Alpine Type-X problem

[AppleBonker 10+ year member]

Sorry for the dumb question, but I have never done this before. I've had my 12" Type-X (connected to a pdx 1.1000 amp) for about 6 months now. The other day my amp started to go into protect mode, and it certainly wasn't for heat. I was able to get the amp to kick back on by turning the system on and off again, and this worked for about a week. Just this morning the amp kicked off again and I couldn't get it to come back on. I checked on it during my lunch break and all the wiring is connected well. I then pulled the sub out of the box and ran the stereo at extremely quite levels. The amp stayed on and the sub fired (although there was an insane amount of distortion). If I turn the volume up any louder, the amp goes back into protect mode. Does it sound like I blew a VC (I've never heard a sub with a blown VC before, so I don't know what it sounds like)? If so, does anyone have experience with Alpine customer support? The sub is still under warranty for about 5 more months.

Other info: I knew it wasn't a wiring fault because I have two other pdx amps connected to the same distro-block and they weren't kicking out. When I set the gain, I did it mathematically and if I remember corerctly, the sub is only seeing roughly 1500 watts peak (rated 1000 RMS, 3000 peak), so it's not like I pushed it too hard. Any help would be appreciated.

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[bds0688 10+ year member]

Sounds like the sub bit the big one. The amp may be making 1500, but it might be clipped slightly.

Get the sub replaced, and set the gains a little lower, to start with. Bass boost or loudness on? Get rid of that mess as well.

 

[AppleBonker 10+ year member]

That's what I was afraid of. No bass boost/loudness garbage. And I highly doubt the amp is clipping. I would certainly hope not anyway. That amp should be able to handle 1000 watts RMS, which I'm not at yet. I would imagine peaking at 1500 wouldn't cause it to clip.

 

[bds0688 10+ year member]

How did you set the gains?

 

[AppleBonker 10+ year member]

I used the tutorial in the amplifier section. 1000 watts and 2 ohm impedance yields a voltage of about 44. 44 = sqrt(1000*2). I used some test tones to set this (set below the 1000 watt mark to be on the safe side), and then put on some dynamic music. It was louder than I needed it to be, so I killed the gain some. That is why I'm guessing it was only peaking around 1500 watts.

 

[AppleBonker 10+ year member]

Well, I'm sending it back to Alpine tomorrow. Going to **** being without the bottom end for a while. But I'll let everyone know how the service goes. Thanks for the input.

 

[AppleBonker 10+ year member]

For anyone who cares, I shipped the sub in and they received in on 7/27 from what I can tell from tracking it. I just received my replacement today and it was shipped on 7/27, so I guess their turn-around is pretty quick. The sub I sent in was a SWX-1242D and they returned a SWX-1243D, so I got the newer model. It doesn't appear to be a refurb, but who knows. Either way, I'm happy as hell with the Alpine customer service. All-in-all, my hat's off to Alpine. Much better to have bass back again...

 

[punch 10+ year member]

For anyone who cares, I shipped the sub in and they received in on 7/27 from what I can tell from tracking it. I just received my replacement today and it was shipped on 7/27, so I guess their turn-around is pretty quick. The sub I sent in was a SWX-1242D and they returned a SWX-1243D, so I got the newer model. It doesn't appear to be a refurb, but who knows. Either way, I'm happy as hell with the Alpine customer service. All-in-all, my hat's off to Alpine. Much better to have bass back again...

ok so it was the sub and not the amp? and is there another warrenty on the new sub?

I will have the same set-up as you, what box did you go with? ported/sealed/tuning size etc...

 

[AppleBonker 10+ year member]

Definitely the subwoofer. Couldn't have been the amp cause it is now running wonderfully again with the new sub. I'm not sure about the warranty on the new sub. I would have to call them and ask. I would at least hope they honor the end of my original warranty, which would be another few months still.

For the box, I'm running only the single 12" in a sealed box (I don't remember off the top of my head but I want to say one cube). I'm not a big fan of ported, as I was looking for SQ over SPL. And I think most people will agree that this is not an SPL sub. Although it does hit low and sounds good on nearly everything it plays. Good luck with that system once you get it together.