Gear Maintenance: Speakers

Editors Note: This is the first in a series of articles that is written by Brett Speer, our warehouse guru, about how he maintains our audio inventory.  He has some really good insights, enjoy!

Like the cars we drive or the planes we fly in, our equipment must be inspected, tested, and maintained.  We spend a lot of money on our gear, and expect it to work for more than just a couple of years.  However, in most cases, without proper maintenance, this will not be the case.  In this article I will discuss some of the things that have been passed on to me from others, and others things that I have figured out on my own.  Most of this is common sense, and all of it easily doable, if you know what to look for.

Audio rental houses can be quite a bit different in the scope of work they do (e.g. corporate, touring, rental house, etc.), and therefore in the kind of equipment they own, but are all the same in that they are all looking for the highest return on their gear.  We all know our sound systems do not work on hopes and dreams, so we have to be proactive, by trying to predict weak areas, and future problems, in order to stay a step ahead.  So… here we go!

·      Speakers: Sweeping, inspecting, rigging, testing.

Timeless Classic

If you rent to the general public, speakers should always be checked on return before the customer leaves.  This way if there is any damage it can be addressed in a way that leaves no doubt in the customer's mind that you did not cause the damage and try to blame them for it.  A standalone tone oscillator will never steer you wrong, and by performing a basic sweep will know that:

 1.     The speaker will power up..     

 2.  There are no drivers out if you get the full range of sound.    

 3.  And, finally, if there is any distortion caused from damaged    

      components even if they are still functioning. 

If your techs are the only ones using your speakers, you will be in better hands.  However, I would recommend still giving your speakers a sweep every 2 or 3 months, or at least a couple of times a year, even if there are no reported problems.  Speakers are either working properly, meaning that they are emitting the entire spectrum of sound they were created to pass, or they’re not. It’s not that hard to tell which is which, making it easier to pin point the problem.  However, just to muddy the waters a little, older drivers can sound dramatically different than newer ones.  Even though it may not technically be 

“bad,” it is good practice to replace woofers that sound dramatically different than the rest, so that in the field you are not having substantial frequency variations from box to box.  Bad components are not the only thing you should be concerned about though, the cabinet structure and integrity also affect the way a speaker sounds.  Un-tightened screws, broken plastic parts, cracked wood, and loose crossover components can make a good speaker sound bad; and at higher SPL levels instead of singing, these flaws could cause your speakers to rattle and hum.  Speaker rigging hardware is another component that needs to be checked and inspected regularly.  From time to time rigging grids will get bent, or pinholes will become obstructed by metal shards from the grid.  If the grid gets twisted in such a way that the integrity is compromised it should be replaced immediately, not only for the sake of you expensive cabinet, which can be replaced, but also for the safety of anyone sitting under your flown PA, who cannot be replaced.  Taking a good old-fashioned drill to an obstructed pinhole will get rid of that shard, without compromising structure (as long as you’re not making the hole larger, which would compromise safety.  Also, inspecting the grids for stress cracks, at high-tension points in your hardware is very important.  It really doesn’t matter how good your box sounds, if it falls during a show, you will probably never be invited back, no matter how great the mix was.

Gear maintenance is a year round job!  When work slows down we take the time to take a closer look at our equipment. There are quite a few things we can do to make sure our rigs are ready to go for the next rush of business. 

Next post I will share a few ideas about cable maintenance building and testing.

Brett Speer

Audio Technician

J&S Audio Visual

Show Services

Started down the audio path going to work for Crossroads Audio, a Dallas based sound company in 1995. He spent 9 years with them learning system design, troubleshooting, engineering, installation, repairs and mixing. While at Crossroads, Brett moonlighted with most of the area nightclubs, offering solutions to their audio problems.  In 2006 Brett went to work for Dallas Stage Right gaining experience in the lighting, video, staging, installation and warehouse management fields.  Brett joined the J&S Audio Visual Show Services audio team in 2010 as the gear coordinator where he currently puts his broad skill-set to good use.