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Help with blown tweeters/power issue

All,

Last night I was happily listening to my new speakers - the largest audio purchase I have or ever will make - when my amplifier’s display  blinked on and off, AirPlay cut in and out, and then wham - the volume jumped up to max with no input from me.  
I immediately shut off the amp, but I fear the damage is done.  The speakers and amp still make sound, but all I hear from the tweeters is a soft, high-pitched hiss. I assume they are blown, and I have no idea what else could be wrong inside the cabinets. 
I have no idea what happened.  My only thought is that the dryer was on nearby and could have caused some sort of voltage spike to the amp.  When I turn on a nearby dehumidifier the lights dim momentarily, which makes me suspicious there is some power issue at play.
I have two questions:

1. What do I need to do to assess the full extent of damage to the speakers?  There are no dealers nearby. 2.  How can I prevent this from happening again?

Thanks for any help.  This has been an awful experience. 
lousyreeds1

Showing 1 response by mijostyn

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,156 posts
 
If you hear a hiss in your tweeters they are still working. A bad tweeter will generally give you no sound at all. The failure mode you mention is really unusual. An amps volume does not go through the ceiling without help from something, a tripped switch to a program source with more gain. You can get a test CD with a frequency sweep that will tell you instantly if any of the drivers are blown.
You could put a surge protector on the system but I am not so sure this was a power issue. 
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