Can subs go bad from sitting

[king nothing 10+ year member]

I have a pair of old school MTX subs that have been sitting for about 4 years. hooked them both up today in the same box i was using before (small sealed truck box) and they both sound like ****. They both are making a rattling sound. they were fine before. Im gonna try them in a different box tomorrow to rule that out but I dont see that being the problem. Could it be an amp problem?

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[rc10mike 10+ year member]

So you are 100% sure the rattling is coming from the subs?

 

[subzero 5,000+ posts]

I cant see how they would go bad UNLESS, you had something sitting on them or they got knocked around and caused the motor or wires to come loose/. open them up and inspect and test freeair.

 

[Chappie 10+ year member]

I cant see how they would go bad UNLESS, you had something sitting on them or they got knocked around and caused the motor or wires to come loose/. open them up and inspect and test freeair.

This. I've never heard of a sub going bad from just sitting around, make sure the rattling is coming from the subwoofers. Unless they were knocked around or treated roughly, sitting shouldn't have hurt them too much.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

If the sub was hidden from the elements you should be fine. Worse case scenario the spider has begun to sag slightly, but that wouldn't cause any rattling.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

There can be a few issues with subs that sit over time. One being your recollection of their mechanical integrity may be altered do to time. Another issue depends on how it was stored and what the soft parts of the sub are made out of.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

If they were face up the suspension could have sagged, dust could have gotten in, I had a set of old rockfords that set for a while, hooked up wouldnt work, tapped the cones and they came to life and played fine, it could be your box got effed up from moisture

 

[king nothing 10+ year member]

If the sub was hidden from the elements you should be fine. Worse case scenario the spider has begun to sag slightly, but that wouldn't cause any rattling.

They have been in my garage. Not exposed to the elements but definitely exposed to the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer, although no worse than they would have seen in a vehicle

There can be a few issues with subs that sit over time. One being your recollection of their mechanical integrity may be altered do to time. Another issue depends on how it was stored and what the soft parts of the sub are made out of.

Im sure the subs were playing fine when i quit driving the vehicle they were in. they were in a regular cab truck so I would definitely have heard the noise issues had they been present at that time

 

[HillBillyJoe]

I had an almost new original black L5 that sat since bought in my closet, now the suspension sags it looks fallen down when you look at the spider.

 

[king nothing 10+ year member]

So Ive been playing a little bit and im wondering if they just need to "stretch their legs" a little. they seem to sound a little better today than yesterday..... So i hooked them both up in freeair wired in series for an 8 ohm load and im gonna let them play for a bit and then put one back in the box and see how it sounds. Legit or wishful thinking? the way the subs are constructed i cant see how anything (junk) could get down into the motor..

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

is the box broken or loose?

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

the garage is not hidden from the elements.. the moisture can kill a surround and may do other things..

 

[SourDeez 10+ year member]

Could be a physical mechanical issue.

Possibly some dust/dirt particles in the pole shaft scratching the coil or something.

Is there any way you can test 1 by it self?

Free air test them also..

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

regular cab trucks can hide mechanical noise, as they tend to have the subs firing directly into the seats.

 

[king nothing 10+ year member]

is the box broken or loose?

the box seems solid. its an older Qlogic truck box and it doesnt seem to be any worse for wear

Could be a physical mechanical issue.
Possibly some dust/dirt particles in the pole shaft scratching the coil or something.

Is there any way you can test 1 by it self?

Free air test them also..

I am testing one at a time right now as i only have one box. the noise seems to go away when i had them both out playing without an enclosure though, and one of the subs seems to be noise free after about an hour in freeair. the other is still making noise but it seems not as bad as before. Im going to run the noisy one for now and see if it gets better over the next few days. worst that can happen is I cant use it. I plan on downfiring them so maybe a little noise will be Inaudible in that setup