speaker protection

soundnovice · 30th November 2011, 11:36 AM

hi all
is speaker protection must even if operating at low power? how do i decide that protection is required or not?

DigitalJunkie · 30th November 2011, 12:56 PM

How much are your speakers worth to you?

Even a mishap or fault in a lowish power amplifier can cook drivers.

Tytte71 · 30th November 2011, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundnovice

hi all
is speaker protection must even if operating at low power? how do i decide that protection is required or not?

Hi, I wouldn't bother using speaker protection in normal home hifi speakers. My protection is to limit the output to the point where there is no audible compression or distortion. I would however concider it used in party or PA speakers where the drivers are run to its limits.

soundnovice · 1st December 2011, 04:26 AM

i am building Rod's P3A power amp. which i will be using for my diy bookshelf speakers. will it be fatal for my drivers if output transistors fail?

AllenB · 1st December 2011, 09:22 AM

I have a P3A pair that I've been using for some years now. I also added one of Rods protection boards when I built it. It uses a relay and holds the speakers off at switch-on to avoid thumps, and it cuts out if DC is detected at the outputs.

So far the only problem I've had with the amp is the output relay contacts failing once. Aside from this relay, I normally avoid any kind of protection in order to keep the signal path simpler. It was the high output capability of this amp and the supply I used with it that made me go with the protection. If not for these problems it is not too difficult to avoid speaker damage simply by listening to them.

soundnovice · 1st December 2011, 10:12 AM

i would like to add the protection considering the cost of speakers (wharfdale 9.6 4way floor standars) although they will be used at low power.
have anybody used the speaker protection kits (chinese make) available on ebay? are they reliable.

AndrewT · 10:29 AM

Read Mooly's (or is it Bonsai's) thread about why relays don't always guarantee speaker protection.
You may want to adopt his mosFET suggestion instead of a mechanical relay.

I agree on the need for speaker protection.
I have in the last 40 years damaged two bass/mid drivers due to output offset, one of which only lasted for about 100ms. Big Bang, driver dead.

I am currently trying to do speaker isolation and +-rail fuses using only Nch mosFETs (4 off irfb3607), not quite there.

30th November 2011, 11:36 AM	#1
soundnovice diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2011	speaker protection hi all is speaker protection must even if operating at low power? how do i decide that protection is required or not?

1st December 2011, 10:25 AM	#7
AndrewT diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Scottish Borders	Read Mooly's (or is it Bonsai's) thread about why relays don't always guarantee speaker protection. You may want to adopt his mosFET suggestion instead of a mechanical relay. I agree on the need for speaker protection. I have in the last 40 years damaged two bass/mid drivers due to output offset, one of which only lasted for about 100ms. Big Bang, driver dead. I am currently trying to do speaker isolation and +-rail fuses using only Nch mosFETs (4 off irfb3607), not quite there. __________________ regards Andrew T. Last edited by AndrewT; 1st December 2011 at 10:29 AM.

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30th November 2011, 12:56 PM	#2
DigitalJunkie diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Portland,Oregon Blog Entries: 4	How much are your speakers worth to you? Even a mishap or fault in a lowish power amplifier can cook drivers.

1st December 2011, 04:26 AM	#4
soundnovice diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2011	i am building Rod's P3A power amp. which i will be using for my diy bookshelf speakers. will it be fatal for my drivers if output transistors fail?

1st December 2011, 09:22 AM	#5
AllenB diyAudio Member Join Date: Oct 2008	I have a P3A pair that I've been using for some years now. I also added one of Rods protection boards when I built it. It uses a relay and holds the speakers off at switch-on to avoid thumps, and it cuts out if DC is detected at the outputs. So far the only problem I've had with the amp is the output relay contacts failing once. Aside from this relay, I normally avoid any kind of protection in order to keep the signal path simpler. It was the high output capability of this amp and the supply I used with it that made me go with the protection. If not for these problems it is not too difficult to avoid speaker damage simply by listening to them.

1st December 2011, 10:12 AM	#6
soundnovice diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2011	i would like to add the protection considering the cost of speakers (wharfdale 9.6 4way floor standars) although they will be used at low power. have anybody used the speaker protection kits (chinese make) available on ebay? are they reliable.

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