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Am I hurting anything?
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 8:36 am
by Minorthreat412
Funny situation. I got the wrong voice coil kickers yesterday. They were dual 4 ohm instead of dual 2. So i went to return them and they didn't have any in stock. So, instead I got the guy to go down about 60 dollars on a pair of 12 inch diamond D1's. Got them for about 130 each after tax and what not. They sounded like crap in this shitty box that I had. I got so mad i just went ahead and put them in my bandpass box. Tuned it. and they sound Fing MARVELOUS!!
Well, I have a question as of right now. These subs are rated 250 WRMS and my amp is rated 200WRMS to each speaker. I was just wondering if it was possible for me to hurt the subs at all. I have them tuned as good as it gets. I'm just a little scared because I can't hear how they sound inside the bandpass box. They never seem to top out, They just get louder and louder.(I would not dare to max these things out.)
I've heard rumors about "if the subs wattage is more than the amp's then you shouldn't be able to damage them"
is this true or not?
Thank you.
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 8:45 am
by solacedagony
It's possible to hurt any sub through clipping. Instead of melting the voice coil, you'll be causing it to rub and it'll rub the insulation right off the voice coil wire causing a short which could also destroy your amp in the process.
Edit: By having a sub with a higher thermal rating (Which is what a rating in Watts is, a measure of heat which the voice coil can dissipate before it'll malfunction) than your amp, you minimize chances of THERMALLY damaging the voice coil. Obviously you can still damage it in other ways.
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:24 am
by audiobass10
In a Bandpass enclosure you're more likely to damage the subs without noticing. Also, what box did you have them in before. I dont really see what could sound worse than a pre-fab bandpass box. (which is what i'm assuming you're talking about).
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 11:53 am
by Bwcad1
bandpasses are evil
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:25 pm
by solacedagony
Don't you use those for your one note wonders Bill?
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:27 pm
by two4fifteen
im curious as to how you "tuned" your bandbass box?
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:29 pm
by smoker
i love bandpass boxes........sometimes......ill not get into my opinion on when they make sense because itll spark a small debate....just note that a bandpass box is exactly that....it creates a natural filter so you want to make sure not to cross them over too high and also you cant hear the distortion so make sure there isnt a huge gain with your subs and make damn sure the amp is set right...
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:52 pm
by Minorthreat412
By "tuning" i mean adjusting the frequency on the amp.
For some reason every sub i hook up to my amp seems to "pop."
I've tried to adjust everything. Makes me really irritated. It just sounds like I'm hurting the subwoofer. There's nothing I can do to change it either. It's like they're clipping but they're barely turned up.
The only thing i can blame it on is my amp. I don't know why the amp would hit so sharply.
The reason I like the bandpass box is because it's so deep. Plus I don't have to worry about stuff in my truck knocking against the subs.
Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:20 am
by donpisto
I'd ditch that bandpass box, but if you're trying to ask if the amount of power you are giving will damage the sub..well that deals with a whole lot. The main point is, as long as you are sending clean power, no clipping or whatever to the speaker and there is no distortion you are fine. So you can give your speaker more than the RMS rating..the RMS is simply meaning "on average" so on average its doing 200w or whatever it may be. It can handle less, you can feed the speaker 50 watts and as long as you're giving it clean power and not distorting it you will be fine. Check out
http://www.bcae1.com and there is a section on Too Low Power if you're interested in that. It deals with harmonics as well which is a factor of that.
Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:34 am
by Bwcad1
well me and bandpasses have a love hate relationship and when it comes to high spl levels they are incredibly tempremental. if you want to see what a woofer looks like with the surround ripped completely off put it in a bandpass. they need a notch filter which kiki informed me of. basicly it is a filter that will only let the subs run at a specified level like 30hz to 50hz. they dont like going higher or lower than there tuning or you have some serious issues. remeber though this is for spl related.