Subwoofer problem or amp problem?

[Hunter079]

I have an RE 2000.1 amp and a Polk audio dxi 112 subwoofer in my 1991 Honda civic lx. When I first got the subwoofer(about 6 months ago) , the bass seemed much stronger than it is now. When I try to increase the gain or bass boost, the subwoofer it begins to play a slapping, distorted kind of noise (possibly clipping). Also it plays the bass louder at first and then kind of lowers on sustained notes.

My main question is if the amp, sub, or alternator in my car is going bad and/or how would I check this.

Also, is it possible the battery is going out or just not strong enough with stock alternator?

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[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

You flat out abused the sub man. You wore down the voice coils. Next time learn to set gains properly instead of guessing. Bass boost kills subs btw if you know.

Invest in a digital multi-meter and check the voice coil readings on the sub and check how low your voltages drop in your system.

Google up what Clipping and Distortion is and how it affects car audio equipment.

 

[Hunter079]

Now that I know what's wrong with it, would it be possible to fix the voice coil in it or just keep using it how it is?

 

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[Hunter079]

I tried hooking up a different subwoofer and it seemed like it did the same thing by staying down longer and distorting, then the amp went into protective mode. Based on this is it more likely that the amp has a defect or the subwoofer's voice coil still?

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

User error. Search for how to set gain properly.

 

[Hunter079]

I lowered the gain and the bass level is at about 6db, it still clips both subwoofers at moderate to low volume. So with low gain, and basically no bass boost, is it still user error or something wrong with the amp or sub?

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

+6 out of what? Probably out of -6 to +6? Set with it at 0, you're probably clipping from the head unit. Turn off bass boost completely. And a low gain pot doesn't mean you're not set too high.

 

[Hunter079]

Head unit is +0, the amp when i said 6db it was from 0 - 18db, and bass boost on head unit was off. The gain was about a third on the amp. I don't think it's the head unit either since i plugged my ipod directly into the rca input on the amp and it still had the issue.

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Refer to post #6 .

 

[Hunter079]

Thanks, however I'm unable to open the link, it takes me to a password page and when I put in my password, it does't go through

 

[Hunter079]

After doing more research, is it possible that the issue could be a tear in the spider, since at louder volumes and low frequencies is only when it happens to distort or get weaker?