What to Do When a Speaker Dies
Careful as a person may be, there comes a time when a speaker will either start making strange, unnatural noises, or, worse yet, go strangely silent. If you are present when the problem occurs, you probably have a clue or two about what went wrong. It could be an overzealous rendition of the Telarc 1812 Overture CD, with less than judicious placement of the volume control, and some disastrous results when the cannon shots rang out. Perhaps watching a movie about earthquakes has taken its toll on your subwoofer. Or possibly nothing spectacular has happened, and you are quietly wondering why your speaker has gotten as quiet as your thoughts.
different cone speakers
First, checking to see that the problem is not further up the chain is important. The easiest way to determine if the problem is at the speaker is to switch the channels. Change right with left and see if the problem moves with the change. If it does, the speaker is the problem. Now checking individual drivers is important. Sometimes midrange drivers, as well as tweeters, will be fused, and a repair is as simple as a fuse replacement. A word of caution - it may seem like the best thing to do is replace the blown fuse with a larger one, it is not. The speaker designers do a fair amount of calculations when sizing fuses, so replacement with the same size fuse is the best course of action.
speaker crossover assemblies 
If there is no fuse on the driver, it’s time to take a cheap multimeter (which you can borrow, you need not buy one) and check the voice coil for continuity. No continuity means that the voice coil has been fried, and its time for a new driver. If there is continuity, it is time to investigate the crossover. Unless you are able to identify a blown capacitor, or less likely, a bad resistor, chances are it is now time to button up the speaker and let the pros take over. If however, you find a bad part, it is time to identify the resisitor or capacitor, and get the specifications of the part. If you are able to solder, you can put identical parts back into the crossover. If you cannot get identical parts, again, it’s time to let the pros take over. Going back to the driver, replacement must be with the same driver, usually obtained from the manufacturer of the speaker.
this is a handy friend when trying to track down speaker problems
If you are trying to replace a speaker that is no longer available, you can call upon a reconing service, which will replace the cone and voice coil, making the speaker usable again. If you are particular about the sound (as I am) it is best to have mirrors reconed at the same time. That is, if you have a blown midrange in the right front speaker, it is best to replace the left front midrange at the same time. If you have the choice of changing the surround of the cone from foam to butyl rubber, with assurance that the important parameters of the speaker will be the same, or very close, go for it. Butyl surrounds will last much longer and will suffer less from ozone degradation. (For many older speakers, the surround breakdown is not a result of misuse, but age, and the polluted environment many people must endure.
Ohm Walsh speakers, with exotic drivers - you’re not going to get a replacement from anyplace other than Ohm.
If you happen to be lucky enough to have a speaker with more exotic drivers, that have gone bad, it is more difficult to do much other than get an exact replacement. Be aware that during different runs of speakers, the drivers may be slightly different, so getting the exact part number is essential. The internet has made contact with the various manufacturers much easier, and sending an e-mail with exact needs can save loads of frustration and telephone hold time.
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