Having the speaker dust cap dented sucks. It makes the audio system sound bad. Worst case scenario? Dented dust cap poses potential risks of damaging the speaker.
This is why it is wise to fix a dented speaker dust cap as soon as possible. But how do you do it? Trust me, it is very easy and possible to do in under 15 minutes! In this article, you will see just that.
Also, you’ll find out How I replaced (when push came to shove) my dust caps and how I take care of them. By the end, you will have no difficulty managing these things at all.
What Is a Dust Cap? What Does It Do, Exactly?
If we go by Wikipedia, a dust cap is basically a curved dome. It’s mounted in two ways- either a concave or convex orientation. You’ll find it over the hole at the center of most speakers’ diaphragms.
Confused? Let me clarify.
A dust cap is a dome-like thing. It’s placed right over the central part of a speaker. Right beneath this dust cap, there is the central speaker. This thing aims to prevent anything, including dust or other small particles, from entering the main system.
This little cap is usually made from thin aluminum. But there are paper dust caps and plastic dust caps as well.
To tell you the truth, this cap isn’t a must for all types of speakers. However, it is mandatory for subwoofers. Active subwoofers come with accelerometers. Open up the “Voice Coil” and you’ll find one. I’ve seen these devices going bad within months just because there wasn’t a protective measure taken.
Now, why is it so important to use a dust cap? Well, as I said earlier, a dust cap protects the speakers from any type of particles. But this is not all. Dust cap prevents accidental tap and touch of any foreign object while running.
If an active speaker gets the slightest touch, it can get destroyed within seconds. Yes, they are this delicate.
Do These Caps Impact Listening Experience in any Way?
A dust cap surely makes a speaker look cooler. And now you know how they protect the speaker from harm. However, they do more than just protect things. I’ve tested speakers before and after installing dust caps, and the difference in audio quality was amazing.
Somehow, the dust cap made my speaker sound better. I think it was the aluminum cap that increased the tone’s quality.
According to a few re-runs, the frequency went through changes as well. Having a dust cap on increased the speaker’s frequency while removing it decreased it by a lot.
Apart from this,