Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Humity level and speaker performance....

Ok, Ken, this one is for you:

Let's see... how to start...
Well... Have you ever noticed a difference in linearity when humidity level are high or low?

I've been trying to do blind testing, but since it can take days between significant jump in humity level, it is getting hard to remember how it sounded.

Now discuss.

OK, Ken, after this you can't say I have never done anything for you!

The sound of a pair of JBLs bookshelf I used to own changed drastically after a couple of months in a extremely humid environment ... it turns out to be that the speaker foam edge disintegrated.

I live in California, so can't say that I have... we don't get many humidity changes, other than weather.

Don't see how you could do blind testing, except with a humidifier, etc.

T minus 7

I'm afraid to ask, but how else would you get humidity changes, other than maybe having your speakers in a bathroom?

Extending this slightly, do temperature changes affect the speaker? Temperature affects how sound travels (note how you hear sounds outside on a cold day), but, with car audio more in mind, does it affect speaker performance?

T minus...

I think my train of thought got derailed somewhere in that sentence. I meant to say "other than rain."

T minus 6

If what you are trying to test is difference in linearity, I don't think there's the need to do a blind test, you just need a sensitive sound/audio analyzer (I would think).

A small hurdle, yes, but that is true. Time to go to the anechoic chamber and fill it with water!

I wonder if Axiom can do that with their new environmental chamber--do they have amps and power in there?

BTW, I like your sig.

T minus 3

I can imagine the anechoic chamber with a big @ss cool-off mist fan inside :-)


thanks, that quote is from Einstein

Bring your speakers down to south Florida during the summer, we'll run a good test to see how well they handle the humidity...we have plenty of it.

I will say during our last hurricane two week power outage they held up extremely well with the humidity and high temperature, I was half expecting the vinyl veneer to start bubbling or peeling but it never did.

High frequencies are attenuated more when the humidity increases. I work for a pro audio speaker manufacturer and when we test our speakers we have to account for humidity. We adjust several times a day if need be.

Humid air is less dense then dry air.Its only 30%rh in the house right now,the M22's sound kinda crisp.I might have to start up the humidifier and check that out.

The literature indicates(e.g., McCarthy, pp. 46-48 )that the relationship between high frequency losses and environmental conditions involves an interaction between humidity and temperature. In some cases higher humidity results in less high frequency attenuation.

OK, I'll show my ignorance and ask what is attenuation? It never hurts to learn something new,

dampening of sound.

damp...ening. Adding wettness to sound!

Adding wetness to the sound often leaves streaks in your underwear.

OK I apologize in advance for that one.

Ummm, Iowa is more humid than California.

David, attenuation can be considered to be synonymous with losses, but I used the fancier terminology the second time around.

Thanks John and others for the explanation. I had a similar experience to Rick after Hurricane Ike where the power outage and high humidity caused a layer of water to cover my speakers, audio equipment, ceramic tile and laminate floors. I thought that perhaps the vinyl might peel from some of the speakers but they held up well. Thankfully a cool front blew in about two days after the storm and the humidity dropped low enough to dry things out.

I think we should start referring to JohnK as "Mr. Fancy Pants" around here.

I haven't read from the beginning of the thread :)but with regards to humidity level, does somebody have problems with flatulence? :D. If so, I have to say humidity is probably the least of your worries unless you enjoy a little bit more boom for free