Managed to get a speedy assessment. It was supposed to take 4 weeks but the kind fellow moved me up the chain and thankfully it didn't take too long to figure it out.
Voice coil has signs of use, so not fried but aging. Heck, our Axioms probably have some age on the voice coil now too. Over time, heat just eventually destroys things.
Saw a good video with clear explanations on voice coil damage here (it doesn't all come from distortion):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=katCOJ40kI4So the main problem was actually with the dust cap. Apparently it is a weight loaded dust cap (very very small weight though). Unsure if it was repaired in the past, or partly came loose (didn't see that when looking at it), or if it was never put on properly at the factory to being with (only certain frequencies made it resonate to make the sound so it could have gone undetected for some time). The fix and labour total should be around $200. Not bad considering that you have to take all the driver components apart to look at it all and then glue it all back together again. I just don't have a good workbench nor all the chemicals and proper tools to do that. Some times it just pays to call the professional, mechanic, dentist....
