Subwoofer rattle

Barks · 27 Feb 2009 at 10:37

I bought a Wharfedale SW150 a few weeks back and recently it has started making a rattling noise on the very low frequency notes.

I've checked that all the bolts are in place and the noise is definitely coming from the actual cone.

Why would this happen? Surely the electronics ensure that the cone is not over driven?

Cheers

Barks · 27 Feb 2009 at 21:27

Anyone have any ideas would really appreciate any advice!

vila · 27 Feb 2009 at 21:47

err crazy idea... but ' just throwing it out there ' its faulty take it back to the shop.

Corasik · 27 Feb 2009 at 21:59

scott212 said:
Why would this happen? Surely the electronics ensure that the cone is not over driven?
Cheers

Some AV amps do in fact have a setup for maximum SPL levels from the sub, to prevent damage , but in general no, there is no protection to protect the cone. Have you been driving it hard, could have overheated and warped the voice coils, that can make hell of a nasty noise.

Barks · 1 Mar 2009 at 13:25

Corasik said:
Some AV amps do in fact have a setup for maximum SPL levels from the sub, to prevent damage , but in general no, there is no protection to protect the cone. Have you been driving it hard, could have overheated and warped the voice coils, that can make hell of a nasty noise.

For about an hour and a half during a house party last Saturday night.

When I spent that much money though I expect a product which is going to prove a bit more resilient to some wear and tear. I only had it on 70% volume and at no point was it distorting or telling me it wanted to be turned down a tad.

Eddie · 1 Mar 2009 at 13:45

Did the sub only start playing up after said party?

You certainly wouldn't be the first person to blow your speakers/sub at a house party, the temptation to turn things up too far is always strong in such situations.

Barks · 1 Mar 2009 at 13:48

shoot1st said:
Did the sub only start playing up after said party?

You certainly wouldn't be the first person to blow your speakers/sub at a house party, the temptation to turn things up too far is always strong in such situations.

That's correct, it literally only started doing it a few days ago. Thing is I regularly listen to music quite loudly but I'd never have the subwoofer running at a volume where it sounds like it needs to be turned down.

Eddie · 1 Mar 2009 at 13:57

Maybe someone else was playing around with it at the party without you realising. Even the most expensive gear will fail if it's abused by some drunken party goer wanting louder music.

Contact the shop you got it from, you might be lucky, however don't tell them you had a party and that you only listen to classical music at reasonable levels

Then again though, maybe it just developed a fault itself, which is totally possible, and probable if you are 100% sure it hasn't been abused.

9designs2 · 1 Mar 2009 at 14:05

Not really got so much to do with the volume, but how low a frequency it was being sent... the lower the bass, the more cone movement required, even at low volume. So you end up hitting the end stops and damage the drive unit. Quite easy I would have said with a budget sub....which sorry to say it is...... you get what you pay for, or have to keep the juice down low with heavy bassy sound tracks or music......
Note some bass can be really low, so our ears don't hear it so well, you more feel it, but the sub will go crazy trying to reproduce it.... Just watch the cone, and you will see.

james.miller · 1 Mar 2009 at 14:05

could be the tinsel leads hitting the back of the cone at low frequencies. ive found this on a couple of cheaper drivers before. my solution was to superglue some cotton wool to the back of the cone where the tinsel leads where hitting it. crude but it works perfectly. if you can take the driver out without damaging the enclosure it might be worth taking a look

SourChipmunk · 1 Mar 2009 at 15:47

I did the same thing to an old MK sub of mine - blew it out during a party. It had the rattle afterwards, but it was some time before I found out what it was. Ended up being a small tear in the foam surrounding the cone. So, with no replacement available at a cost cheaper than just buying a new sub, I decided to shred it. With a little "Vogue" from Madonna at extremely high volume, I was able to blow the foam clean off.

Barks · 1 Mar 2009 at 16:36

This is crazy. Why don't they put filters on the Sub's amp to prevent this damage. The Sub has it own volume control so I don't understand why they don't limit the volume of the sub. I'm pretty angry as I spent a good £200 on this sub and being a student I can't afford to just buy a new one. I guess I'll try and send it back but I feel guilty and I know the cone will cost more to replace than the entire subwoofer.

1kiwi · 1 Mar 2009 at 16:38

shoot1st said:
Maybe someone else was playing around with it at the party without you realising.

Blew a speaker that way ... drucken idiots with no respect for my kit - in saying that, it will be the last time i use my own equipment for a house party lol

Eddie · 1 Mar 2009 at 16:56

You never know, the shop might swap it for you, if they won't then you may still be able to fix it yourself as mentioned, maybe the replacement cone might not be as much as you expect...

If it's totally buggered and too expensive to fix then all you can do really is put it down to experience and make sure it doesn't happen again with your current/next speakers/sub.

Some people just don't have respect for other people's gear and will try to push it a lot more than they would if it was their own gear.

Total pain when you're on a tight budget, I know.