Distortion : The Speaker Killer

Speakers don't like distortion. When a speaker is asked to work outside its designed specifications, audible distortion results and other malfunctions can occur. Voice coils rub, tweeters overheat, and woofers can actually rip themselves from the speaker basket.

Feed speakers a bad signal, ask them to do too much or ask them to work with too little wattage and your tempting fate (and hearing loss). Respect your speakers. Think about how you will be using your speakers before you buy them. How loud you do you want the system to play? Do you want a high power home theater, or a simple system for critical listening? Buy speakers designed for what you want to use them for and they will perform better for you.