WikkedOne

Ok.. I know I'm asking to get both me and Alpine seriously flamed here... but somehow I managed to burn up my Alpine Type X 12" (Rated at 1000 Watts RMS and 3000 Watt peak) pushed by my Alpine PDX 1.1000 Watt amp (tested at 1148 Watts RMS) I had hooked up at 2 ohms.

I'm not exactly sure what burned it up... It isn't completly fried.. I have been noticing that I can't get the higher sub levels for the past few weeks (around 100 hz) and I had been thinking it was my RF 3.SIXTY settings. I hadn't really been messing with it much lately but today I got into my trunk and looked at my setting on the amp and I could hear the sub buzzing pretty bad when the bass hit, and I got a faint smell of burned electronics.. I thought that maybe I just burned up one coil so I tried them each individually and they both worked but still buzzed. So I took it out of the car and then out of the box and it smells BAD although I can't see inside to see whats messed up.

If I push the woofer in there is a grinding noise/feel and I know it's not supposed to do that.

I'm not really sure what burned it up..
Maybe it was me listning too loud too long and the heat got it.
Maybe it's only rated at 1000 Watts at 4 ohms and not 2 (I can't find anything to prove or disprove that)
When my 12+ line fuse was loose it popped really hard a couple of times maybe that peak burned it...

I'm not really sure what it was and now i'm left with a delima... Do I get another Type X 12" to replace it? (Becasue I'm still a big Alpine fan) or do I get another brand 12".. or do I scratch the whole thing and go for 2 10"s..

What do you guys think I should do? and give me some alternative sub suggestions if you think I should go with another brand..

WikkedOne

Ok well I have just heard that it was PROBABLY too much infrasonic freq that burned up my sub.

My 3.SIXTY has a setting for it but I had it turned off. I think I'm going to just replace it with the same sub and be more careful with it this time...

jstkilntim

I don't suppose we could convert you from Alpine could we? He! He! Good luck.

scottmhr1

Should have bought Pioneer!!!

jstkilntim

Not!

ReZ-8

WikkedOne

in scotts defense...

(I think this is still true) Pioneer hold the world DB record of 180.5
and their subs are rated down to 18 Hz which (I think) is what burned my sub up...

but I think I'm going to stick with Alpine

jstkilntim

True, but fun to BS w/ everyone none the less. I did hear a bad azz Pioneer system at the Spring Break Nationals one year.

forbidden

Sub was in a ported enclosure then was it? What was the box tuned to? What was the subsonic filter set to? How long were you playing the sub at a sustained level?

WikkedOne

No it wasn't ported... subsonic filter was off on both my 3.Sixty and my amp (Stupid move.. I know now)..

The box was about 1.2 Cu/Ft then with the sub it was about 1

and about the sustained level.. I don't think there was any 1 instace that burned it up.. (or at least any that I can think of) I think it was a gradual thing... or maybe a combination of the things I stated above.

I would say that I'd listen to it really hard for 2 or 3 songs (usually only when I'm on the interstate) sometimes.. then I would take a break..

I'm thinking about a bunch of replacement speakers still.. and also a replacement setup (front facing box) and when I get my mind made up a little more I'm going to start a new thread with my ideas.. I have some time before I have extra money again too.. because I just bought an apartment..

so until I can find a suitable replacement I'm rockin out my old Alpine Type R 10.. with the sens gain on my amp turned down (and measured) and with subsonic turned ON.. so I don't melt it too.

(and yeah I've got your Eclipse woofers in mind too )

forbidden

The subsonic filter is ideally used on a ported enclosure. This is due to the sub and it's port. At the tuning frequency of the port, say 32hz, above it all is well. Below it is where nasty things start to happen. There is a total lack of control of the motion of the driver. This is where the subsonic filter comes in. It is a high pass filter that can be set to keep this nasty action from happening. Now at the same time the nasty action may be happening, you also have usable sub frequencies, the subsonic gets rid of both and must be used in a ported enclosure.

In a sealed enclosure the air is acting as a spring and keeps the sub in much better control accross the entire range of frequencies. Even below the 32hz tuning point of the ported box for example.

I highly doubt that it was the lack of the subsonic filter that sent your alpine to the old subwoofers home in the sky. It is far more likely that you have exceeded either the thermal or mechanical barrier of the subs design by having the gain too high or an amp that is way too large. Now given the known inefficient design of the X, most people do indeed crank those gains right on up and the amp will indeed send a clipped signal into that speaker.

Once the dirty deed is done, it is a downhill spiral from that point on. What kills subwoofers or speakers in general is simple. In all cases a melted coil of any type is 100% heat related. If you do not allow the coil to cool, it is going to smoke on you regardless of how it is made by whom and even if it uses unobtanium. Heat is a natural byproduct of producing power. As duration played goes up, so does the heat signature. If your poor amp is going thermal.... imagine how the speakers hooked to it are doing.

To me it sounds like you have breached the thermal limits of your sub. This is caused by incorrect gain setting or not allowing the sub to cool. It is most common when people want to much from not enough.

CAM427R

The Alp is nice...but Kicker's are louder. IDK what you guy's thoughts are on car audio, but I've found Kicker's subs to be very loud and if in the right enclosure done correctly have very good quality as well. I've got a Comp VR 10 on a KX 350 amp and its plenty loud for my type of listening.

I'd suggest you get two of the new Comp VX 10s, supposedly the loudest traditional round subs on the market. Haven't heard them yet, though.

Never had a problem with my CVR and it was in my truck for about a year before the truck was sold and the sub was taken out. I have it turned up pretty loud, as well.

forbidden

Knowing the amp you have now, I would head to a DD3512 sub and the proper slot port box for it.

lurch519

from your description of how the sub feels/sounds when you push on it, it sounds like there was way too much distortion going to the sub, which would come from clipping (most likely playing really low frequencies too loud or just having the amp gained incorrectly). clipping will cause the amplifier to put out an unclean signal to the woofer, where part of the sine wave is turned to dc current for brief periods of time. take it back to your dealer, (i hope you didnt buy it online, or if you did, you got it from crutchfield) and get it warrantied.

i will be getting the same sub and amp combo, and i know as long as i properly tune it, it will last. ( i work at one of the east coast's largerst alpine retailer for single store)

strayer2189

Id go with a JL Audio 10 w7, yeah it might be small but it hits harder then any pair of 12' type r's