Worst Audio Injury !!

I stumble while carrying large capacity loudspeakers. I broke my arm, this is the most severe audio show I've ever encountered. But that's not all, I really love the sound making profession and use modern audio equipment.
dan am thanh hoi truong is one of my favorite jobs

I burned my thumb on a hot valve in a tube amp last week.

Have hit my head multiple times trying to get up from behind the equipment rack (the sharp edge of a fireplace mantle is right there).

Haven't (badly) hurt my back yet but it's probably just a matter of time with 130-pound stereo speakers, a 110-pound solid-state amp (with dangerously sharp heatsinks), and subwoofers that are well over a hundred pounds each. I guess the trick is to never move anything. :-)

@passthedutchie,

"Haven’t (badly) hurt my back yet but it’s probably just a matter of time with 130-pound stereo speakers, a 110-pound solid-state amp (with dangerously sharp heatsinks), and subwoofers that are well over a hundred pounds each."


Err..with those kind of weights involved, it’s definitely only a matter of time.

My speakers only weigh 32.5kg each but each passing year they seem to be getting heavier.

My advice is DO NOT INJURE YOUR BACK.

Do all the stretching / yoga /McKenzie manoeuvre exercises you can beforehand.

Once your back goes, it can have a cumulative effect on your knees and ankles.

YOU DON’T WANT TO GO THERE.

Coming back from a back injury is one long hard trek. There’s far better things you would rather be doing with your time.

I keep weight belts in prominent easily accessible and easily seen places, so I don't lose track of them and have no excuse for not using one...when looking to move any gear over 50-60lbs or so.

Yes!  Lifting my speakers into my car heading back to school...hit me the next day like a ton of bricks!

@jccampbellii,

Yes, the dreaded delay is one of the worst things about back injuries.

You can go to bed feeling fine totally unsuspecting the spinal locking up that can happen 24 or even 48 hours later.

Sometimes this will be accompanied by chronic pain in your lower back or legs together with an awful cold sweat as your body takes over in a primal way to prevent you doing any further damage to yourself.

I find that pulling in my stomach muscles can offer some protection before lifting the odd 25kg bag of potatoes or moving the 35kg Tannoy Berkeley.

03-09-2021 11:05am@jccampbellii,

Yes, the dreaded delay is one of the worst things about back injuries.

You can go to bed feeling fine totally unsuspecting the spinal locking up that can happen 24 or even 48 hours later.

Sometimes this will be accompanied by chronic pain in your lower back or legs together with an awful cold sweat as your body takes over in a primal way to prevent you doing any further damage to yourself.

I find that pulling in my stomach muscles can offer some protection before lifting the odd 25kg bag of potatoes or moving the 35kg Tannoy Berkeley.

Yep--nothing like it.  Even to this day my back will "lock up" if I spent too long bending...
A heating pad on for 20 minutes is one of the best things...I have even read that it is recommended by doctors as the best, to help the back.  About 25 years ago I got smart and bought a 2 wheeled moving cart...I use it for anything with heft--this includes stacking my stereo and moving it all at once, rather than several small trips.  Moving several smaller things (again, bending) can be as brutal to me as one heavy lift.  Now, I lift with my cart, gravity and leverage and not my back!

None i use body armor when i handle stereo stuff.

I thought we all had people who do that sort of thing, "Oh Geevs"..... would you be so kind to move that speaker a tad to the right?🧐

Besides the usual back pain from moving speakers and power amps, I had an unusual experience with static zapping..  I had a pair of focal 1038’s several years ago. I was bending down in front of the speaker To pick something up and as my ear came close to the dome tweeter, I heard a loud noise and a sharp pain in my ear as My static buildup found a path to ground. Hurt like heck and was loud, wish I had a picture of the arc. My DAC shutdown instantly, once restarted all was well. A very strange painful incident.
I now have a grounding probe That I keep on the rack so I can ground myself before doing anything near the stereo.

@mikem,

Rubber soles and certain acrylic fabric clothing often get me mildly zapped, but never like that.

@cd318,
It was an unusual painful experience! Winter time here with the heat on gets things very dry.. I run a humidifier in peak season now.. along with my ground strap ! I also now have silk dome tweeters !

@mikem ,

I hope there was no lasting damage done. Being so unexpected, it must have been terrifying. I can picture images of microwave arcing like what happens when you accidentally put the wrong dish inside.

I've never had anything like that but I did once touch something live on the Linn LP12 circuit board. 

My finger felt like it was literally glued to the component. It took a considerable effort to pull away.

Not an experience I'd ever want to repeat.

No wonder they called it the Valhalla board.

Have a friend who was electrocuted to the tune of 120VAC into the temple, due to an open AC connection.

He was experimenting with AC motors for his turntable.
Something along the lines of him thinking (flash thought/reaction) about possible damage to his Kiseki Cartridge (!) ...as he went down.... ( Mein Leben! - Wolfenstein)

He is a known audio manufacturer and it’s his story, so I can’t give a name....

As for the LP12 Valhalla board, yeah, mine has got me more than a few times...