Author Topic: Blew My Sub up yesterday (Read 4829 times)

ashman01 · « **on:** Sep 13, 2005, 09:44AM »

I did it. 1 of the first people ever to blow a DD sub up and it was due to incompidence.

I was showing it off at the local meeting spot and had it running at full for about 10mins. I had a 500rms amp and its a 650rms sub so i thought it would be ok.

WRONG.

I was standing behind my friends car when i smelt hot speaker so i said to my friend with 2 15" pioneers that his subs must he heating up and then my other friend shouted look and pointed to my car boot which had ALOT of black smoke pouring out of it.

I ran over to my car and turned it off acc.

Sure enough alot of smoke was flowing from the port in the box and making the spectators go wow. I just staired at it not knowing what to do and then some1 i did no said cool smoke machine in ur sub box, to which i said, i dont have 1 its my sub burning up.

Well i took it out of the box as fast as i could had the magnet was about 200degrees hot and had made the paint on the outside of the box bubble and the plastic rim around the sub start to melt, that was the course for the black smoke.

I talked to a few friends and they told me that i had be "clipping it" a term i hadnt even heard of untill now and that i have wreaked my voice coil.

I was thinking of getting a re-coning kit from the guy who imports them but i dont no i might just get a new DD.

Shows that no matter how much u think you know, there is always more to learn.

Jono · « **Reply #1 on:** Sep 13, 2005, 09:51AM »

Damn $:-\$

Sticky · « **Reply #2 on:** Sep 13, 2005, 10:02AM »

like i tell everyone, its easier to blow a sub due to under powering than overpowering.

Subs love power, there goes a, round $500 sub because you didnt amp it right, thats pretty stupid

Jecks · « **Reply #3 on:** Sep 13, 2005, 10:03AM »

damn... ive never heard of anything ever happening before...
i would also choose to buy a new sub, ti'll prolly be cheaper or cost the same, and you'd get a new sub

Sticky · « **Reply #4 on:** Sep 13, 2005, 10:21AM »

Quote from: ashman01 on Sep 13, 2005, 09:44AM

I talked to a few friends and they told me that i had be "clipping it" a term i hadnt even heard of untill now and that i have wreaked my voice coil.

Shows that no matter how much u think you know, there is always more to learn.

Clipping means that the sub has gone past its maximum excursion point, causing the voice coil to heat up and eventually burnout, this an happen if the volume is too high, or in your case, under powered

KNG P1N · « **Reply #5 on:** Sep 13, 2005, 10:37AM »

thats tough

Ka-Bluey · « **Reply #6 on:** Sep 13, 2005, 12:20PM »

Shit, thats gotta be a crapper!!

ashman01 · « **Reply #7 on:** Sep 14, 2005, 12:07AM »

Quote from: Jecks on Sep 13, 2005, 10:03AM

damn... ive never heard of anything ever happening before...
i would also choose to buy a new sub, ti'll prolly be cheaper or cost the same, and you'd get a new sub

My exact same sub new is $350-$400 and a reconing kit costs $140 so how u figure that? SUb still works but is in "limping" mode so its turned down to its minimum. And yes SSStick i had neva heard of clipping b4 and didnt think u could blow up a sub by underpowering it. my bad.

Its all about Learning and i learnt that this sub can take far more than i can give it (atm anyway) so i will have to leave my gains down for the moment.

Sticky · « **Reply #8 on:** Sep 14, 2005, 07:38PM »

Quote from: ashman01 on Sep 14, 2005, 12:07AM

SUb still works but is in "limping" mode so its turned down to its minimum.

dude, subs dont have a limp mode, it just means its rooted, and its lucky it works at all.

Quote from: ashman01 on Sep 14, 2005, 12:07AM

SSStick i had neva heard of clipping b4 and didnt think u could blow up a sub by underpowering it. my bad.

i wasnt having a go, i was just explaining what the term meant.

Quote from: ashman01 on Sep 14, 2005, 12:07AM

Its all about Learning and i learnt that this sub can take far more than i can give it (atm anyway) so i will have to leave my gains down for the moment.

dont even run it, wait till you have a decent amp first, otherwise even with gains right down, the same will happen again

BEEFY_1600 · « **Reply #9 on:** Sep 15, 2005, 06:49PM »

Quote from: SSStick on Sep 13, 2005, 10:21AM

Clipping means that the sub has gone past its maximum excursion point, causing the voice coil to heat up and eventually burnout, this an happen if the volume is too high, or in your case, under powered

Clipping is where the amp canot give any more clean power so it pumps through pure DC wich is what would have killed his sub.

Subs dont clip its the amp that clips its not due to over excushion its due to dirty power over heats the voice coil then it dies.

If the sub went past its maxium excursion it waould just stop not keep going like described.

Pringles · « **Reply #10 on:** Sep 15, 2005, 07:26PM »

ie, amps generally operate between two power rails: 95 and -95 volts, (so long as your not running a differnt class), right so your playing it loud the amp is running a 95/ -95 sine wave, but if you pushed it tooo hard and wanted 105+/105- then that amp will not be able to provide the extra 10+/10- due to transformers not bein able to 'make' volts, therfore the top and bottom of your sine wave 'clip' and for that fracton of a second the speacker are getting a constant dc of 105+/105-

this said, amps generally have coupling capacitors throughout the amplifiers so NO DC gets through to the speaker, becasue dc will give a royal blow the fuck off kinda thing,

but again some amp you can turn straight dc off like my marantz at home, though i generally leave it on for my speakers well being in mind

Sticky · « **Reply #11 on:** Sep 16, 2005, 12:33AM »

Quote from: beefy_trx on Sep 15, 2005, 06:49PM

Clipping is where the amp canot give any more clean power so it pumps through pure DC wich is what would have killed his sub.

Subs dont clip its the amp that clips its not due to over excushion its due to dirty power over heats the voice coil then it dies.

If the sub went past its maxium excursion it waould just stop not keep going like described.

um, not from what ive been told, there are various ways subs can clip

eurisko · « **Reply #12 on:** Sep 16, 2005, 03:10AM »

Pringles is right. Amps "pushed" past their maximum will clip the top and bottom of the sine wave. This introduces a dc signal into the speaker/sub, which then forces the speaker into maximum excursion. Done for long enough, will blow ur speaker.

"Underpowering" speakers is a term which is used too losely and is actually just wrong. A speaker will NEVER blow if u underpower it. The reason "underpowered" speakers blow, is because people who dont have big enough amps or gains, and want louder music, turn the head unit to maximum. Head units are good upto a point, but like all amplifiers, have limits. In most cases, past 75 percent maximum volume, the internal amplification of the head unit tends to bring noise and distortion. This is then sent to the amp, which, when amplified further, brings spikes to the speakers. These spikes will sound like crackling, or just crappy sound in general. Underpower a speaker will never kill it, just trying to make underpowered speakers loud, will.

A good rule of thumb, the more expensive the head unit the better internal amplification. 75% max volume is a good limit to set, for expensive units, its more around 85%. Never take a head unit to Max volume.... ur begging for ur speakers to blow... and depending on ur setup... Your ears too!

Sticky · « **Reply #13 on:** Sep 16, 2005, 07:44PM »

i was wrong

, i was thinking of polling, not clipping, but for some reason i said clipping, pfft, i dont know what im doing.

clipping is when, like pringles said, the amps square off the top of sine wave.

Quote from: eurisko on Sep 16, 2005, 03:10AM

A good rule of thumb, the more expensive the head unit the better internal amplification. 75% max volume is a good limit to set, for expensive units, its more around 85%. Never take a head unit to Max volume.... ur begging for ur speakers to blow... and depending on ur setup... Your ears too!

if your cranking the head unit that much, its time for an amp

Sticky · « **Reply #14 on:** Nov 3, 2005, 10:18PM »

and the point of that post was??

Jono · « **Reply #15 on:** Nov 4, 2005, 12:49AM »

To do the noob thing and dredge up a thread that was months old, while adding nothing to the thread.

Gangstanza · « **Reply #16 on:** Nov 4, 2005, 02:03AM »

Meh, I've been through a 12" infinity, 2 ED KX 12's, and 2 P. Miller subs, (they were crap). I'm running another 12 KX now in an ABC dual ported box. Sounds great for what it is.

ashman01 · « **Reply #17 on:** Nov 4, 2005, 05:05PM »

AN update on thid guys. My Sub is still blown due to me being a poor ass and having alot of other things to spend all my money on.

But it still pumps hard on low gains for some reason so it sounds as powerful as any other bottom of the range sub.

Dano Da Bomb · « **Reply #18 on:** Nov 4, 2005, 05:18PM »

i might want to get rid of my pioneer 12 inch free air soon if your interested??

Sticky · « **Reply #19 on:** Nov 4, 2005, 09:27PM »

guys, post in the relevant boards please

ashman01 · « **Reply #20 on:** Nov 5, 2005, 09:18PM »

Quote from: Danoooh on Nov 4, 2005, 05:18PM

i might want to get rid of my pioneer 12 inch free air soon if your interested??

pretty sure my dead dd would pump harder than a working pioneer. But thanx anyway. I will get it fixed 1 day!

weasel · « **Reply #21 on:** Nov 5, 2005, 09:50PM »

Quote from: SSStick on Nov 4, 2005, 09:27PM

guys, post in the relevant boards please

BAM!!!!

haha thanks for mod'ing for me

BennyGee. · « **Reply #22 on:** Feb 12, 2006, 05:44PM »

generally speaking is it bad to set the gain of an amp over 85%, or are amps designed to send max power without distorsion.

Jono · « **Reply #23 on:** Feb 12, 2006, 07:41PM »

Generally, try not to turn the gain right up. You shouldn't have to with that setup anyway.

omad · « **Reply #24 on:** Feb 21, 2006, 01:21AM »

Quote from: eurisko on Sep 16, 2005, 03:10AM

Pringles is right. Amps "pushed" past their maximum will clip the top and bottom of the sine wave. This introduces a dc signal into the speaker/sub, which then forces the speaker into maximum excursion. Done for long enough, will blow ur speaker.

"Underpowering" speakers is a term which is used too losely and is actually just wrong. A speaker will NEVER blow if u underpower it. The reason "underpowered" speakers blow, is because people who dont have big enough amps or gains, and want louder music, turn the head unit to maximum. Head units are good upto a point, but like all amplifiers, have limits. In most cases, past 75 percent maximum volume, the internal amplification of the head unit tends to bring noise and distortion. This is then sent to the amp, which, when amplified further, brings spikes to the speakers. These spikes will sound like crackling, or just crappy sound in general. Underpower a speaker will never kill it, just trying to make underpowered speakers loud, will.

A good rule of thumb, the more expensive the head unit the better internal amplification. 75% max volume is a good limit to set, for expensive units, its more around 85%. Never take a head unit to Max volume.... ur begging for ur speakers to blow... and depending on ur setup... Your ears too!

Good decks with a decent pre-out shouldn't make enough noise to damage speakers. It's better to have your deck louder and the gains on your amp softer. That way you get less noise amplification through the amp and a cleaner sound. If the gains are up on the amp, it can amplify all the small impurities that may arise from the deck, or on it's way up the RCA's running the length of the car.

The best way to avoid this sort of thing happening is to know your system. Know what it sounds like, know what distortion is and know when to turn it down when you hear it. So many people have shown me their car systems, and they turn it up so loud that speakers are distorting and it's just LOUD and not clean at all, and they think it's great. I personally can't stand it and any distortion drives me crazy. I'd rather have the volume down than hear it.

Know your system, know it's limits. If you can't pick it or can't grasp it, talk to someone that can, get them to tune or play with your stereo to something you are happy with and let them tell you how far to push it.

BTW, thanks for the theory lesson behind clipping. Always knew what it was etc, just not how it all happened. Puts things in perspective a bit more