I'd like to start off by saying that I know virtually nothing about audio systems...

I had an alpine sub and amp installed back in august 05. I noticed that occasionally under heavy bass it would make a strange noise back there somewhere, but i figured it was just overloading the sub so i turned it down. The amp ran like 200watts and the sub was like 150watt recommended. Well I'm driving along one day and had the volume quite low and POP... the sub blew. Cute... I really didn't know what the deal was.

I got a new sub, a 10" MX, with a 250watt recommended I believe, put in the same box with the same amp. It's starting to make strange noises to... kinda like the sub is rattling... but there is no reason for it to rattle.

The box that they were mounted in is a trapezoidal kinda shape, that was put in there by a shop that I had install the system back in august. Could this thing be messing up my sub?? Any response is appreciated.

-Tide

 

I have always been amazed about how many times woofers explode when the volume is "low".

 

check the impedance on the subs..see how much power the amp puts out at that impedance (measured in Ohms). its possible that the subs are low impedance (2 ohm) and the amp is putting out too much power at that load for them--not likely though.

more likely the subs are underpowered and you have the gain on the amp turned up too high...either that or bad wiring.

 

Or the box is too large, or if its ported, its not properly ported, or the box is too small.

Yes, the wrong box can definitely aid in the death of a subwoofer. Check the manufacturer's site for proper specs and calculate if your box is within them,

 

alright thanks for the responses....

FYI JLTD... I was on the phone in the car when the sub blew. when it happened the person on the phone thought I had hit something... the music wasn't loud.

 

you may be sending a clipped signal... turn the gain all the way down on the sub amp... then turn your music to the loudest point at which it is still comfortable to your ears...with the music at that point, start turning up the sub gain untill you hear distortion (then turn it down a little) or untill it's at the level that you want it.... whichever comes first...

as others said, improper enclosure can kill a sub...but so can high gains at low volume...