What could cause the tweeters to smoke?

[rick1967]

I've got Infinity Primus 6.5 components in the front and Polk 6x9's in the back doors of my 2014 Ram hooked up to a JBL GTO5 amp(that just came back from repair) and a S100 head unit. When I first hooked everything up, it sounded really good.After a couple of hours of playing around with the settings, I saw smoke come from the tweeters and they went out. It appears that all my speakers are fried. What can cause this problem?Thanks . RICK.

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[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Overdriving the amp. Clipping/distortion.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

I've got Infinity Primus 6.5 components in the front and Polk 6x9's in the back doors of my 2014 Ram hooked up to a JBL GTO5 amp(that just came back from repair) and a S100 head unit. When I first hooked everything up, it sounded really good.After a couple of hours of playing around with the settings, I saw smoke come from the tweeters and they went out. It appears that all my speakers are fried. What can cause this problem?Thanks . RICK.

It sounds like the amp may not of been repaired right and sent DC voltage to your speakers from the power supply ...

 

[rick1967]

Thanks for the reply. I am thinking it is the amp since all the speakers are fried now. Amplifier output voltage is AC I presume?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Did a reputable shop do the amp repair? What did you do for crossovers?

 

[rick1967]

The shop is an authorized JBL service facility. I used the Infinity crossovers that came with the speakers.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

What settings were you playing around with, specifically.

 

[rick1967]

I was adjusting the equalizer in the head unit

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

If you were already pushing the thermal limits of your speakers, adjusting the EQ higher could cause damage.

 

[rick1967]

I've never smoked any speakers in the past. I have a set of cheaper speakers laying around, so I try those and be extra careful adjusting the gain and EQ.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I was adjusting the equalizer in the head unit

I'd double check everything then. I highly doubt Harmon uses a cut-rate shop to repair their stuff. It is very probable you were just pushing things too hard.

Was the failure accompanied by any unusual noises (screeching or crackling). Did they all let go simultaneously?