Breaking In/Air Leak/SUBWOOOOOFER

[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

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??

He'll only need a bead on the seams....

 

[BLD 25 10+ year member]

He'll only need a bead on the seams....

Uh, yeah, i know, i thought that was just assumed.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

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??

This part worried me.... that's all.

 

[nissanrider06 10+ year member]

on my dual chambered ported box (pvc ports) i noticed when i push in on one sub the otehr one moves, and i sealed pretty freakin well!!! Is this because when u push the cone in, it sends it small amount of pwer threw the speaker wire to the other sub or did i just not seal my box well enough for the chambers. even if it wasnt sealed i wouldnt think it would be a problem since its a ported box and the air can go out the port and shouldnt have to squeeze threw a miniscule crack.

 

[Spkrman]

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.

A stiffer suspension CAN change the sub characteristics to the point of it ******* before it loosens up. For example, the RL-P 12 I had here for the test was complete garbage before I gave it a good workout. It sounded terrible and handled next to no power.

Some woofers will meter louder out of the box.... L7's and CVR's are like this in alot of installs - so is the type S. The type R picks up alot once it breaks in.

Normally you can break in by normal use, yea. Like you said, low volume "breaking in" isn't doing a dam thing, you have to workout the woofer to loosen things up.

Just trying to get the point across that breaking in *can* make a big difference.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

A stiffer suspension CAN change the sub characteristics to the point of it ******* before it loosens up. For example, the RL-P 12 I had here for the test was complete garbage before I gave it a good workout. It sounded terrible and handled next to no power.
Some woofers will meter louder out of the box.... L7's and CVR's are like this in alot of installs - so is the type S. The type R picks up alot once it breaks in.

Normally you can break in by normal use, yea. Like you said, low volume "breaking in" isn't doing a dam thing, you have to workout the woofer to loosen things up.

Just trying to get the point across that breaking in *can* make a big difference.

No one is saying that a subwoofer's suspension doesn't loosen up. I never said it, and never implied it.

What I am saying is that you do not need to actively "break in" your subwoofer, and failure to actively "break them in" is not going to result in damage to the driver. The subwoofer will loosen up itself over time with regular, normal use (as you pointed out, and I've mentioned several times).

 

[Spkrman]

No one is saying that a subwoofer's suspension doesn't loosen up. I never said it, and never implied it.
What I am saying is that you do not need to actively "break in" your subwoofer, and failure to actively "break them in" is not going to result in damage to the driver. The subwoofer will loosen up itself over time with regular, normal use (as you pointed out, and I've mentioned several times).

If I was a noob and did what I did to the RL-P after it was broken in BEFORE it was broken in, it would have blown up.

Obviously the woof isn't going to blow up out of the blue because you didn't break the woof in - but the specs definitely change once the suspension loosens up. The point is, you can't say actively breaking in a woofer is useless - it does change things, and freeairing the woof at 75% excursion will break the woof in faster than normal use... which could be a big deal if you have a show tomorrow and your woofs are louder broken in.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

The point is, you can't say actively breaking in a woofer is useless

Fine.

99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the time, there is no need to actively break in a woofer //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

- it does change things, and freeairing the woof at 75% excursion will break the woof in faster than normal use... which could be a big deal if you have a show tomorrow and your woofs are louder broken in.

Meh....SPL competitors.

The statement isn't targeted at "your type" who need everything in their setup to be one specific way before they can play it.......for a whole 3 seconds. It is targeted at the daily street thumper/average user for whom, yes, break in periods are essentially useless.

There are lots of things SPL guys do that aren't completely relevant anywhere else but in that one arena of SPL competition.

 

[Spkrman]

Fine.
99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the time, there is no need to actively break in a woofer //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Meh....SPL competitors.

The statement isn't targeted at "your type" who need everything in their setup to be one specific way before they can play it.......for a whole 3 seconds. It is targeted at the daily street thumper for whom, yes, break in periods are essentially useless.

Whats wrong with someone wanting to get the most out of their setup off the bat? Low volume break in is useless.... but freeairing a woofer for a period of time gets the job done.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

99.90% would be more accurate, Fostex and Lowther drivers are notorious for having hellaciously long break in periods before the compliance settles down. Most speaker manufacturers who use them actually don't recommend actively listening to them until you've played them straight for about a week.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Whats wrong with someone wanting to get the most out of their setup off the bat? Low volume break in is useless.... but freeairing a woofer for a period of time gets the job done.

It may get the job done sooner, but it's not necessary (which is my point, as it says in the sig, you don't need to).

Plus I personally do not feel comfortable recommending to the majority of members on this site that they free-air their sub @ 75% excursion for any length of time. Manfacturer's warranty claims would triple in a month.

 

[Crown_amps]

Break in period = myth.
Dispelling the myths, once again……

You do not need to break in your subwoofers

A higher preamp voltage does not have better sound quality

Underpowering has never damaged one speaker in the history of the universe

Distortion alone has never damaged one speaker in the history of the universe

Smaller subs do not inherently play higher or sound better than larger subs

Smaller subs are not "faster" or "tighter" than larger subs

You do not need need to run your RCA's (or any other wire, for that matter) opposite from the power wire

Class D amplifiers are not digital amplifiers

hey thanks for that squeak is the mythbuster of speakers

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

on my dual chambered ported box (pvc ports) i noticed when i push in on one sub the otehr one moves, and i sealed pretty freakin well!!! Is this because when u push the cone in, it sends it small amount of pwer threw the speaker wire to the other sub or did i just not seal my box well enough for the chambers. even if it wasnt sealed i wouldnt think it would be a problem since its a ported box and the air can go out the port and shouldnt have to squeeze threw a miniscule crack.

NO.

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

yo homie breaking in a sub- dude is correct it IS a myth because i have seen approzimatly 11 subs hooked up and turned up right when they are fully wired and never seen or heard any problems rock on

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

Ok pleas understand what i am saying the leak is around the diamete of the sub not in the box joints. Srry but caulk will not work in this situation. Someone said weather stripping. What kind and more details please