Need Help with Subwoofer Problem

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04-30-2009, 10:57 PM
ATLpromotional

Need Help with Subwoofer Problem

Alright, I recently bought a sub and hooked it up. I'm running a JBL 1200w peak 12" with a Kenwood eXceleron 1000w amp.
My headunit isn't the best and doesn't even have an EQ, so I have to turn the headunit volume up a decent bit to get the sub to kick. But whenever it kicks, it makes a terrible noise like someone's hitting it with a hammer or something. It's not distortion, it's just like...severe sounding rattling? It's in the trunk, I don't hear the noise while driving, but when I open up the trunk...damn.
:013:
04-30-2009, 11:51 PM
galantofva

I would say upgrade the head unit for sure but it also sounds like the sub may have a blown voice coil? Can you better describe the sound its making?
05-01-2009, 12:24 AM
youngin3

Either a blown voice coil or your box is too big. Make sure it has no air leaks. It sounds to me like your cone is smacking the basket or the magnet. Watch your excursion. Is it really wide?
05-01-2009, 12:27 AM
Jeffylou87

The box is broken..
05-01-2009, 12:29 AM
youngin3

I hope he knows he is supposed to put the sub in a box. He prolly has it sitting on the magnet face up in the trunk. No box anywhere near it.

Free air FTL...

haha
05-01-2009, 12:32 AM
galantofva

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngin3

i hope he knows he is supposed to put the sub in a box. He prolly has it sitting on the magnet face up in the trunk. No box anywhere near it.

Free air ftl...

Haha

lmfao
05-01-2009, 11:38 PM
ATLpromotional

It's in a box...haha.
Here's pics.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...hugger/050.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...hugger/049.jpg
And it just sounds weird...it sounds like the sub's hitting something.
05-01-2009, 11:55 PM
galantofva

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATLpromotional

It's in a box...haha.
Here's pics.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...hugger/050.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...hugger/049.jpg
And it just sounds weird...it sounds like the sub's hitting something.

Nice. But I still think that either your voicecoil is blown due to your head unit not having an EQ setting causing you to have to turn it up to hear it. Or it may be the wires inside the box that connect to the woofer itself that you hear rattling. Im leaning towards the voicecoil theory tho.
05-02-2009, 12:19 AM
ATLpromotional

Quote:

Originally Posted by galantofva

Nice. But I still think that either your voicecoil is blown due to your head unit not having an EQ setting causing you to have to turn it up to hear it. Or it may be the wires inside the box that connect to the woofer itself that you hear rattling. Im leaning towards the voicecoil theory tho.

Do you think porting the box would make a difference?
And how hard is the voicecoil to fix, worth it? Or should I just get a new sub off craigslist?
05-02-2009, 12:24 AM
galantofva

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATLpromotional

Do you think porting the box would make a difference?
And how hard is the voicecoil to fix, worth it? Or should I just get a new sub off craigslist?

Ive never had to fix one but I have had them go bad on me and people have told me that they can be fixed. Dont know the difficulty tho. I wouldnt think that it would be worth it, it will probably just go bad again. As far as porting it that may help but it depends on the design of the sub and what it was made for, if you bought it from the dealer in a sealed box i would leave it like that. However i dont want to tell you to buy a new one then you get it and have the same problem.

EDIT: I would personally upgrade head units first, maybe its just the way the unit is feeding the sub.
05-02-2009, 12:31 AM
youngin3

What is the rated impedance on your sub?

You probably have it wired at 4 or 8 ohms from what I read through google and that only puts out like 400 or 200 watts. So when you turn it up, it starts distorting and sending dirty signal to the sub, which heats up the voice coil and tears it apart.

Too little power is worse for a sub than too much power.

What are the model numbers on both the sub and the amp?
05-02-2009, 12:33 AM
ATLpromotional

Quote:

Originally Posted by galantofva

Ive never had to fix one but I have had them go bad on me and people have told me that they can be fixed. Dont know the difficulty tho. I wouldnt think that it would be worth it, it will probably just go bad again. As far as porting it that may help but it depends on the design of the sub and what it was made for, if you bought it from the dealer in a sealed box i would leave it like that. However i dont want to tell you to buy a new one then you get it and have the same problem.

EDIT: I would personally upgrade head units first, maybe its just the way the unit is feeding the sub.

The box is sealed but has a 4" plug on the top of it to where you can port it.
And alright. If all else fails i'll just get a new sub. And I'm getting a headunit ASAP.

Thanks a ton all of you for the input! :023:
05-02-2009, 12:36 AM
ATLpromotional

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngin3

What is the rated impedance on your sub?

You probably have it wired at 4 or 8 ohms from what I read through google and that only puts out like 400 or 200 watts. So when you turn it up, it starts distorting and sending dirty signal to the sub, which heats up the voice coil and tears it apart.

Too little power is worse for a sub than too much power.

What are the model numbers on both the sub and the amp?

I'm off for the night, will get the model numbers tomorrow.
I really appreciate the input!