Popping? not blown, a flutter?

[v6maro]

When I pump the volume up really high, one of the speakers (12w6's) seems to flutter, or a loud 'pop'. So obviously i turn it down, but i know the speakers have more i can get out of them...soooo i went in back turned it up a bit, and made sure not too loud, but just to the point before they would pop, i looked at them, they are in sync, so then i covered the ports, sure enough, it was poping again. Its some kind of odd flutter, and i dont know how to fix it, anyone have some suggestions?
thanks a ton
-Steve

[TheRealWave]

That happned to my old JL-W0 and it only got worse. I found out later that i was clipping(sending it square sound waves by turning it up too loud) it. The amp and the head unit can clip speakers. A good rule of thumb is to never turn the amp or the HU volume pass 3/4. That will avoid clipping.

[v6maro]

you sure thats what it is?
-Steve

[massivefirebird]

Are the subs wired properly? Sometimes if one is wired backwards it'll sound terrible. How'd you wire them, series/parallel?

Also, did you buy a custom made box? Because I have one made of MDF, and it wasn't sealed good enough! I thought my new speakers were blown, until one day, I pressed hard on the box when it was turned loud, and the popping sound stopped.

So I added some screws and siliconed the entire insides, and it shakes my vision and damages my ear drums now and then! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

I don't know if this is your problem, but it's worth a try if you bought a custom made box!

[v6maro]

yes, it was custom made and bought, i caulked the inside of it tho...
hrm
the speakers sound fine at almost all levels, maybe i should go back and do some more caulking?
-Steve

[black98V6]

one thing you might want to try is to get a can or 2 of rubberized undercoating and spray the whole inside of the box. It seems to help seal up the box.

[megabass]

The box is ported. A tight seal won't make much difference in a ported box. Here's what it looks like



I'm thinking it's either the head unit, a crossover, or the volume is just too high.

[ January 03, 2002: Message edited by: megabass ]</p>

[stagen]

How high are your gains set?

Reverse polarity could cause it but I would suspect that you have the gains set to high and it's clipping.

[Camaro Bob]

First off, make sure your subs aren't out of phase. They could be 180 degrees out of phase, and still pop like a mo fo. How are they wired? You need to turn your gain down on your amp, you are going to dismount the subs from over-excursion if you aren't careful. Which amp are you using? [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[v6maro]

I checked the phase, they are the same. They do not pop all the time, only when it's turned up really loud
here is a wiring diagram of how i did it. I got the info on how to wire it all up from www.jlaudio.com

as you can see from this picture, there is no gain setting:



here is my wiring schematic



thanks for the help
-Steve

[Camaro Bob]

First, I have to compliment you on your amp choice. I love the 500 mono. It's a nice a$$ amp. Anyway, the JL amps are fixed. Whether you run at 6 ohms or at 1.5 ohms, their output is the same(power in watts). You have the coils and woofers in parallel. Your woofers MUST be dual voice coil(DVC) 6 ohm woofers. (parallel woofer--1/6 + 1/6 = 1/3(per woofer parallel)parallel subs--1/3 + 1/3 = 2/3, reciprocate(div by 1) and yeilds 3/2 ohm or 1.5 ohm.)
Now, your amp does have a gain. The "boost" knob, near the bass control input (in db-decibels) works like the gain. And the remote bass adds bass and distortion. This amp is really clean, it is one of my favorite amps on the market. Just turn down your "boost" and maybe your "remote bass" a little. I have a friend who blew apart a solobaric ten with one of those amps. They are really strong for thier power rating, and strong all the way across the band. You should do good with that. Just don't blow apart your W6's, they are expensive!! Also, have you ever considered Solo's or W7's? Just a thought. Hope I can help. Feel free for any more ?'s.
[img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]
Also, a few years ago I had a pair of 4 ohm Kicker XPL 12's running off of a Kenwood Excelon 301. I pushed it a bit too hard and pulled the leads off the woofers. Good thing the maximum excursion was past that point, but they waffled(popped) like crazy. I resoldered the leads and they worked fine, but I learned to turn the gain down. It sounds better up, but it toasts the woofers, that's for sure.

[Camaro Bob]

Sorry, I forgot to tell you;
When you are tuning the system, turn your deck up to it's maximum volume before your mid range drivers begin to distort(with amp turned all the way down). This is usually at around +35 for most decks(what we do at Star Video in Sheridan with certified installers). Then, turn up your gain on the amp(boost, and remote bass) until the subs begin to clip. Then turn it down slightly, to where it is just below that point. You should be ready to go, if you can still hear that is. With the louder stereos it kills to do this. Anyway, just keep the volume at or below that level, that is what it should sound best at anyway. Good luck! [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[v6maro]

so i am pretty much clipping it eh?
-Steve
p.s. thanks for the help

[Camaro Bob]

yup. Have you tried a sealed box? It might go louder.(depending on demesions). Just a thought. [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[v6maro]

couldnt i just close the ports? wouldnt that make it sealed?
-Steve