Breaking In/Air Leak/SUBWOOOOOFER

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

I have an Infinity Kappa 12.1 and for some reason at high volumes i can hear a noise almost like its bottoming out but i know its not because the noise is audible even at low levals. I think it is mainly happening because my box is not properly sealed around the diameter of the sub and has a small leak. The person on cruthcfield said it may be because i didnt break my sub in properly. I thought the only thing that happens when you dont break a sub in prperly is that some of the material in the spyder or the suspension can rip. I did break it in and dont think thats what is causing the noise. The noise is only audible when you put your ear in close proximity to the sub. Any ideas?

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

The Crutchfield guy is an idiot...

Properly mount your driver, and see if you still get the noise //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[86yota 10+ year member]

How do you break a sub in?

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

play it at about 1/4 volume some people might say less. Pretty much dont play full blast or with any distortion to impress some freinds of your new system. I have seen people hook up subs and set them and play them full blast with no problems but some say not too. Most people who are in danger plug it all up turn everything all the way up distort to hell and back and damage the speaker.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Break in period = myth.

Plug it in and play it like you normally would. It will break in itself over time with regular, normal use.

Sounds to me like your problem might be the air leak you mentioned. Definitely not related to your failure to "break in" the subwoofer.

 

[nissanrider06 10+ year member]

i think it was ID that had a warning about breaking your sub in in the instructions, and i have had a friend mess up a sub by not breaking it in, but i didnt do it with my infinity's but in the future i am just gonna play a few songs at low volume, thats wat i recommend.

I definately wouldnt say breaking in your sub is a myth!

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

Ok this is what i am really concerned about. The people at the Local Audio Shop Extreme Audio told me that all boxes leak some and mine was ok? You can definatley hear air escaping when you push on it. Its semi-hard to push in and it lags on the return is the normal?

 

[Spkrman]

Ok this is what i am really concerned about. The people at the Local Audio Shop Extreme Audio told me that all boxes leak some and mine was ok? You can definatley hear air escaping when you push on it. Its semi-hard to push in and it lags on the return is the normal?

Your shop doesn't know how to make a sealed box //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Yes, when you push in and its slow to return... that means its pretty sealed.

If your leaking around the woofer, use weatherstripping as a gasket.

 

[AndonD454 10+ year member]

the things you just said kinda contradict eachother.. by the movement of the sub yeah id say its sealed, yet you say you can hear air escape? BUT, if you can hear or feel it then there is a leak, then correct it.

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

Its not my shop its a shop in my area tha i agree sucks major ***. The box is q-logic which i know are pre-fab and **** bla bla bla but i am trying to find the cause of the noise. Do u think it is the air escaping from the box or not?

 

[zachzchw 5,000+ posts]

Do u think it is the air escaping from the box or not?

Seal the box up all the way, and find out if thats the problem. That would give you a much more definitive answer than anyone on here could.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

i think it was ID that had a warning about breaking your sub in in the instructions, and i have had a friend mess up a sub by not breaking it in, but i didnt do it with my infinity's but in the future i am just gonna play a few songs at low volume, thats wat i recommend.
I definately wouldnt say breaking in your sub is a myth!

Yes, the idea that you must or need to break in your subwoofer is a myth. Plug it in and play it like you normally would. There is no reason to designate a "break in" period. It will "break in" (loosen up) over time itself with regular, normal use.

And since the only way to "break in" a subwoofer is by actually playing it, making it actually use it's suspension, playing a subwoofer at a low volume to "break it in" is totally counterproductive to your goal. If you really wanted to "break in" a driver, you would play it free air (on lower power) with a sine wave, and make it actually use it's suspension range.

Your friend may have damaged his sub, but it WAS NOT because he failed to "break it in". It may have had a manufacturing defect, he may have clipped the amplifier all to hell, he could have simply overpowered it, etc etc. But it was not because he failed to break it in.

FYI: ID also told people not to use Class D amplifiers on their subwoofers because it would fry the coils //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif You really can't blindly believe 100% of everything a manufacturer tells you.

 

[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

Yes it is. Plug it in and play it like you normally would. There is no reason to designate a "break in" period. It will "break in" (loosen up) over time itself with regular, normal use.
And since the only way to "break in" a subwoofer is by actually playing it, making it actually use it's suspension, playing a subwoofer at a low volume to "break it in" is totally counterproductive to your goal. If you really wanted to "break in" a driver, you would play it free air (on lower power) with a sine wave, and make it actually use it's suspension range.

Your friend may have damaged his sub, but it WAS NOT because he failed to "break it in". It may have had a manufacturing defect, he may have clipped the amplifier all to hell, he could have simply overpowered it, etc etc. But it was not because he failed to break it in.

FYI: ID also told people not to use Class D amplifiers on their subwoofers because it would fry the coils //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif You really can't blindly believe 100% of everything a manufacturer tells you.

I dont' think you're ever going to stop saying this. This has to be the 20th that I've personally seen you say it...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

(To everyone else: That's not a good thing...)

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

I dont' think you're ever going to stop saying this. This has to be the 20th that I've personally seen you say it...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif
(To everyone else: That's not a good thing...)

I know.... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[BLD 25 10+ year member]

I agree with re-sealing your box. Just get some caulk from walmart and slap it on everywhere inside the box. Also, did you get my PM i sent??