 powered mixer. 900w total power, 450 per channel.

It looks like the amps are slightly overpowering the speakers, but not enough that I would worry too much about it. Listen to your rig. If the speakers are breaking up back it off a bit.

[bishopthomas]

I'd recommend these folks

Haha! Given the frequency response of puppies, I'd be inclined to say those are tweeters rather than low frequency drivers.

[rwhealey]

Edit: 450W is the 4 ohm rating. 225 is slightly high, but should be OK with the proper HPF (I'd set a 50 Hz HPF).

That's what I get for not reading the spec sheet close enough...

[MPowers]

..........I would like to replace the woofer ...............

Go to a reputable dog breeder, not a puppy farm and then........... OH! ......... Neeeever mind!..........

[tdeater]

Check out Simply Speakers - Official Speaker Repair Page - Speaker Parts and Repair Service. They have replacement and rebuild kits for a lot of different speakers. our sound guy blew out 2 speakers one night. Something about pushing over 300w to 150w rated speakers.... melted the coils.... but what do I know, I am the lighting guy. He is convinced it was a wiring problem, and not the amp he decided to put in, but a rant for another time... :-)