Can I Test Auto Speakers with Home Stereo?

[Henrius]

Something is amiss with the stereo system I installed in my 1972 Newport while in the Navy in the mid 1980s. Don't know whether it is the receiver or speakers or both after all these years.

While the car has spent some time in the sun with the new speakers since I installed them, the cones don't appear to be broken.

Took one of the rear big speakers out to test, but don't have a spare auto radio handy. Don't know a thing about operating voltages of car speakers. Can I patch wire auto speakers into a home stereo receiver to test functionality? Or do home and auto speakers use different voltages? Would hate to kill a good speaker doing a test. These Kricket Domax III speakers were expensive 3-ways in their day.

 

[GJS]

Shouldn’t be an issue for a test. I’d keep the bass and treb flat and the volume low just to lower the chance of messing up the suspension and/or cone. Wouldn’t run it for too long either but it’s rather unlikely you’d melt a voice coil running it off a household amp.

 

[Slap Stick]

Speakers dont have a voltage rating. They have an impedence (resistance) value.
Look on the magnet and there should be something that says usually 4Ω or 8Ω.
The outputs of your stereo should say the same.
If the output and speaker are the same, hook it up.

 

[CBODY67]

If the cones/suspension had been exposed to sun and heat all of those years, the paper/foam has aged and things might not operate as they did when new. New cones and such are available for many speaker sizes and are pretty easy to change (YouTube videos). There might be a speaker re-coning business in your area and parts are available over the Internet, from when I looked a while back.

Not sure how the other two mid-range and tweeters in your existing speakers might be doing, though. Might be best to find some new ones and get to "enjoy the sound again" quicker?

Just some thoujghts,
CBODY67

 

[Henrius]

Thanks guys. I will test the speakers on my home stereo before trashing them. But probably after 35 years they have degraded. Hard to know what they sounded like long ago when they were new.

It would be penny wise and pound foolish to recone them. Don't have any sentimental feelings about aftermarket speakers.

One thing for sure: I am putting bass blockers between the receiver and the front 3.5" speakers this time. It is too hard to take out the instrument cluster and glove box to replace them!

Had Gary Tayman replace the insides of a correct Mopar AM/FM so now it will be HD Radio + a USB input. Those old cassette tapes will just have to stay at home!

 

[Big_John]

Thanks guys. I will test the speakers on my home stereo before trashing them. But probably after 35 years they have degraded. Hard to know what they sounded like long ago when they were new.

It would be penny wise and pound foolish to recone them. Don't have any sentimental feelings about aftermarket speakers.

One thing for sure: I am putting bass blockers between the receiver and the front 3.5" speakers this time. It is too hard to take out the instrument cluster and glove box to replace them!

Had Gary Tayman replace the insides of a correct Mopar AM/FM so now it will be HD Radio + a USB input. Those old cassette tapes will just have to stay at home!

IMHO, those speakers might have been kickass back 40 years ago and if they were in good shape, they would probably be good today, but you've answered your own question in your first post. They have spent a lot of time in the sun... The system doesn't sound right and and now you've just dropped some good cash at Gary's (well worth it, done it myself) for a better stereo.

Just give in and buy some new speakers... It's not worth the time and any check that you are going to do with your home stereo is just going to be if they work and not if they really perform or not...

Bet you'll find that even the lower end speakers today are as good as the high end stuff (I understand that Kricket was a very good brand back then) was 40 years ago. You got older ears too... LOL!

I use Polk Audio speakers in one car and Custom Autosound speakers in the other. They sound good to my ears... Of course just about anything that drowns out the tinnitus sounds good sometimes.

 

[Fredo]

A trick you can use to make sure they (the speakers) are getting a signal without pulling them is to touch the leads to dry cell battery. If all the wiring is good you'll her the speaker react. It's also a good way to make sure you have left, right, front and rear wired right. The low voltage of the battery won't harm your speakers.

 

[bnz84]

If you get new speakers for this modernized stereo stick with Tayman's advice and choose speakers with high efficiency/sensitivity. Above 90, but higher is better. Ive always had good luck with infinity reference line of speakers when you are not using an amplifier.