We decommissioned saltwater-damaged speakers with a sledgehammer. Here's the full story, in Chip's voice.
Field Destruction of Outdoor Speakers: Yes, It’s a Real Thing
We post pictures and videos on occasion regarding the destruction of products, either field destruction to comply with warranty protocols or simply to break stuff and have fun.
We attempt to come up with unique, creative, and hopefully entertaining methods of product annihilation.
In this video, we are featuring—for the last time—a set of (4) outdoor landscape speakers . During the hurricane and flooding, they spent 3 days submerged in salt water. They continued to work for a while, but the salt water and resulting delayed corrosion took their toll, and the speakers quit working properly.
We replaced the speakers, the client is happy once again, but now we have (4) speakers, and they need to be disposed of. How can we destroy these in a fun way…
Hmmm... How about SLEDGEHAMMER!
Why We Sometimes Destroy Equipment
This isn’t just about smashing things for fun (although it’s a perk). In many cases, like with warranties or service contracts, manufacturers actually require physical destruction of a product before replacement. It’s a verification thing: no one’s reusing or reselling gear that is supposed to be decommissioned.
In this case, the gear had already died. We’re talking about a set of four outdoor landscape speakers which had the misfortune of spending three full days underwater thanks to a hurricane.
You know what salt water does to electronics? It eats up electronics slowly. Real slow. They actually sometimes keep working—for a bit. But corrosion is the long game, and it always wins.
When Saltwater Meets Sound Systems
These speakers weren’t just wet—they were salt-soaked. This kind of saturation eats away at boards, wires, and cones. We powered them back up post-storm. Got a little sound. But not the same quality. Not the same output.
Eventually, the distortion started. Then the dropouts. Then nothing.
Decommissioning With Style (a.k.a., The Sledgehammer Plan)
We already replaced the speakers for the client, who’s now happily jamming to crisp, clean audio again. So what do you do with four now-worthless speakers?
You could toss them.
But, we decided to give them a proper sendoff.
Cue the sledgehammer.
A Word on Professionalism (Yes, Really)
Look, it’s all in good fun—but there’s always a professional layer to it. We don’t smash gear if it still has a future. We don’t cut corners on service. If you’re our client, your system is either running great or being upgraded.
When Nature Hits, We Fix the Fun
Storms hit hard around here. We know this better than most. AV systems are an investment, and when floodwaters or power surges knock them out, it can feel like a gut punch.
This is why we offer:
- Hurricane recovery assessments
- System replacements and upgrades
- Surge protection and waterproofing suggestions
Learn more about our AV replacement and installation services .
We’re not just here for the installs—we’re here for the aftermath, too.
Want more content like this? Check out our blog post on how to smash a subwoofer the right way . We run over a subwoofer with a jeep.
For more tips on keeping your outdoor audio gear safe, here’s the datasheet for the SpeakerCraft Landscaping speakers.
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