Hi, all...
I think I have a full picture of all the advantages/disadvantages of standard versus inverted mounting, but I've never found a satisfactory answer to this question:
All things being equal on a sealed box, do you think it's worth inverting the subs solely for the benefit of keeping the voice-coil/motor cooler?
I mean... it's has to get hot in that sealed chamber, right? I know it varies based on the size of the subwoofer and the size of the chamber, but how hot does it get in there? Does it approach a level where it really 'matters'?
An experience that makes me ask: I had a 4th-order bandpass enclosure for four subs, all of which were individually chambered (to the same specs). Two of them were mounted in the standard cone-out fashion, and two of them were inverted. Well, guess what? When I took the woofers out of the box, two of them had seized (the standard mount) and two of them were fine (the inverted mount). It could be a coincidence, but I can't help but wonder as I build my next sealed box.
I would appreciate any insights you might have. Thanks!
I think I have a full picture of all the advantages/disadvantages of standard versus inverted mounting, but I've never found a satisfactory answer to this question:
All things being equal on a sealed box, do you think it's worth inverting the subs solely for the benefit of keeping the voice-coil/motor cooler?
I mean... it's has to get hot in that sealed chamber, right? I know it varies based on the size of the subwoofer and the size of the chamber, but how hot does it get in there? Does it approach a level where it really 'matters'?
An experience that makes me ask: I had a 4th-order bandpass enclosure for four subs, all of which were individually chambered (to the same specs). Two of them were mounted in the standard cone-out fashion, and two of them were inverted. Well, guess what? When I took the woofers out of the box, two of them had seized (the standard mount) and two of them were fine (the inverted mount). It could be a coincidence, but I can't help but wonder as I build my next sealed box.
I would appreciate any insights you might have. Thanks!
Hi, Perry. Are you asking how hard they'll be driven? If so, not hard at all. I'm just a casual listener on my commute to work.The factors you listed matter but also how close to the margins you're running the woofers.
A woofer run well below its rated power isn't likely to overheat to a point where the voice-coils seize. Unless the woofer had it's voice-coil vent against the back wall of the enclosure (preventing cooling), it's unlikely to fail.
Ok, Perry... cool. No, I'm running them well below rated power, so I'm not worried about that.
I modeled that old bandpass enclosure on WinISD, and I think those woofers probably suffered from over-excursion, too.
Thanks for chiming in!
I modeled that old bandpass enclosure on WinISD, and I think those woofers probably suffered from over-excursion, too.
Thanks for chiming in!
With bandpass boxes it can be harder to hear when you are over-driving something. Not that that affects your orientation/failure observation, but it might be a contributing factor to the failure in general.
Unnecessary,even in Texas.
But if your enclosure is wayyy too small, every cubic inch helps.
If you like to look at a cool motor, though, remember it might look cool to a thief, too.
But if your enclosure is wayyy too small, every cubic inch helps.
If you like to look at a cool motor, though, remember it might look cool to a thief, too.
That's true, mattstat. Thanks for the reply!With bandpass boxes it can be harder to hear when you are over-driving something. Not that that affects your orientation/failure observation, but it might be a contributing factor to the failure in general.
Hey, boswald... that made me laugh twice. Each sub will be in just over 2 ft^3, so they have some breathing room.Unnecessary,even in Texas.
But if your enclosure is wayyy too small, every cubic inch helps.
If you like to look at a cool motor, though, remember it might look cool to a thief, too.
In my opinion, these are very attractive subwoofers--both the cones and the magnets. I think I like the cones better, though, so it's nice to know that probably won't harm anything.
Thanks!
Good question! I really don't know. All I know is they were locked up as solid as cinder blocks!Was the destruction of the voice coil, due to overheating, the reason they seized?
A LOT of people refuse to believe that they run their amps into clipping. An easy way to find out is to use an oscilloscope to watch the output signals. The DSO138 from ebay (assembled, not a kit), is cheap enough for most people. When you get your next system installed, watch the output.
You will also need one of the $5 100mhz scope probes that are all over ebay to extend the voltage range of the scope.
I'm not recommending these scopes for anything other than watching for clipping. They are useless for any square wave over about 1kHz.
You will also need one of the $5 100mhz scope probes that are all over ebay to extend the voltage range of the scope.
I'm not recommending these scopes for anything other than watching for clipping. They are useless for any square wave over about 1kHz.
That's good advice, Perry. Do you think that overheating is often a result of distortion/over-excursion/non-linearity?
When clipped, the amplifier can drive more power to the coils with less amplitude (and less cone excursion) than it would with a clean signal.
If you do this, you can use a rotary switch to switch between front/rear/sub channels. If you use a rotary switch it MUST be a break-BEFORE-make switch. If the switch doesn't break between positions, it will short channels together.
If you do this, you can use a rotary switch to switch between front/rear/sub channels. If you use a rotary switch it MUST be a break-BEFORE-make switch. If the switch doesn't break between positions, it will short channels together.
Wow... you educated me on this one. That's all new to me. Thanks for passing along that knowledge!
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