What does that sound mean?

[shiftless 10+ year member]

ok, i just finished hooking up my sub. It's a Kenwood Typhoon 10" 700W (max) and the amp is a bridged (600W max) pyramid. i built a box that is just over 1 cuft (between 1.1 and 1.2). on suspended bass notes, it's flawless. but on the bass drum hits, it's wierd. It makes a sort of "whoop" sound. I did the tuning by turning my head unit as loud as i would ever listen to and then adjusted the amp until i got distortion and then turned it down. only problem is after all the distortion was gone, i was pretty much at the same place as where i started. It almost seems like it's clipping but i don't think it is cause the amp can't put out that much power. I don't know what to do.

A friend said that sometimes if the box is too big, it will "bottom out" on hard hits. the bass is nice untill the punch comes on every bass drum hit, it makes that horrid sound and i want to kill myself.

after messing with it i got it where i though it was good. when i turned it off, i couldn't tell that it was even on before. I'm pretty sure that four 6x9s wired in series shouldn't over power a 700w sub....

I listen to rock mostly which is why i chose the 10" because of the fast hitting action and a sealed box cause i didn't want a lot of deep base. what's going on with my stuff?

Click to read more...

 

[Mr. Opportunist 10+ year member]

your getting no more then 250-300w to the sub tops...

 

[johnson 10+ year member]

1. Sell your stuff and buy a good quality SQ subwoofer

2. Why do you have four 6x9's wired together?

3. It's a myth that a smaller subwoofer will give you "clean tight bass".

What is the recommended enclosure size for that Kenwood? Take the woofer out, put some wood blocks (secured down) in the enclosure, and reinstall.

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

I listen to rock mostly which is why i chose the 10" because of the fast hitting action

You do know that a 18" driver is just as "fast hitting" as a 10 right...

When the bass hits is the sound like a dinging sound? Like tapping on the cone with your finger nail?

 

[shiftless 10+ year member]

tRiGgErYou do know that a 18" driver is just as "fast hitting" as a 10 right...

Yes i know, but an 18" would be too bassy for what i listen to. Sure i could turn it down, but then what's the point in getting a sub so large if i'm not going to push SPL? i just wanted to accent the bass a little bit. without spending a lot...

tRiGgErWhen the bass hits is the sound like a dinging sound? Like tapping on the cone with your finger nail?

It does sound like tapping the cone with my finger nail. but only on the hits. IF i run the amp at full pass it doesn't do it, but when i LPF it and cut the Hz to about 150Hz the bass is great until it hits, then it makes that sound. and i get pissed and turn it back to full pass. it's not like a ringing dinging sound but it does resemble a very muffled whomp sound. it's not like a cracking split sound that occurs during clipping, and i know that it's not getting 600W. RMS for the speaker is like 340 or somehting and i wanted to run them at around 400 but i can't get it up loud enough with out the hits making that sound.

johnsonWhat is the recommended enclosure size for that Kenwood? Take the woofer out, put some wood blocks (secured down) in the enclosure, and reinstall.

I want to say it said around .3 cuft. but that's freakin small after you take into the mounting depth... so i got a lot of info from the web and most of the sites suggested 1 cuft to 1.5 cuft for a 10". The wood or brick idea, is what my friend said alot of ppl do. does it seem like i have too much volume in the box? (not sound but space or air)

****************************

Overall i don't want to do any competitions, i just want to listen to my music without anything distorting when it gets loud. and i wired the four 6x9s because four is louder than 2 and the front speakers are crap. i put high pass crossovers on the 6x9 and wired them in series. it cuts the power to each speaker and at loud volumes, brings the highs and mids out without hurting your ears and clipping.

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like the Voice coil is missaligned. Or you really are bottoming out.

Can't be to helpfull over then net without hearing it.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

It's not a flapping sound is it? My subs did that one time playing a test tone.

 

[shiftless 10+ year member]

that's what my friend said... if it was bottoming out, then a brick or a block of wood should fix the problem right? cause if the box is too small you add polyfill to make the box 'appear' bigger to the sub.and if it's too big you add things to take up space. another friend suggested wireing, but i'm pretty sure it's all good. i grounded to the trunk hinge with a nut that is holding the hinge.... is that bad? i thought it seemed like a good ground... but i'm not sure.

also, if i add some wood to the box or a brick, and the problem still occurs is it most likely the speaker or still box problems?

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

I would add a block so you can make sure it is secure. I wouldn't want some bricks rolling around with my subs.

 

[shiftless 10+ year member]

Flipx99 It's not a flapping sound is it? My subs did that one time playing a test tone.

I know what you're talking about and it's not, that's like when the cone is moving constantly to produce the *note* or *tone*. mine is flawless on these. the problem is with the punches of a bass drum. it goes fine and then when the bass hits it's a "whomp" sound and on fast hits like 16ths it like gets really jacked. i think it might be bottoming out cause i can hear the hits and see the cone move out and it seems to be on the delayed side of the hit.

ok, on the highs you hear the overtones of the bass drum which makes a "p" sound like you're going to show someone what the letter p sounds like. and written in music the sounds i hear

are

( .= hit ,=the mysterious sound)

beat

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

|- - - -|- - - - |

|.,- - -|., - .,.,|

it should sound like this

beat

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

|- - - -|- - - - |

|. - - -|. - . . |

make sense?

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

IF i run the amp at full pass it doesn't do it, but when i LPF it and cut the Hz to about 150Hz the bass is great until it hits, then it makes that sound. and i get pissed and turn it back to full pass.

Please do not run your sub @ full pass. This may have been the cause of damage. The LPF should be around the vicinity of 90hz.

Place solid Items in the box to see if it cures the problem if not it may be the sub/settings.

You also need to set your amps gain properly with a DMM.

 

[shiftless 10+ year member]

tRiGgEr You also need to set your amps gain properly with a DMM.

I'm unfamilure with "DMM" but i never turned the gain very high cause i didn't want to damage the speaker.

also what damage could the full pass do?

 

[johnson 10+ year member]

It does sound like tapping the cone with my finger nail. but only on the hits. IF i run the amp at full pass it doesn't do it, but when i LPF it and cut the Hz to about 150Hz the bass is great until it hits, then it makes that sound. and i get pissed and turn it back to full pass. it's not like a ringing dinging sound but it does resemble a very muffled whomp sound. it's not like a cracking split sound that occurs during clipping, and i know that it's not getting 600W. RMS for the speaker is like 340 or somehting and i wanted to run them at around 400 but i can't get it up loud enough with out the hits making that sound.

150Hz is fricken high to lowpass a subwoofer

I want to say it said around .3 cuft. but that's freakin small after you take into the mounting depth... so i got a lot of info from the web and most of the sites suggested 1 cuft to 1.5 cuft for a 10". The wood or brick idea, is what my friend said alot of ppl do. does it seem like i have too much volume in the box? (not sound but space or air)

I doubt it's .3cuft recomended size. Just because you have a 10" driver you cant automatically assume that it wants xx amount of space. Every manufacturer designs their speakers differently and some want a small enclosure, and others want a large one to give you the best sound.

****************************

Overall i don't want to do any competitions, i just want to listen to my music without anything distorting when it gets loud. and i wired the four 6x9s because four is louder than 2 and the front speakers are crap. i put high pass crossovers on the 6x9 and wired them in series. it cuts the power to each speaker and at loud volumes, brings the highs and mids out without hurting your ears and clipping.

Not a lot of people on forums enter competitions. They get good sounding systems because...it sounds good (to them). I would ditch the Kenwood and Boss.

..

 

[johnson 10+ year member]

I'm unfamilure with "DMM" but i never turned the gain very high cause i didn't want to damage the speaker.
also what damage could the full pass do?

DMM = Digital MultiMeter

Full pass lets the subwoofer run at all frequencies which isnt wasnt meant to do. Theyre designed to play the "sub" frequencies.

 

[shiftless 10+ year member]

johnson Not a lot of people on forums enter competitions. They get good sounding systems because...it sounds good (to them). I would ditch the Kenwood and Boss.

So what you suggest that's good for the money? JL, Audiobahn, Pioneer? what's wrong with Kenwood? the reviews i read on the speaker where pretty good, and i know that the way a speaker sounds depends alot on the box it's in. You can take a crappy sub and make it sound pretty decent if the box is awesome (though it's usually not worth the time and effort to make a box that cost more than the speaker sitting in it...) . That's why i think it's the box. I'm going to try putting some plywood in since i've got some left over from building the box... i think it's just a little too much air. besides maybe the brand would you all agree that a big problem could lie in the box design?