Can Lightning Change the Sound Quality of High End Speakers?

I’m interested in personal experiences, professional opinions, experienced-based educational deliberations, and all comments by forum members interested in this topic which is hopefully a rare personal experience.


Primary Question

Can Lightning Change the Sound Quality of High End Speakers? All comments greatly appreciated.

Discussion & Secondary Questions

Can the change in quality be physically tested and/or determined using electronic instrumentation? Can the change be heard, yet not measured?


As knowledgeable and experienced members of an audiophile forum, many of you may have personal knowledge and/or experience with lightning strikes. I’ll qualify the term lightning strike as immediately adjacent to or actually striking a structure containing audiophile equipment. Lightning strikes can deliver 100 kA and 100 kV (or more) resulting in 10,000 Watts of energy, all of which has no trouble passing through 18 and smaller wire. The almost instantaneous transfer of energy jumps circuit breakers, surge protectors, and smaller air gaps. Household wiring subject to lightning transmission includes electric supply lines, internet cables, phone cables, outdoor “invisible” dog fences, etc. So, as Owen Wilson says in Armageddon, “Okay, so the scariest environment imaginable. Thanks. That's all you gotta say, scariest environment imaginable.” Yes, IMO a lightning strike is the worse case scenario for a homeowner, and I’ll contend worse than a fire (regarding electronics and equipment). Damage recovery is wholly dependent on insurance company knowledge and coverage.

I am currently under discussions with an insurance company and it has been a lengthy educational process regarding audiophile equipment. As many of you already know, equipment sound varies during a break-in time, which of course changes with equipment and typically with the quality of the equipment. I will not initially get into specifics regarding my own individual ongoing situation, but I will provide a detailed account of my own experience with a lightning strike in close proximity to our house and the extensive current and ongoing failures of electronics, audio equipment, and appliances after the initial strike.

I look forward to all comments and discussions on this topic. I additionally hope that it will prove educational and beneficial to forum members in the future. Thank you in advance for your participation!

 

Actually lightning strikes are millions of volts and 10 of thousands of amps. I do not believe a close strike can change speakers, but it can ruin SS gear. I lived in a spot that had 4 lightning strikes in the yard and one on power lines in 10 years. Never hit the house, but once hit the power lines outside. The circuit breaker panel buzzed like the largest alarm clock imaginable- an almost deafening loud sound and we never lost power. Ate the CD player and microwave though.

 

I experienced a lightning strike that hit the transformer just outside a former house of mine. It took took out a computer, turntable, and receiver. Insurance companies only want to pay as if your equipment brand was 'Howdy Doody'.

 

I like Howdy Doody.

 

And if you ask "Do you cover XXX?" (like a Realtor we used once asking about her son's baseball card collection) the response will be to send you a rider excluding that and asking for more money for separate coverage.

 

Good question! As a professional but not necessarily definitive opinion, the electrical engineer side of my brain says it is likelier to just fry them outright; it would be difficult albeit not impossible to damage the drivers so they still work but not well. I suppose it would be possible to damage part of the crossover, like blow up a capacitor or something, which could make subtle or not so subtle changes to the sound. In those cases I would *think* you'd see some kind of scorching or such at the speaker cable terminals.

As for hardware, you could definitely partly damage stuff, especially if there are any microprocessors. Equipment might still power up and play, but some functions or menus maybe not work right or even fail to respond at all.

This is why in lightning storms ya gotta PHYSICALLY UNPLUG stuff from the wall, and not forget stuff like coax or ethernet cables that come into your audio and/or TV from outside.

 

Not lightning, but a major power "brownout" fried one of my speakers, as the power came up and down several times. I (almost) always kill my amp before leaving for work but somehow not that day, and it cost me a pair of speakers.

 

My insurance company told me they don't even offer a rider for any such equipment. It simply falls under the maximum coverage of personal property, for which I allegedly get full replacement cost.

So what was your experience OP? Do you find your system sounds different now? Speakers making a funny squeaking sound?

 

Met a guy whose house was struck. Fried everything electrical, including a pair of Quads.

 

Some people in our village had the misfortune of their sound system being completely destroyed by a lightning strike - I did wonder if it might be the hifi gods' verdict on the merits of Bang and Olufsen gear

 

Thank you for all of great responses. As stated, I hope an ongoing discussion may prove beneficial to forum members in the future. I’ll provide more details and answer thread participants as time permits and claim status changes. I’ll post my first update/comment as separate posts to better facilitate reading.

Lightning Strike Background

I’ll keep my own recent experience relatively short and to the point. Everyone experiences lightning strikes differently. Lesson Learned: The electricity generated by lightning seems to go where it wants when entering a home.

During the strike, I was out of town and my wife was at work. My wife came home to find fire trucks parked at the house with their personal extinguishing a fire (multi-jurisdictional response). The structure did not burn (and there were no injuries) due to prompt action by neighbors and a garden hose (cases of beer have already been distributed). The lightning struck a 100 foot tall white pine (shredded the entire vertical length), traveled uphill from its base underground (~25 feet), struck the steel posts anchoring a creosote treated railroad tie retaining wall resulting in an immediate fire (flames ~30 feet) which immediately spread to the trees and adjacent wooden fence. Somewhere in the path the lightning literally blew up a dead tree and discharged multiple large pieces onto roofs and throughout the yard at distances up to 100 feet away. The lightning continued underground to a buried invisible dog fence (small gauge wire) and traveled (~25 feet) along the wires path into the garage while physically trenching and removing all the soil covering the wire and throwing it up to forty feet away (1-2 cubic yards of dirt). Lesson Learned: Invisible dog fences (and similar outdoor wiring) can act as a lightning rod channeling electricity into your home. [Please evaluate the comment for what it’s worth applied to your own situation.]

At the garage wall the electricity blew a small hole into the wall and continued up the wall, to the wall wart and outlet receptacle which were both melted and fused. From the garage, the electricity traveled through the overhead outdoor breezeway and continued into the house reaching the main circuit breaker panel. Some breakers were tripped, some were not. Initially damaged devices included garage door openers, multiple garage and household lights, router, modem, switches, cable box, telephone, solid state amp, and speakers. The house was immediately inspected by a licensed electrician for possibly fire damage internal to the walls. Subsequent damage (which is ongoing) includes an air conditioner, a 220 sub-panel circuit breaker, a TV with one damaged HDMI port, and the other equipment and appliances we are monitoring that may have also been damaged. Some items currently operate in a “flaky” mode—they fail inconsistently while being sometimes fully functional and nonfunctional or partially functional at other times. My best guess is that the electrical surge minimally damaged or stressed any of the various circuit board components, and the change in sound quality of the speakers is indicative of future failure.

 

Lightning Speaker Damage

The Zu Druid speakers were connected to a solid state amp which was damaged and is inoperable. After a month of testing and listening, I determined that the sound quality of the Druids changed. The speakers currently generate sound yet the quality of the sound is not the same as prior to the lightning strike. As previously mentioned, this may be an indication of future failure. My point in starting this thread was to discuss the possibility that lightning may damage speakers, yet the damage may not be measurable (at least perhaps not immediately). As for the exact difference in sound quality, I need to delay my response of a description of what my ears hear until after the insurance claim is settled.

The insurance company REQUIRED solution is to send someone out to “measure” the speakers and all stereo equipment. My suggestion was to send the speakers to the manufacturer for testing—they disallowed the request. I’ve already ordered new speakers—the insurance determination and settlement of my current speakers may take months. Assuming a 100 hour break-in period with the speakers ordered, I’m impacted another month (I’m already into the process one month). Regarding the like kind and quality insurance statement, the Druids have the gloss black finish which is now a $2000 upcharge and a much longer wait period. I’ll continue to report on the results of my claim.

 

Insurance Company Lessons Learned

While I do not want to sidetrack the tread with any insurance company bashing, I’ll list the lessons I’ve learned so far regarding the own experience. Perhaps it will benefit forum members in the future.

Professionalism—My own experience is as a professional engineer is to apply the “reasonable person” doctrine both in professional and personal life. I’ve been wholly unsuccessful with ALL verbal communication including explanations of “audiophile” equipment with the insurance company. My experience is that it is best to stick strictly to written communication. While all verbal communication was friendly and agreements were made, the company consistently used all verbal communication to their advantage and even rescinded previous verbal communication. Lesson learned: Be very careful of what you say, an insurance adjuster is not representing your interests.

State Regulation—I believe that all insurance companies within an individual state are required to follow that state’s insurance policies/regulations. My own individual experience with an insurance company likely represent’s all insurance companies within the state. Lesson learned: While individuals may believe their own policy may be handled differently based on various factors, I now am of the opinion that claims are of course determined by the terms of the policy, yet multiple policies and their similar terms fall under individual state policies—especially regarding enforcement and individual rights.

Insurance Policy—My insurance policy is replacement cost. I fully disclosed a specific replacement value of $10,000 for my speakers to the agent less than one year ago during a policy review. I am holding the insurance company accountable to their word per my (and wife) conversation with the agent. The agent explained “like kind and quality” replacement value using my speakers as an example. [A more simplistic EXAMPLE: Imagine owning an original Tiffany Lamp that is damaged. The big box functional value may only be $20 for a collectable lamp whose value far exceeds the functional value.]

Regarding high end stereo equipment, I can obviously replicate the functional value at a big box store, yet the item will not be of like kind and quality. Lesson learned: insurance policies are solely interpreted by the insurance company and their adjusters.

Like Kind & Quality Replacement Value Determination

The Replacement value for most household possessions and physical structures usually includes depreciation. Stereo Equipment can be an exception. The difficulty lies in demonstrating quality outside of testable and/or published specifications. Regarding the speakers, (as previously mention) the insurance company’s position is that they will send out a representative (as a third party) to test the speakers and all of my equipment and I have to accept the results—without any sound quality consideration or examination. Regardless of the insurance agent’s testing possible results, this is a very troubling action. The insurance company is claiming sole ability to determine speaker performance using functional onsite testing by their appointed representative. As previously mentioned (in post #01), sound quality typically varies during initial speaker beak in period. I am unaware of any testing other than listening to measure the difference. My own ears tell me the sound quality of my Druids has adversely changed as a result of the lightning strike. Proving the change in sound quality seem to be harder. All ideas are welcome!

Forum Members Possible Impact

An insurance company policy of determining functional damage during a single onsite visit to test stereo equipment by their paid representative may be in contrast to what a reasonable person would assume and certainly (IMO) what most forum members would expect and/or believe. This may be an issue for forum member with high end equipment initially stressed and/or damaged by power surges and is in a slow state of decline to a nonfunctional status. I’ll put together a list of possible action items after any insurance settlement which will certainly included listing audio equipment as a more detailed collectible asset. Please add any experiences or ideas. Of course, the insurance company can refuse to issue a policy.

Of course, insurance policies are purchased through agents, yet settled by adjusters with a small army of staff and resources to minimize claims.

 

Thank you for the clarification regarding lightning volts and amps. I'm sure you are more knowledgeable than I in this area.

 

Could you get an equipment tech to inspect your gear, and then have them write a letter saying that both the amp and the speakers were damaged?

I would think that a person in this position is the most qualified to verify damage than either the friendly insurance folks or you as well.

 

Nothing breaks in interconnect cables and speaker wire better (or faster) than a direct lightning strike! I hang all of my new ones out on a clothesline, which I tie to a three hundred foot tall lightning rod. None of them get put into service until they're zapped at least once.

Also, I've found that, after lightning has struck while I've been holding one end of the clothesline in a storm, my high end speakers most definitely sound different, at least for a while. They seem to take on a certain "ringing" quality, and the sound seems muffled somewhat.

 

I agree with and appreciate your comments. Most of my stuff, including the servers and computers were unplugged. The neighbors stated that the strike literally came without warning. In the midwest, we typically hear the rumblings long before the storm approaches to closer proximity. I do have some ideas regarding speakers, I'll forward another post tomorrow at the latest.

 

Perhaps retain an independent adjuster and explain the issue.

 

I have been asked many, many times to diagnose equipment (pro audio and computer) that were the apparent victims of lightning strikes.
Usually the insurance company would require the homeowner to take the equipment to a reputable repair shop to get an estimate to fix or replace the equipment.
I usually tried to be as sympathetic to the homeowner as I could possibly be, even when it was fairly subjective, such as with audible degradation of amplifiers, speakers, etc.
Sometimes it's pretty obvious when something is fried, but not always. Perhaps with some insurance companies, they don't trust outside opinions and prefer to let their
"experts" check the stuff, but I can't help but feel this would put the homeowner at a serious disadvantage. I've had customers lie about damage trying to get new equipment for free,
but most people are honest, and I've always tried to do right by them when possible. Good luck with your insurance company!

 

You csn listen with battery or have something, that can stop lighting.

 

Always unplug your electronics in thunder/lightning storms.

 

Yes, the last time my speaker got struck by lightning I had to replace it.

 

Do both speakers sound the same kind of bad? It wouldn't surprise me if a lightning strike damaged the speakers. I would expect the damage to be measurable in some way such as a difference in resistance or even the dreaded push on the driver to check for damaged voice coil.

 

Another follow-up on your post, yes concentrating on drivers, crossovers, and capacitors seems like the best start.

Thanks again for your input .

 

Speaker damage is possible from any high voltage surge. The speakers however would be least likely affected by a lightning strike, as an amp or receiver provides a better path to ground via surge from the AC line. Speaker crossover caps could be damaged (internal arcing) and the driver voice coils heated or fried. The crossover inductors are tough, these survive as other components open. I suppose a speaker could still be operable, and damaged and sound different. (caps damaged from over-voltage) Again I think speaker damage is possible but very highly unlikely.