Preventing tearing / ripping noises from speaker
I own a Lenovo Y500 and run Ubuntu 15.10 on it. The laptop is getting a bit old and the speakers are wearing out especially the left one. I have noticed that when I play certain high pitch songs it gives a ripping/tearing noise. I have adjusted the left/right balance to compensate for that. Is there a way to filter certain frequency sounds for my speaker.
Or is there a better way to handle this (besides buying a new laptop/speaker)?
2 Answers
Speakers that have been overdriven tend to melt the glue on the voice coil, so the wires rub on the magnet - often there will be a resonant frequency + harmonics, so you will find a range of notes hit this - it really isn't practical to run an active filter all the time, but if you have a 'tone' control on the speaker it might help.
External speakers aren't expensive, I have a £10 bluetooth one from Lidl which is more than adequate for a laptop...
If you are OK with opening up your laptop it is easy to test and change its speakers. They will be at the front just behind the speaker grills. They normally just lift out.
Be very gentle with them. The cones are made of paper. Look at the cone of the faulty speaker very carefully to see if it is creased or torn. Press down very gently on the centre of the speaker. If you feel and hear a grating noise as the cone moves there are forign objects such as metal filings between the coil on the cone and the magnet. You may be able to clean this out with a fine artists brush or by sucking using a drinking straw. Do not use a vacuum cleaner. It is too powerful and will damage the speaker.
If you need to replace the speaker, photograph the speaker showing which wire goes where (there are only two). Read the manufactures name and part number and enter this in eBay. It will probably be available for a trivial amount. When it arrives unsolder the old speaker and solder the new one to the wires.
