Are Alpine Type-R's (SWR-12D4) easily "blowable"?

[Golitan11]

I have one Alpine Type-R SWR-12D4 subwoofer with an Alpine MRX-M110 amplifier and I saw a lot of people complaining about Type-R's blowing easily (comparing to Kicker for example that seems to be very durable and stiff).

1. Is it because of a bad gain adjustment on their amplifier or simply because Type-R's are weak?

2. Is it covered by the Alpine waranty if it blows?

Optional:

3. How do I set my gain correctly? Do I absolutely need a multimeter to do so?

4. Is a 4V+ preamp output headunit really necessary for this setup or 2V should do the job (I am currently shopping these)?

5. Do you really need to "break" the subwoofer because using it for real?

6. What volume/size and tuning should I consider for a ported box (for this subwoofer)?

Thanks for your help.

Click to read more...

 

[Sub Woofin 10+ year member]

 

[SounDrive Pro Seller]

I have one Alpine Type-R SWR-12D4 subwoofer with an Alpine MRX-M110 amplifier and I saw a lot of people complaining about Type-R's blowing easily (comparing to Kicker for example that seems to be very durable and stiff).
1. Is it because of a bad gain adjustment on their amplifier or simply because Type-R's are weak? a bit of both

2. Is it covered by the Alpine waranty if it blows? depends on the damage. usually if it's blown, no

Optional:

3. How do I set my gain correctly? Do I absolutely need a multimeter to do so? use an oscilloscope

4. Is a 4V+ preamp output headunit really necessary for this setup or 2V should do the job (I am currently shopping these)? it's not neccessary, but it will sound better. Go ahead and get a HU with at least 2 or 3 sets of preouts in case you decide to upgrade your door speakers later on

5. Do you really need to "break" the subwoofer because using it for real? no. this is a myth.

6. What volume/size and tuning should I consider for a ported box (for this subwoofer)? I forget the exact size, but my friend and I built an enclosure for his with the alpine specs and tuned it to about 35hz. It would have benefit from a lower tuning like 32hz and maybe go on the larger side of their recommended size.

Thanks for your help.

There's some answers for you

 

[Oraclem19]

How easy is "easily" blown? Was considering these for a budget build about 800 clean watts each.

 

[DoesDad 10+ year member]

How easy is "easily" blown? Was considering these for a budget build about 800 clean watts each.

Type R's don't "blow" easily. Unless you're a moron and clip the shit out of it which will fry any sub. They will take 800 watts each and as long as you set your gains correctly they should last you a long time. I still think they're one of the better "budget" subs out there.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

I had two for years and they took all kinds of abuse. They get stinky if you wang em too hard but I never had one fail. The majority of their life was spent connected to a kx1200.1 so they were seeing about 600w each. IIRC the enclosure was something like 5 cubes at 32hz and it was pretty dang loud for a trunk car. They're good subs.

 

[LOUDNDEEP 10+ year member]

i personally sent about 1000 watts to each of my old type r 12s for almost 2 years. as long as the power is clean and your not a moron those subs should last a while.

 

[skylineTT 10+ year member]

Usually it is just a gain issue causing the amp to clip and blow the woofers. They can take 1000w of clean power and still last a while. I would say that most kicker equipment is built worse than most alpine equipment.

 

[LOUDNDEEP 10+ year member]

i would def choose alpine over kicker.. kicker might get louder but the alpines more than likely will sound better and have more bandwidth. i have owned a lot of subs from both companies and i would pick alpine all day long everytime