Do monitor's wear out?

futuredood

New member
Hey guys,

I have a pair of Alesis M1 actives.. and currently have to flip a couple switches to switch between regular speakers and my monitor speakers. I want to just listen to regular music (and some times loud) through one primary source.. which might as well be my monitors since I mix with them too. Is it cool to enjoy music through them, or will this wear them out?
 
Drivers usually have a life expectancy of 5-10 years depending on make and how hard you drive them. Some makes last even longer. The chamber where the air resonates depends on how you physically handle the monitors. If they crack, then the sound representation will suffer. If by any chance you damage the cones then that is more serious and need replacing and not 'sucking out' like some people do.
 
Monitors are meant to be played. Like the old nike commercial, "Just Do It"!
 
I read an article that Outkast changes out their monitor woofers in Stankonia Studio once a year.

The engineer mention they like to keep their speakers "fresh" so they can make sure they getting an accurate sound out of them.

But if you don't have an Outkast type of budget, you got use what you got.

One
 
from what ive read...self powered monitors last longer...and most monitors can have a lifespan of 5-10 years
 
Aside from abuse, monitor drivers are not generally worn out by playing them. True, most monitor drivers last around 5-10 years but this is mostly caused by enviromental factors. In particular the speaker surrounds (the foam or rubber around the lip of the speaker cones) are attacked by chemicals in the air and will eventually "rot."

The biggest enemy is ozone so be careful about your studio environment. "Ionic Breeze" air filters and large electric "brush" motors are a definite no-no. If you can smell ozone you should proboably remove the cause from your studio.

Self powered monitors should not have a life expectency different from passive monitors. However, most active monitors have electronic protection to prevent abuse and most are newer designs that use longer lasting "butyl rubber" surrounds rather than the old "foam rubber" designs.

So go ahead and play yours speakers. That is what you bought them for.
 
OK, cool. I believe it's better to use the monitors for actual listening purposes so you can get a feel for how professional songs are mixed. You get a better image to compare yours too. Cooool.
 
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