Can You Fix a Blown Headphone Speaker?
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Have you asked yourself if you can fix a blown headphone speaker and were confused because you are not sure you can? This article seeks to answer your question and guide you on the possible ways to fix or replace the blown headphone speaker.
So to answer the question, can you fix a blown headphone speaker? It is possible to fix a headphone speaker, but it is hard. Often you won’t get the same sound quality as before or the fix won’t last for long. For expensive headphones, you can most likely buy a replacement set. For cheap headphones, you should just buy new ones.
Have you ever put on your headphones to listen to some groovy music, then all of a sudden you just hear horrible distortion. There is nothing more annoying right?
How do Headphone speakers get blown?
Headphone speakers (or drivers) rarely get blown. More often than not there is something else that is wrong.
Headphones might blow their drivers if you play a very high volume for an extended amount of time. Even then, it is rare. Most likely you need external amps and you will likely blow your ears long before you blow your speakers! Listen at a normal hearing level and you will be just fine.
They might be blown if exposed to physical damage. Most headphones have grills that protect from outer damage. But even then, if hitting the concrete enough time, the headphones will suffer.
Important note: If you find out that one of your headphone speakers really got blown, check to see if there is still a warranty. Many high-end headphones come with good warranties where you can just send the headphones in and get a brand new pair back.
Common Headphone Defects
Like I said above, blown speakers are rare. The first thing you should do is troubleshoot common defects before you buy new replacement drivers.
Here are some common problems to look out for:
Auxiliary (AUX) Port Problems
One of the common causes of cracks in headphone speakers is a problematic AUX port or headphone jack. The fastest way to test for this is to plug your headphones into several AUX ports on different devices.
This will help you evaluate if your headphone jack has a problem or if it is just the other device, also to see if the crackling persists. Be sure that both the AUX port and cord are appropriately plugged in as a loose plugged in a pair of headphones often crackle due to poor wire connections.
Loose Wire
Headphones are made to have thin layers of rubber surrounding the thin conductive wires which send electronic signals to and from speakers. If the wire is not handled properly, the wire may disconnect, hence, causing a problem in the headphone. It is usually advisable to change the entire headphone or, better still, change the wires.
Go through the entire cable length. If the cable is bent or damaged in any way, it can affect the sound.
Poor EQ
Undesirable quality in headphones can likewise result from low quality of the source material or a media player with poor EQ settings. In the event that specific bass or treble settings are set excessively high, the volume would max out and can affect your headphone speakers.
It is important to note that listening to anything at too high volumes can cause the headphone speakers to crackle. This is because some headphone speakers were not designed to yield sound levels at the volumes you set.
Steps to Identify Blown Speakers
– Pay attention while listening to the speaker. A blown speaker usually sounds distorted, and your sound or audio will be noticeably off. Remember to play a song with some bass, as this will provoke the “blown” sound.
– Check for sounds coming from the speakers, is it a sonic fuzz? If no sounds are coming at all, confirm if your headphone and gadget are appropriately connected. A blown speaker will most like be very distorted.
– Feel the woofer if they produce noticeable movement or if it pumps out air while playing low-frequency sounds. If the speaker is not moving, the speaker might be blown. You check the woofer by pulling the grill off the speaker and feel it with your fingers.
– Use a multimeter to test for blown speakers. Turn off the stereo and connect the multimeter to the headphone speaker terminal and read the impedance. A blown speaker will read infinite impedance while a speaker in good condition should read “1.”
How to replace a headphone speaker: A step by step Guide
– Gently pull the headband protrusions out of the earcup rubber cushion and do this for both sides. Put the headband aside
– Open up the earcup to remove the speaker. This is done by plucking the rubber cushion with your fingers. Repeat this for the other side. The hole in the earcup is designed to fit into the quarter half of an adapter plug. Push the adapter plug or a small tool such as a pocket knife into the hole in the earcup to push out the speaker.
– Now that the earcup is open, remove the speaker by pulling it from the contact point attached to the inside of the cup.
– You can also use a small screwdriver to gently pry the speaker loose if needed.
– Bring out the new speaker replacement kit and press the new speaker into the spot where you removed the blown headphone speaker. The area where the previous speaker was should still be slightly sticky. Slightly press the new speaker into place.
– Insert the rubber strain relief into the small spot on the earcup assembly after the earcup has been fitted. This design helps the headphone wires from being overstrained or pulled out by accident.
– Gently snap the cap back on. You will hear a snap sound when the cap is in place.
– Insert the rubber cushion back into the hole where the headband is attached.
– Finally, insert the headband protrusion into the hole where the rubber cushion has been inserted.
Of course, this is how you replace the speakers from one type of headphones. Yours might be different.
Check this video on how you replace the speakers for a Sony MDR-7506 headphone:
Here is an example of how to replace the speaker/driver for a Beats by Dre Studio headphones:
All headphones have the same kind of component. There is only a difference in how they are put together. Hopefully, the videos above will help you to change your own headphones.
Final Words
To sum it up, first, troubleshoot to make sure your headphones truly are blown.
If the speakers are blown, you should check if the warranty is still active.
If the warranty isn’t active, you should decide if it worth it to replace your drivers. Search Amazon or eBay if replacement drivers are available.
