Stereo speakers are built to last. Every time you turn them on they are subjected to abuse and punishment, even more so depending on the type of music you listen to. For example, bass-heavy music shakes everything in your home. Imagine what is happening in the speaker cone.

Even the best quality stereo speakers are bound to crack from all this abuse over time. When that happens, you might have a chance to save some money by fixing those broken speakers instead of buying new ones.

It all starts with finding the problem causing the sound problems. It may be a damaged casing or it may have blown due to an electrical or thermal fuse. Voice coil problems are a common problem, sometimes the crossover network is faulty and even problems as simple as a solder connection can be the cause of your problems. Whatever your speaker problem is, it can be fixed. Here’s a breakdown of how you can repair a speaker that has blown.

• The first thing to do is find out which speaker is giving you trouble. You can easily do this by playing around with the stereo equalizer. Modify the balance and fader to isolate the speaker causing the sound distortion or if there is no sound. Make sure you don’t have the volume on full blast or you risk blowing out a good speaker.
• Once you have figured out which speaker is the faulty one, you now need to take it apart. Try to do this step carefully because you don’t want to cause further damage to a well-functioning part. Remove the speaker faceplate, and then gently loosen the seams of the speaker fabric without tearing it.
• Now that the speaker cone is visible, you can start repairing it. Have tape or glue handy, as this is what you’ll primarily use if the speaker cone is punctured or broken. You’ll want to make sure the hole or tear is completely covered before moving on to the next step.
• Test the voice coil to see if it’s damaged in any way, like it melted at some point, for example. If there is even the smallest of gaps in the coil, either no sound will come out of the speaker or it will sound extremely distorted, depending on the size. If you see that the voice coil is really melted, just replace the speaker completely.
• If you are going to need replacement parts, now is the time to order them. They can be found directly from the manufacturer, but can be expensive, or at specialty stereo stores. An often overlooked fact is knowing the part number(s) of the parts you are looking for. They are usually located inside the speaker or on the back of the cone. If you do, your life will be much easier.
• Now that you have all the parts you need to properly repair your speaker, take a look at how the damaged part is attached to the speaker. Once you remove the broken piece, you’ll need to install the new one the same way.
• Now that you’ve finished putting the speaker back together, the only thing left to do is test to see if all your hard work paid off. Plug it back into the stereo and try it at a low volume, slowly turning the volume up to see if you can handle it. If the speaker is still not working and you feel like you did everything correctly, take it to a professional and let them fix it from there.