how do i drive a speaker with a over powered amp and not let the speaker explode?
i have a kicker L7 12 inch rated at 750wrms from kicker. i am driving this with a JBL BP1200.1 amp. i have blown 2 coils out of this thing and right now i have the amp at 50% gain.
i want over powered amps because i use this stereo all day long and i dont want the amps getting exceisvly hot. so i figured i would over shoot the amps by a little bit this way i could use 100% of the speakers capacity.
i would like to upgrade the speakers so they candle handle more of the amps power. but i think i would be in a similar situation. using 20% of the speakers capacity and 100% of the amps or vice versa.
i cant seem to get a consistant answer as to how to accuratly figure out the power handeling of a speaker the answers i get are grossly exaggerated conservitavly (so not to blow anything up ever) or aggresivly (to market and sell speakers with crazy power handeling capabilities)
i realize that the box determines a lot and the music also determines a lot but there must be a accurate way to figure out a best guess instead of just blowing up a voice coil then turning the amp down 10% and repeat... this is getting expensive and annoying
i have a kicker L7 12 inch rated at 750wrms from kicker. i am driving this with a JBL BP1200.1 amp. i have blown 2 coils out of this thing and right now i have the amp at 50% gain.
i want over powered amps because i use this stereo all day long and i dont want the amps getting exceisvly hot. so i figured i would over shoot the amps by a little bit this way i could use 100% of the speakers capacity.
i would like to upgrade the speakers so they candle handle more of the amps power. but i think i would be in a similar situation. using 20% of the speakers capacity and 100% of the amps or vice versa.
i cant seem to get a consistant answer as to how to accuratly figure out the power handeling of a speaker the answers i get are grossly exaggerated conservitavly (so not to blow anything up ever) or aggresivly (to market and sell speakers with crazy power handeling capabilities)
i realize that the box determines a lot and the music also determines a lot but there must be a accurate way to figure out a best guess instead of just blowing up a voice coil then turning the amp down 10% and repeat... this is getting expensive and annoying
If only it were that easy
Using an amp rated for X watts doesn't mean you have to use it like that. Learn to recognize the distortion from the onset of clipping, and know when your woofers are starting to get unhappy. Get someone locally who can help you, if you're having trouble hearing it for yourself at first. The other thing that might help is to get your amp on a 'scope at your typical listening levels - it'd be instantly apparent if you're clipping the amp.
The gain position really doesn't matter, you can toast subs at either end of the potentiometer - what's important here is the relationship of the preout voltage to the gain position. The amp is capable of full power regardless of where the knob is set.
If you're not driving the amp to hard clipping, the sub is simply not capable of doing what you want it to do. If it could, you wouldn't need to drive it so hard. You need more subs. If you only have one, use two. If you don't have room for two, use one that's more efficient or one that can handle more power.
Glowbug and Perry's answers are good. You are willing to spend for an oversized amp in the interest of increased reliability and reducing distortion, right? So it makes no sense to undersize the woofer in that interest. If you're having consistent problems with driver failure you're operating far into the red zone though for some reason the high distortion in that case isn't promting you to turn the volume down. It does get harder to hear around the port frequency (assuming ports) because of the filtering property of the resnonant system, but maybe the distortion isn't so much of a problem for you compared to demanded SPL. Most autosound drivers are moderate to very poor efficiency. They are designed for good extension in small boxes with the benifit of cabin gain. Unfortunately efficiency is tightly strapped to box volume in any case, so if you want a little woofer to play loud and low it is going to get hot. That's why there are so many extremely built car woofers on the market. In the end knowing exactly how hard you're pushing your drivers isn't why you run your system. You should probably seriously review what you want from your woofers and redesign for that with new woofers and possibly new enclosures to suit. It might hit you hard in money up front but there's a good chance it will be reliable for years and sound good all along. Ultimately you will find that the big money is in how far down the -3dB point lies. Physics says you can get any combination of higher efficiency, reduced size, and lower cost by raising the -3dB point. The reason you can't get a hard answer on this is that it's a matter of personal preference and goals. Anyone can lead you in the right direction if you know what you want but I don't think anyone can make the woofer you have do it.
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I would guess that you clipped that poor speaker to death.
You might think the amp had enough clean headroom because of advertised numbers, but reality is often much different.
I think some people will over-drive their systems and cause damage no matter what the situation is. For example; if the amp is underpowered they will drive it into clipping and fry the voice coil with DC, but if the amp has excess headroom they will over-drive the sub until it exceeds it's thermal rating or part of the suspension gets broken.
I think they key here is to learn when to turn the volume down.
You might think the amp had enough clean headroom because of advertised numbers, but reality is often much different.
I think some people will over-drive their systems and cause damage no matter what the situation is. For example; if the amp is underpowered they will drive it into clipping and fry the voice coil with DC, but if the amp has excess headroom they will over-drive the sub until it exceeds it's thermal rating or part of the suspension gets broken.
I think they key here is to learn when to turn the volume down.
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Scampo, I would start by assuming that you need at least 6dB more of safe continous power output, which means you're looking at four times the woofer you now have. Reducing woofer drive 3dB means that excursion is halved, the difference between 1000 and 500 watts. Don't get into trying to run woofers near Xmax to get your money's worth. The truth is linearity is much better far below that and suspension and coil life goes up fast. 3dB of power headroom sounds ridiculously expensive but that's the reality of long life, low distortion systems.
so is this speaker for certain clipping? the way i understood clipping was that it is the amplifier running out of power. there is no way this amp is running out of power. the first voice coil i just put a pure sine wave into the speaker till the coil lit on fire. i would think the easiest way to hear for clipping would be with a a sine wave? no? and this sounded perfectly perfect, (till the fire, then not so perfect)
i will set up a scope if this helps me learn what to watch for but i just dont think it is clipping or distorting at all.
the reason i am building it this way is i dont want the amps getting ridiculously hot. the last 2 amps i had ran so hot that i used to squish my sandwiches in between them and use them as a panini press. aside from tasty lunches i figured this cant possibly be got for the longevity of these amps plus it heated up my cab in the summer. so i thought why not use bigger amps and just use less of the available power. both times i blew up this speaker the amp wasn't even warm so i figure i am on to something.
i have purchased new subs but i dont want to put them in and have the same problems im having now.
so in short,
-put a scope in and look for clipping
-listen to the speaker distort
is there anything else i can look for before it explodes again? because right now i am just running it with no dust cover and just jamming my finger in there to test for temperature (i know quite scientific).
im going back tmrw with a new coil installed, if nothing else im getting pretty good at changing the coils on these things LOL.
i will set up a scope if this helps me learn what to watch for but i just dont think it is clipping or distorting at all.
the reason i am building it this way is i dont want the amps getting ridiculously hot. the last 2 amps i had ran so hot that i used to squish my sandwiches in between them and use them as a panini press. aside from tasty lunches i figured this cant possibly be got for the longevity of these amps plus it heated up my cab in the summer. so i thought why not use bigger amps and just use less of the available power. both times i blew up this speaker the amp wasn't even warm so i figure i am on to something.
i have purchased new subs but i dont want to put them in and have the same problems im having now.
so in short,
-put a scope in and look for clipping
-listen to the speaker distort
is there anything else i can look for before it explodes again? because right now i am just running it with no dust cover and just jamming my finger in there to test for temperature (i know quite scientific).
im going back tmrw with a new coil installed, if nothing else im getting pretty good at changing the coils on these things LOL.
The speaker simply can't do what you need it to do. If it could, you wouldn't be driving enough power into it to blow it.
Do you have the space for 2 woofers?
What about a better woofer (something from DD?)?
For most car audio subs that can handle significant power, the dust cap is part of the cooling system and is required to pull the air into the gap around the voice coil. Without it, the air flow will be significantly reduced.
Do you have the space for 2 woofers?
What about a better woofer (something from DD?)?
For most car audio subs that can handle significant power, the dust cap is part of the cooling system and is required to pull the air into the gap around the voice coil. Without it, the air flow will be significantly reduced.
all i want this speaker to do is run at its peak without getting the amp hot and without melting the coil. im sure that these speakers are loud enough i just need to find out how to use these amps to drive them.
yes i have space for more woofers and i do have some better speakers from a local speaker manufacturer. these new speakers have a 6 inch dual VC and are liquid cooled. he says they have never been put in a car before but doesnt see why it would have any problems. i dont want to install them till i can figure out accuratly to judge and monitor a subwoofer. i dont want to put in these new subs and blow them up or have them running at 20% their capacity. right now i have 4 of these JBL amps im just not to sure what to do with them.
i am still working on a way to monitor temperature on the speaker because i cant figure out any other way to solve this problem.
i also have a bunch of 1000w amps to drive the 6.5 inch door speakers (14 speakers). i dont even want to attempt this. till i can get some answers from this sub expeiment solved. i suspect i will be running into the same problems there too except ill be blowing up a dozen speakers at a time.
oh ya that makes a lot of sense, ill put it back on. i just cant figure any other idea but ill try the scope tmrw.
what i am tryiing to accomplish with my car stereo is having lots and lots of head room. i just want to figure out how to get all the speakers warm and working without pushing them too far.
First I would like to commend you for choosing an amplifier with more power than needed. It is truly better to have more power than not enough. I would also like to say that with proper tunning and system design there is no good reason why you should be burning up coils on this driver. I worked for a Kicker dealer for several years and we had very good luck with this particular subwoofer.
A lot of people here have given some good advice for trouble-shooting your problem, but there is a lot of missing information that could certainly help a little further.
You had mentioned in your opening thread: "I realize that the box determines a lot and the music also determines a lot.." You are correct, and quite frankly, this alone can completely make or break a good performing, reliable sub system....
Is the box sealed or ported?
If it is ported, I'm very curious to know if the enclosure is tuned correctly. Are you aware that power handling deminishes very rapidly below the tuning frequency of the enclosure? For instance: If you happen to listen to music with a lot of low frequency information ie.rap/hip hop or even recordings of pipe organs, chances are pretty good that there is a lot of harmful low frequency information that certainly could be the stem of your problem. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the BP1200.1 has a subsonic filter. If it does, are you using it? A filter could possibly be a life saver for you.
If it is sealed, Is the enclosure's volume within the recommended limits from Kicker? Is it well built with a strong baffle and no leaks? A well built sealed enclosure can give you very good power handling with this driver.
I don't know you, or your car audio background so forgive me if this seems basic, but here are few other things to consider:
Have you matched the impedance of the driver to the amplifiers optimum limits? For the best performance and reliablitly the BP1200.1 will produce 1200w with a 2ohm load. Is the L7 a dual 4ohm driver?
Do you have proper power cabling and a good solid ground for the amp?
Just how loud, and or long, do you listen to your system? Since you are burning up coils (with this particular amp) it seems like you are running into thermal issues. Did you know that as the voice coil heats up the impedance rises? Although not severe, this does translate into less power. Add to this the fact that our hearing tends to subside (for lack of a better explaination which eludes me right now) after listening to high levels of sound for an extended period of time. Many people have a tendancy to turn up the knob just a liiiiiiiitle bit more when this occurs. I have seen this time and time again over the years. In the past, some of my customers have come to me and swear that their system just isn't as loud as it use to be. In fact the system performs as good as day one, it's just now they are "use" to it.
Anyway. I hope at least some of this helps. Good luck!
It is truly better to have more power than not enough. I would also like to say that with proper tunning and system design there is no good reason why you should be burning up coils on this driver. I worked for a Kicker dealer for several years and we had very good luck with this particular subwoofer. A lot of people here have given some good advice for trouble-shooting your problem, but there is a lot of missing information that could certainly help a little further.
You had mentioned in your opening thread: "I realize that the box determines a lot and the music also determines a lot.." You are correct, and quite frankly, this alone can completely make or break a good performing, reliable sub system....
Is the box sealed or ported?
If it is ported, I'm very curious to know if the enclosure is tuned correctly. Are you aware that power handling deminishes very rapidly below the tuning frequency of the enclosure? For instance: If you happen to listen to music with a lot of low frequency information ie.rap/hip hop or even recordings of pipe organs
, chances are pretty good that there is a lot of harmful low frequency information that certainly could be the stem of your problem. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the BP1200.1 has a subsonic filter. If it does, are you using it? A filter could possibly be a life saver for you. If it is sealed, Is the enclosure's volume within the recommended limits from Kicker? Is it well built with a strong baffle and no leaks? A well built sealed enclosure can give you very good power handling with this driver.
I don't know you, or your car audio background so forgive me if this seems basic, but here are few other things to consider:
Have you matched the impedance of the driver to the amplifiers optimum limits? For the best performance and reliablitly the BP1200.1 will produce 1200w with a 2ohm load. Is the L7 a dual 4ohm driver?
Do you have proper power cabling and a good solid ground for the amp?
Just how loud, and or long, do you listen to your system? Since you are burning up coils (with this particular amp) it seems like you are running into thermal issues. Did you know that as the voice coil heats up the impedance rises? Although not severe, this does translate into less power. Add to this the fact that our hearing tends to subside (for lack of a better explaination which eludes me right now) after listening to high levels of sound for an extended period of time. Many people have a tendancy to turn up the knob just a liiiiiiiitle bit more when this occurs
. I have seen this time and time again over the years. In the past, some of my customers have come to me and swear that their system just isn't as loud as it use to be. In fact the system performs as good as day one, it's just now they are "use" to it. Anyway. I hope at least some of this helps. Good luck!
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im VERY VERY new to this so please keep the basic stuff a comin'
i havent built a box for this yet i was told to break in the sub first then remeasure the parameters then design a box. right now i have it in a ported box temporarily it is 2.5 cubic feet with a 7" diameter 33" long 34hz.
i was also told that these speakers dont work very well in a sealed box and i should try a ported one. i would like to try building a ported box as soon as i can get these speakers to last long enough to re measure them.
in my first test i was trying to find that point where the speaker box unload lower then the port frequency. ive never seen this before and i wanted to see what happened. well..... fire is what happened. this is my first post the first coil i blew up. (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/subwoofers/157808-new-voice-coils-lasted-4-mins-kicker-l7.html). so i still haven't seen what happens below port tuning frequency.
yes these subs that i have are dual 4 ohm. but they are rebuilt with aluminum formers. i have been told that by doing this i can run more electricity through them because they are better at dissipating heat.
ok this is a good question because i dont think i have "normal" requirements for a car radio. i can listen to this radio for up to and exceeding 24 hours at a time and certainly 50 hours a week minimum. this is a work truck and i use there stereo for kind of like work site entertainment that needs to over power the sound of welders and grinders. when the truck is rolling on the highway i listen with ear plugs in because i get headaches if i dont. i dont know for sure but probably in the 110-115 dB range (just a guess). i watch movies and listen to music for long loooong periods of time. so its easy to see why i am trying so hard to work with amps that aren't hot enough to light a cigar off of after only 30 mins of use.
i dont know what a subsonic filter is or if i have one in these amps. i was going to put a cross over in my truck wont this limit the speaker from going lower then its box tuning?
yes i am quite certain i have no shortage of power or ground even if i decide to run all of these amps i would be very surprised if anything in the system even gets warm.
i sort of knew this and i think this info is getting me closer to the answer i am looking for because i think this heat/impedance range is where i need to be aiming for. if the impedance rises there must be a way to monitor this? i want that coil warm but not hot. (regardless of what speaker i use). can i hook up a impedance meter or something? if the impedance rises to a certain point i can get the amp to shut off. this makes sense doesn't it?
oh my god this is the story of my life and i could not have put better words to it myself. the logic in my brain goes..."well everything is working fine now whats the harm in 2% more". especially when i am 100 feet from the truck with ear plugs in.
im 100% certain that between 4 of these speakers and 4 of these amps it will be loud to the point of absurdity. i just need to find a QUANTIFIABLE limit to where i can say confidently if i add 2% more right now i can for a min or so then everything will explode on me again.
thanks everyone for the advice i think im getting close to answer
i havent built a box for this yet i was told to break in the sub first then remeasure the parameters then design a box. right now i have it in a ported box temporarily it is 2.5 cubic feet with a 7" diameter 33" long 34hz.
i was also told that these speakers dont work very well in a sealed box and i should try a ported one. i would like to try building a ported box as soon as i can get these speakers to last long enough to re measure them.
in my first test i was trying to find that point where the speaker box unload lower then the port frequency. ive never seen this before and i wanted to see what happened. well..... fire is what happened. this is my first post the first coil i blew up. (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/subwoofers/157808-new-voice-coils-lasted-4-mins-kicker-l7.html). so i still haven't seen what happens below port tuning frequency.
yes these subs that i have are dual 4 ohm. but they are rebuilt with aluminum formers. i have been told that by doing this i can run more electricity through them because they are better at dissipating heat.
ok this is a good question because i dont think i have "normal" requirements for a car radio. i can listen to this radio for up to and exceeding 24 hours at a time and certainly 50 hours a week minimum. this is a work truck and i use there stereo for kind of like work site entertainment that needs to over power the sound of welders and grinders. when the truck is rolling on the highway i listen with ear plugs in because i get headaches if i dont. i dont know for sure but probably in the 110-115 dB range (just a guess). i watch movies and listen to music for long loooong periods of time. so its easy to see why i am trying so hard to work with amps that aren't hot enough to light a cigar off of after only 30 mins of use.
i dont know what a subsonic filter is or if i have one in these amps. i was going to put a cross over in my truck wont this limit the speaker from going lower then its box tuning?
yes i am quite certain i have no shortage of power or ground even if i decide to run all of these amps i would be very surprised if anything in the system even gets warm.
i sort of knew this and i think this info is getting me closer to the answer i am looking for because i think this heat/impedance range is where i need to be aiming for. if the impedance rises there must be a way to monitor this? i want that coil warm but not hot. (regardless of what speaker i use). can i hook up a impedance meter or something? if the impedance rises to a certain point i can get the amp to shut off. this makes sense doesn't it?
oh my god this is the story of my life and i could not have put better words to it myself. the logic in my brain goes..."well everything is working fine now whats the harm in 2% more". especially when i am 100 feet from the truck with ear plugs in.
im 100% certain that between 4 of these speakers and 4 of these amps it will be loud to the point of absurdity. i just need to find a QUANTIFIABLE limit to where i can say confidently if i add 2% more right now i can for a min or so then everything will explode on me again.
thanks everyone for the advice i think im getting close to answer
Ok. I have read through some of your answers and a little of your first thread. From your descriptions you have provided, I can easily understand why you would be cooking this sub. I have to recommend (which I believe has already been recommended) that you need more drivers, and subsequently more power. You simply need more displacement to reach the level of output you are looking for without overheating voicecoils. Easy solution since you already have the extra equipment yes?? If you do decide to add more amplifiers just be sure that your charging system can keep up with the current demand.
A subsonic filter is simply fancy lingo for what is simply a high-pass filter. It is referred to as "subsonic" because often times the frequency that is used for high-pass filtering is below audible limits ie.. 10hz, 15hz, 20hz. However, it is more common to see subsonic filters applied at or close to the tunning of the enclosure. This is done in order to relieve the subwoofer from trying to produce frequencies below the tunning where power handling severly deminishes. For instance, If your enclosure is tuned to 34hz, you would optimally want a high-pass filter at 34hz. A subsonic filter (if available) can provide a great deal of added reliablity to any sub system utilizing a ported enclosure.
Even though impedance rises in a heated voice coil, it will not harm the amplifier. Too low of an impedance, however, can. Heat dissipation seems to be the key for you here, and adding more drivers will certainly help.
Think of it like this: Let's just say you are actually happy with the amount of output from your current system (1 sub and 1 amp). The only problem is burning up voicecoils (excessive heat). So now let's add one more identical amp and sub. Now let's adjust the output so that it matches the first system. Now we have the satisfactory output of the first system, BUT...we also have double the heat dissipating capabilities. Now of coarse there are several other factors that come into play when adding more equipment, but I'm just trying to make a point.
I would suggest adding at least one more amp/sub combo (if not all 4 of them) and you should get the output you need.
A subsonic filter is simply fancy lingo for what is simply a high-pass filter. It is referred to as "subsonic" because often times the frequency that is used for high-pass filtering is below audible limits ie.. 10hz, 15hz, 20hz. However, it is more common to see subsonic filters applied at or close to the tunning of the enclosure. This is done in order to relieve the subwoofer from trying to produce frequencies below the tunning where power handling severly deminishes. For instance, If your enclosure is tuned to 34hz, you would optimally want a high-pass filter at 34hz. A subsonic filter (if available) can provide a great deal of added reliablity to any sub system utilizing a ported enclosure.
Even though impedance rises in a heated voice coil, it will not harm the amplifier. Too low of an impedance, however, can. Heat dissipation seems to be the key for you here, and adding more drivers will certainly help.
Think of it like this: Let's just say you are actually happy with the amount of output from your current system (1 sub and 1 amp). The only problem is burning up voicecoils (excessive heat). So now let's add one more identical amp and sub. Now let's adjust the output so that it matches the first system. Now we have the satisfactory output of the first system, BUT...we also have double the heat dissipating capabilities. Now of coarse there are several other factors that come into play when adding more equipment, but I'm just trying to make a point.
I would suggest adding at least one more amp/sub combo (if not all 4 of them) and you should get the output you need.
thanks for your help but this still doesnt address the problem of what i am tryiing to do. i weather i have one amp and one speaker or 4 amps and 4 speakers. i will be in the same boat.
how can i reliably push the equipment right to its limits without blowing it up?
im not looking for a level of loudness. im looking for it to be as loud as possible for as long as possible.
i went out today to my truck and hooked up my scope to the outputs of the amp and tried to look for a sharp horizontal line in the signal. and i could not see one. i played all kinds of music and got the coil super hot again.
i do not have a trained ear at all but i did not hear any distortion or bottoming out or anything else that would indicate for me to turn it down.
this is the problem that i cant seem to be able to explain. if its at level "loud" why not be "loud+1". im all for turning it down or being content with the level "loud" i just need to get it as loud as possible with this speaker. if i move up to 2 speakers and 2 amps i will want to push them as hard as possible and so on and so on.
i have watched the guys at SPL compititions and i watch them make a lot of noise for 10seconds then thats it. wait a bit for everything to cool down and go again. all i could think was why not find the sweet spot where the equipment can run at all day long and not break. how do these guys know that their stuff can run at that level for that long? how do they know it could run for 11 seconds? or 30 seconds? or maybe it can run all day long like this. is it just experiance or do they know something i dont? they seem to be in a similar situation as tryiing to get as much out of their equipment as possible they are just working in a much smaller time frame then me. and there is no way they can stick their head in their car and listen for distortion or clipping? is there?
how can i reliably push the equipment right to its limits without blowing it up?
im not looking for a level of loudness. im looking for it to be as loud as possible for as long as possible.
i went out today to my truck and hooked up my scope to the outputs of the amp and tried to look for a sharp horizontal line in the signal. and i could not see one. i played all kinds of music and got the coil super hot again.
i do not have a trained ear at all but i did not hear any distortion or bottoming out or anything else that would indicate for me to turn it down.
this is the problem that i cant seem to be able to explain. if its at level "loud" why not be "loud+1". im all for turning it down or being content with the level "loud" i just need to get it as loud as possible with this speaker. if i move up to 2 speakers and 2 amps i will want to push them as hard as possible and so on and so on.
i have watched the guys at SPL compititions and i watch them make a lot of noise for 10seconds then thats it. wait a bit for everything to cool down and go again. all i could think was why not find the sweet spot where the equipment can run at all day long and not break. how do these guys know that their stuff can run at that level for that long? how do they know it could run for 11 seconds? or 30 seconds? or maybe it can run all day long like this. is it just experiance or do they know something i dont? they seem to be in a similar situation as tryiing to get as much out of their equipment as possible they are just working in a much smaller time frame then me. and there is no way they can stick their head in their car and listen for distortion or clipping? is there?
Then turn it down and be happy with it at a lower output level. That way you're saving your hearing, saving the extra gas your car must burn to power the thing and saving the planet. Most likely you'd also reduce the amount you annoy other people with the car playing as you drive around.
They surely know that you can easily fry coils when you throw too much power at them and as a result take precautions against this by only playing for a short amount of time. Maybe they've tried the system for longer and know things start to explode at X seconds, but this would be extreme as it would quickly become a very expensive way to test the limits of the system.
No, they are in a different situation entirely. They are competing for the loudest system and as a result of this will try pushing things to their limit. It seems however that they wouldn't listen to it at this level, they are just competing for the largest number on the SPL meter.
You on the other hand seem to want to push the limit for no reason besides pushing the limit. You've said it yourself that you'd be happy even if it was turned down a bit. Well turn it down a bit and be happy. You've fried drivers already, obviously you had it on too loud!
Putting this a different way - there is no way you can have the system set up where you can constantly push it to its absolute limit. You can set up limiters so that you will never blow things up, but that's slightly different. You sound like the kind of person who'd remove the built in protection, to see if you can really player it louder.
I can understand your desire behind this. If you are genuinely happy with the system playing quieter then I suggest you do just this. It makes sense for a number of reasons. However if you are still interested in turning it up, then perhaps you should follow the trend of the SPL crowd and only have it on for 10 seconds or so at a very loud level. This way you can see it playing louder, if only briefly. But at least you know it can go that loud.
It should sound a helluva lot better playing quieter too. Pushing it to its limit will really crush any hope the system has at reproducing dynamics.
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You stated: " I just need to get it as loud as possible with this speaker". Well I have to be honest with you.. you have already done that!! You have obviously reached the thermal limits for this particular driver. You have supplied the sub with adequate power, and it appears that you have a proper enclosure for it as well. Short of adding a subsonic filter, you're really out of options for improving the output/reliability. This is precisely why I suggest either add more drivers/power or be happy with the output of the single sub.
Try not to let the SPL systems fool you. Having a fair amount of experience in this field myself I can assure you these systems are dramatically different from the norm. The most popular form of SPL competition requires the competitor to achieve the maximum amount SPL read with a meter on the inside of the vehicle. A short burst is all that is needed to get a reading, roughly 4 seconds. There is no reason to run the system for any longer than what is needed to simply get the reading. In this very short time frame, you might be amazed at just how much power a subwoofer can handle. It's not uncommon to see some of these drivers accepting 10-15-20kilowatt bursts. The difference is... again..heat. Keep in mind that even the largest and most competitive SPL vehicles out there cannont run full bore for extended periods of time. Even they will run into similar issues you are having right now if they were to do so.
To be honest with you, many of these competitors will destroy equipment even when doing these short bursts. Some of them are running there gear way beyond the limits of what the manufacturer designed them for and in turn.. poof goes the subs/amps.. you name it. This is, however, par for the coarse for some of these die-hard competitors.
You have obviously reached the thermal limits for this particular driver. You have supplied the sub with adequate power, and it appears that you have a proper enclosure for it as well. Short of adding a subsonic filter, you're really out of options for improving the output/reliability. This is precisely why I suggest either add more drivers/power or be happy with the output of the single sub.Try not to let the SPL systems fool you. Having a fair amount of experience in this field myself I can assure you these systems are dramatically different from the norm. The most popular form of SPL competition requires the competitor to achieve the maximum amount SPL read with a meter on the inside of the vehicle. A short burst is all that is needed to get a reading, roughly 4 seconds. There is no reason to run the system for any longer than what is needed to simply get the reading. In this very short time frame, you might be amazed at just how much power a subwoofer can handle. It's not uncommon to see some of these drivers accepting 10-15-20kilowatt bursts. The difference is... again..heat. Keep in mind that even the largest and most competitive SPL vehicles out there cannont run full bore for extended periods of time. Even they will run into similar issues you are having right now if they were to do so.
To be honest with you, many of these competitors will destroy equipment even when doing these short bursts. Some of them are running there gear way beyond the limits of what the manufacturer designed them for and in turn.. poof goes the subs/amps.. you name it. This is, however, par for the coarse for some of these die-hard competitors.
They are called limits for a reason. Your truck has an RPM indicator with a limit (red line). How long would the engine last if you drove around all day at just under the red line?
I really can't understand why you would drive around with music so loud that you need earplugs. For one thing its illegal in most places to drive with headphones or earplugs. Would the simple solution not be to listen at a reasonable volume while driving?
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