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When I plug-in my speakers and forget to turn off the system before (Edifier S730), I get some kind of VERY high-pitched and loud noise, which starts when the cable is very near from the audio port. Could this possibly damage the system? This doesn't happen that often.

Thanks.

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Yes, you could easily damage the audio system - remember not to do it.

Speakers really really hate having what is essentially a DC offset spike at full volume going through them.

The amount of displacement this can send the cones through can distort or break the cones or detach the voice coil; distort the voice coil permanently, or at extremes even overheat & melt the wire in the coil.

You could get away with this 99 times with no ill-effects, but there is always going to be the 100th time.

Internally-amped active systems are far more prone to this than passive systems.

A passive system with a volume control before the amp will only be sending a correspondingly lower spike through to the speakers. At low volumes you may barely even hear the spike. No damage is done.

An active system runs the amps at constant full volume, & you attenuate your signal before it reaches the system.
This means the spike is literally as powerful as the amp can provide.

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